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I V - A S T A T E O F M A I N E T A N F S T A T E P L A N 8 | P a g e

Reasonable distance- Reasonable distance means that the ASPIRE participant is required to commute no more than 20 additional miles between home and work activity in order to transport the child to the child care provider.

Unsuitability of informal child care- Unsuitable child care is that provided by an individual who cannot pass a required background check or is unaffordable or would require the ASPIRE participant to travel an unreasonable distance.

Affordable child care arrangements- Affordable child care arrangements are those for which the participant incurs no cost or is reimbursed by another program such as ASPIRE or through a deduction for child care from income by the TANF program or by any combination of these methods.

Single parent families shall participate for a minimum of twenty (20) hours per week for parents whose youngest child in the home is under the age of six (6), and for a minimum of thirty (30) hours per week for parents whose youngest child in the home is six (6) years of age or older, in one of the work activities described below to help the parent obtain stable full-time paid employment.

In families consisting of two parents, who are not exempt from TANF work requirements, and child care is not paid for, the parents must participate for a combined minimum of thirty-five (35) hours per week during the month, not fewer than thirty (30) hours per week of which are attributable to one or more of the following listed work activities. When child care is paid for the two parents must participate for a combined minimum of fifty (55) hours per week during the month, not fewer than fifty (50) hours per week of which are attributable to one or more of the following listed work activities.

Single parents whose children are five (5) years of age or older and two parent family members who are job ready must participate in individual or group job search, depending on their needs and resources of the local ASPIRE-TANF offices.

Maine provides written and/or oral notice of the availability of temporary good cause exemptions from work or work-related activities and from child support requirements to victims of domestic violence at each application and review of eligibility for TANF.

Work-Related Activities:

The following work-related activities are countable towards meeting participation requirements and are considered “core” activities. To fully meet participation requirements, one parent families must participate in core activities for a minimum of twenty (20) hours per week. Two parent families must participate in core activities for a minimum of thirty (30) or fifty (50) hours per week.