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2. The fact that the payee has not been able to pay expenses and has had to borrow money or allow bills to remain unpaid because of lack of income may substantiate the fact that the noncustodial parent is not providing for the child(ren). When the payee can give a logical account of how he/she has been able to manage without income from the non-custodial parent, then the fact of no income from the non-custodial parent will be substantiated. NOTE: Child Support Enforcement is required to recover from support collections all possible TANF money paid out as TANF cash assistance. See Chapter 3, Recovery of TANF Payments, for further discussion. Child support payments must be turned in to the Child Support Office beginning with the first payment received by the individual after notification of TANF approval. See Chapter 3, Assignment of Rights to Support, for further discussion. Budgeting Principles and Procedures See Chapter 6, TANF Grant Payment When Child Support Payments Involved, for detailed budgeting principles and procedures. BENEFITS FROM INSURANCE POLICIES Because of the difference in insurance policies covering illness, accident, disability, hospitalization, and doctor bills, it is necessary that the worker establish the kind of insurance an applicant has and distinguish between regular disability payments and small unpredictable amounts paid. Also, the worker must distinguish between policies covering sickness or disability and those providing payment for hospital and doctor bills. This can usually be done by examining a policy, but a contact with the insurance company may be necessary. Please follow these procedures: 1. All sickness and accident benefit policies payable to the applicant which provide substantial monthly benefits for disability or provide benefits for periods of illness or accident must be considered potential sources of income. When benefits are paid to the applicant on a recurring basis, the amount must be entered in the budget as income. The premiums paid and the fees paid for a required physician's examination are deductible expenses. Small sick and accident policies which pay minimum amounts for short periods of time and which require a doctor's statement for each illness usually result in income which is negligible. The income from this kind of policy should be disregarded if it is under $30 per

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