75-02-01.2-35.1 Time limit on certain benefits - Exceptions.

Except as otherwise provided in this section, no household may be provided assistance if that household includes an adult who has received assistance under a temporary assistance for needy families program provided by any state or Indian tribe for sixty months, whether or not consecutive, after the date that program commenced. 1. In determining the number of months an adult received temporary assistance for needy families, the department shall disregard any month in which: a. The adult was a minor child and not, at the same time, a head of household or married to a head of household; or b. No adult member of the household was included in the benefit for the federal lifetime count under title 45, Code of Federal Regulations, part 264.1. 2. In determining the number of months an adult received temporary assistance for needy families, the department shall disregard any month in which the adult lived in Indian country if, during the month, at least fifty percent of the adults living in that Indian country were unemployed. The department shall determine the percentage of unemployed adults living in Indian country by any means the department determines to be appropriate and reliable, provided that the means chosen are consistent with requirements imposed under federal law. 3. This section may not be applied to preclude eligibility for members of a household if: a. The eligible adult caretaker in the temporary assistance for needy families household reaches the age of sixty-five years on or before the sixty-first month in which that individual receives temporary assistance for needy families benefits; b. The eligible adult caretaker is determined to be incapacitated or has been determined to be disabled by the social security administration; c. The household includes an individual who is a victim of domestic violence. Domestic violence includes physical harm, bodily injury, sexual activity compelled by physical force, assault, or the infliction of fear of imminent physical harm, bodily injury, sexual activity compelled by physical force, or assault, not committed in self-defense, on the complaining family or household members; or 28 d. The condition of a child or a spouse precludes care by a child care provider, in-home care, or outside of home care and prevents the caretaker from employment. 4. For purposes of this section: a. An adult caretaker may be treated as "incapacitated" if the individual is incapacitated or treated as incapacitated under section 75-02-01.2-18; and b. "Indian country" means: (1) All lands within the limits of any Indian reservation under the jurisdiction of the United States government, notwithstanding the issuance of any patent, and, including rights of way running through the reservation; (2) All dependent Indian communities within the borders of the United States whether within the original or subsequently acquired territory thereof, and whether within or without the limits of a state; and (3) All Indian allotments, the Indian titles to which have not been extinguished, including rights of way running through the same. 5. The number of households that may be exempted from the temporary assistance for needy families lifetime limit may not exceed twenty percent of the average monthly number of households receiving temporary assistance for needy families assistance. 6. If a household must submit a written request to the human service zone requesting to be exempt from the sixty-month lifetime limit, the written request must explain the reason for the exemption and must include clear and convincing documentation from a professional service provider. 7. During the exemption period from the lifetime limit, all temporary assistance for needy families, job opportunities, and basic skills program policies apply. 8. Applicants and recipients that appeal the denial for an exemption from the lifetime limit may request in writing a fair hearing within the thirty days from the date of the denial or closure notice. Assistance is not continued pending the fair hearing. History: Effective July 1, 1997; amended effective January 1, 2003; June 1, 2005; January 1, 2009. General Authority: NDCC 50-09-02, 50-09-25 Law Implemented: NDCC 50-09-02