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BEM 201 1 of 12 MINOR PARENTS BPB 2019-006 4-1-2019

BRIDGES ELIGIBILITY MANUAL STATE OF MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES

DEPARTMENT PHILOSOPHY Minor parents and their children should live under adult supervision to ensure that they are in a safe, nurturing environment. Adult par- ents should act as the caretakers of their minor children and provide maintenance, physical care, and guidance, even after a minor child has become a parent. When living with a parent, stepparent, or legal guardian is not possible, the minor parent and child should live in another adult-supervised living arrangement. DEPARTMENT POLICY FIP All minor parents must live in an adult-supervised living arrangement as a condition of eligibility. A minor parent and the dependent child in his or her care must live with the minor parent's parent, stepparent, or legal guardian or have good cause to live elsewhere. A minor parent who has good cause for not living with a parent, stepparent, or legal guardian must live in an acceptable adult-supervised living arrangement. A minor parent living in a parent's or stepparent's home may not receive assistance on his/her own behalf, but must be treated as the dependent child of the parent or stepparent. A minor parent living in an adult relative's or legal guardian's home must be included as a dependent child in the relative's/legal guardian's group if the relative/legal guardian also receives benefits under the Family Independence Program (FIP); see BEM 210, Multi- Generation and Combined Groups. DEFINITIONS Minor Parent: a person under age 18 who is not emancipated and is either the parent of a dependent child living with him/her or is pregnant. A person under age 18 is emancipated if: • Ever validly married. • Emancipated by court order. • On active duty with the Armed Forces of the United States. Acceptable Adult-Supervised Living Arrangement: a Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) -approved