340:10-10-1 Deprivation of parental support or care by a natural or adoptive parent

(a) A child is eligible for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) if, in addition to meeting other conditions of eligibility, he or she is deprived of parental support or care of at least one natural or adoptive parent(s). The deprivation of parental support or care does not apply before the child's birth. (1) When there is one parent in the home, deprivation of parental support is based on the: (A) death of the other parent; or (B) continued absence from the home and failure to provide maintenance, physical care, or guidance of the other parent. (2) When both parents are in the home, deprivation of parental support is based on the: (A) physical or mental incapacity of at least one of the parents; or (B) unemployment of the principal wage earner. (b) For the purpose of TANF eligibility a parent is defined as the: (1) legal father or mother; (2) legal adoptive father or mother; or (3) natural father of a child born out of wedlock who acknowledges paternity or, whose paternity has been determined by court action, or established by documentation, or who is alleged by the mother to be the father of the children.