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Delaware’s TANF State Plan 10-1-2017 to 9-30-2020

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Contract of Mutual Responsibility and Individual Service Strategy

The caretaker of children in the TANF program enters into a Contract of Mutual Responsibility with the Division of Social Services (DSS). Applicants and recipients have a face-to-face intake interview. During this interview, the DSS worker explains the Contract of Mutual Responsibility (CMR) and those elements specific to the client.

The CMR lists the responsibilities of the family and the supports the State will provide. The family's responsibilities include, but are not limited to: employment-related activities, school attendance and immunization requirements for children, family planning, parenting education classes, and substance abuse treatment requirements. The State provides supports to families including but not limited to: employment-related activities, training activities, child care, Medicaid, and other services identified during the development of the CMR by DSS workers and the Individual Services Strategy (ISS) developed by Employment Connections (EC) and Keep a Job (KAJ) contractors providing self-sufficiency services to work mandatory clients.

The CMR is designed to be individualized to the specific needs and situation of each family. Therefore, the exact requirements within the contract may vary from family to family. This document can be revised as the needs and the situation of the family evolve.

Services related to these CMR requirements will be available to the participant. If the services specified in the CMR are not reasonably available to the individual, the participant will not be sanctioned for failure to comply and the CMR will be modified to reflect that the service is currently unavailable.

It is mandatory that all caretakers enter into a CMR. Contracts are completed for families in the time-limited TANF program and the non- time-limited TANF program, as well as for teen parents. Both caretakers in an assistance unit and non-needy caretaker payees are required to develop and comply with CMRs. Other family members within the assistance unit may be required to comply with provisions of the contract, and are subject to sanction for non- compliance.

If the caretaker is a non-needy caretaker, the individual would not be required to participate in employment-related activities, but will be required to participate in other contract activities.