TANF

Deprivation based on absence exists when:

a child's legal parents do not live together because of: divorce, legal separation, desertion, incarceration, or deportation;

the child's biological father lives in the home with the mother and child but a legal parent-child relationship exists between the child and another man;

a parent resides outside the U.S. and there is a legal impediment that prevents the parent from living in this country; or

a parent convicted of an offense and sentenced by a court to perform unpaid community service during work hours lives at home while serving the sentence.

If absence is anticipated to last for:

30 days or less, the absence is considered temporary and the child is not deprived.

more than 30 days, the absence is considered continuing.

Note: If the absence is currently less than 30 days but is anticipated to last longer than 30 days, the Eligibility Determination Group (EDG) should not be pended for deprivation.

A parent should be included in the certified group if the parent is temporarily absent for a reason listed in A-920 , Temporary Absence from the Home.

Deprivation based on absence does not exist when a parent is absent solely because of:

employment; or

active duty in the uniformed services of the United States, even if the parent is incarcerated or absent without leave (AWOL).

Exception: Deprivation may exist if there is a break in the family relationship unrelated to active duty in the service, and information indicates the family members are not functioning as a family unit. Information can be a statement from the caretaker that she and the second parent consider themselves to be separated so that the parents and children are not functioning as one family unit.