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06 Evaluating Parental Involvement The worker is responsible for evaluating the situation based on facts provided by the payee and, in some instances, the absent parent or others. The decision and supporting evidence as to whether or not a child is deprived due to continued absence should be documented in the case record in most instances and in every case where it is not obvious. Every case situation is a judgment made by the worker after careful evaluation. Supervisory advice should be requested whenever this determination is not clear. All of the following conditions need not be met, but in evaluating situations to determine whether or not the parent who is absent from the home provides support, guidance and care, give consideration as to whether: 1. The child communicates on a regular and frequent basis with the parent. The child may go back and forth between the absent parent's home and that of a parent with whom he lives, or the absent parent may visit the child(ren) on a schedule that indicates he could be providing physical care and guidance. Routine visitation has the same effect on determination of deprivation, whether such visitation is the result of court-ordered visitation, joint legal custody, or an informal agreement between the parents. It is the actual visitation, and not necessarily what is stated in a court order, that counts in determining how often the absent parent visits the child. 2. The absent parent provides guidance. Guidance means day-to-day parental participation in and responsibility for the child's physical, emotional, and intellectual development. Such participation includes, but is not limited to (depending on the age of the child) accompanying the child on doctor visits, attending school conferences, providing discipline, participating in decisions concerning the child's wellbeing and being involved in the child's extracurricular activities. 3. The absent parent provides physical care. Physical care means performing tasks required in the child's daily life or having the responsibility for supervising a child's activities and assisting with personal care. 4. The absent parent provides maintenance and is responsible for the child's medical care. Maintenance means either financial support paid directly to the child's household or substantial in-kind contributions of food, clothing, and other necessities. In joint custody cases, whether stipulated in a divorce settlement or in a legal or informal separation agreement, that place a child for specified amounts of time in the home of each parent, the worker must determine whether deprivation due to the continued absence of either parent exists. The actual circumstances of each case must be carefully reviewed to determine whether the child is deprived of parental care and support. In case situations where the child spends a portion of each week or month with each parent, it is MISSISSIPPI

[NON-FINANCIAL CRITERIA: DEPRIVATION] Revised 08-01-