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168 paid is a household member. A deduction is also allowed for amounts paid toward court ordered child support arrearages. Alimony payments and amounts paid toward court costs will not be included in the child support deduction. The child support deduction must reflect the amount the household pays or expects to pay during the certification period, not the obligated amount. This amount must not exceed the obligated amount. The Agency must verify: • The legal obligation to pay • The amount of the obligation • The monthly amount actually paid. On initial applications and face-to-face/telephone recertification that report this expense, the Agency will verify the previous four weeks of payments. The average of these four weeks, taking into account any anticipated changes will be converted to a monthly amount and used as the household’s support deduction. A deduction may also be allowed for amounts paid toward arrearages. At recertification, any changes in the legal obligation to pay child support, including the obligated amount and the amount of legally obligated child support the household pays, must be verified. If the household fails or refuses to submit this required verification, eligibility and allotment will be determined without the child support deduction. The Agency must estimate anticipated payments and use this estimate as the household’s support deduction on those cases with no child support payment record or less than a four week record. Payments towards arrearages may be used in this estimate. The Agency will use the previous four week record of payments to develop an average to convert to a monthly amount and use as the household’s child support deduction. The Agency must make adjustments for any anticipated changes.

1 2 . 8 M E D I C A L D E D U C T I O N A medical deduction is the portion of out-of-pocket medical expenses in excess of $35 per month per household, excluding special diets, incurred by at least one eligible household member who is elderly (age 60 or older) or disabled as defined in Section 5.1 Verification Prior to Certification (5)(I)Disability. The individual must meet the definition of elderly or disabled at the time the expense was originally incurred/billed in order to receive a medical deduction for the out-of-pocket expense.