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parents must assist in developing and complying with the plan. If one parent is non-compliant without good cause, the TANF benefit is reduced by an amount equal to removing their and the child's needs. If both parents are out of compliance without good cause, the grant is reduced by an amount equal to removing both parents and the child's needs from the grant determination. Penalties against parent/caretaker relatives last until compliance or the child's attendance is satisfactory whichever is earliest. Penalties against a child last until the end of the grading period.

The non-compliance penalty is a fiscal penalty assessed against the TANF payment of the assistance group and is not to be confused with an ineligibility sanction (IV-D or IMPACT) which is applied to individuals. In an assistance group under the fiscal penalty, all assistance group members (including the non-compliant adult) continue to be TANF cash recipients and are: • Subject to TANF IMPACT requirements; and • Eligible to receive supportive services if participating in employment and training activities.

Because school systems vary so much when their grading periods or semesters start and stop, the eligibility system will not be able to track when the non-compliance penalties end. It is up to the DFR to contact the school systems for this information.

The eligibility system uses the information entered in determining whether to apply the fiscal penalty. It is, therefore, essential to review the screen prior to imposing a penalty to ensure that the individual is actually subject to the requirement. Non-recipient caretaker relatives such as parents who are ineligible aliens and non-parent caretaker relatives who have opted not to receive TANF are not subject to the school attendance requirement. Therefore, no penalty can be assessed on their assistance groups for their failure to comply with a plan to improve attendance.

If the caretaker relative comes into compliance prior to the effective date of the fiscal penalty, it is not to be imposed.

A recipient caretaker relative is considered to have good cause for non-compliance with the written plan of the school or the DFR if: • The child is suspended or expelled for behavior problems and the school has verified that no alternative educational situation exists. For good cause to exist, the recipient caretaker relative would have to be in compliance with a plan established by a treatment professional that is monitoring the situation. • The child has a mental or physical condition as determined by a licensed health care professional, that prohibits the child from integrating into the normal school environment and there is no alternative educational situation. • The actions required in the improvement plan were beyond the capability of the recipient caretaker relative; or • The division did not provide the services needed by the recipient caretaker relative to perform the required actions.

Compliance exists and no penalty is imposed on the parent or caretaker relative if there is cooperation with the written improvement plan.