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School Attendance Minor parents who have not completed high school or a GED are required to remain in school. School attendance requirements apply once the minor parent’s child is 12 weeks old. While the minor parent will be exempt from the TANF Work Program as under 18 (code JI), supportive services are available if the minor parent needs child care in order to remain in school. In this situation, refer the minor parent to TWP as a volunteer (code MV). MARRIAGE DISREGARD As an incentive for two-parent families, for the first marriage of the PI occurring on or after October 1, 1999, the Mississippi Department of Human Services will: • Disregard the income and resources of the new spouse for 6 consecutive months; and • Offer TWP services to the new spouse if that person is unemployed or under employed. See Chapter 8 for further information. Allowing this disregard of income and resources will encourage marriage and two parent families and may provide the newly formed family an opportunity to establish a home and better surroundings for the children. The following minimum requirements must be met before disregarding the income: 1. The marriage must be the first marriage for the PI which occurs after October 1, 1999; 2. The marriage date must be verified; 3. An MDHS-EA-348, Request for Income and Resource Information for Stepparent/New Spouse, must be completed by the recipient; and 4. The worker must set a review date for the 6th month of the disregard if possible. This is a one-time disregard and will be applied for 6 consecutive months. MAVERICS notice, A706, Marriage Disregard Notice, will be sent advising the PI that the new spouse will be added to the case but that this will not affect the TANF money payment for six months. If the addition of the new spouse meets the requirements for a reportable change, the 6 month count begins with the month the spouse could be added to the household if the change is reported timely. If the change is not reported timely, the disregard period will be allowed prior to the determination of claim status. If the marriage does not meet the requirements for a reportable NON-FINANCIAL CRITERIA: ASSISTANCE

MISSISSIPPI UNIT CONCEPT

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change, the 6-month disregard period will begin with the first month the spouse can be added to the household after the change is reported. In this instance the change will be considered to have been reported timely if the marriage is reported at the next reevaluation. If the household reports the addition of the new spouse prior to the next reevaluation, the worker will act on the change even if the change is not considered reportable under Simplified Reporting requirements. If the new spouse who is unemployed at the time the marriage disregard is applied, finds employment, his/her income will be disregarded for the months remaining in the 6-month time frame. This disregard applies only to the TANF case and would not affect the Food Stamp case.