Financial Programs

Physical living arrangements of a child determine in which household the child should be included. This is true even when a parent claims to have joint custody of the child. A child residing in the home more than 50% of the time must be included in that household despite custody agreements or court orders; and Duty of Support must be completed. It is not an option to exclude the child.

On a case-by-case basis, consider the actual circumstances about where the child lives.

A child’s physical living arrangement is where the child returns after a temporary absence or visitation to the other parent.

When living arrangements show the child is living 50% of the time in each parent’s household, include the child in the household of the parent who applies first.

If both parents apply within the same 30-day application period, the parent who submitted the application first will still be the parent considered for eligibility. It does not matter if the second parent is able to provide all required verification before the first parent. The first parent is given the entire 30-day period to provide verification and that application is considered the first application.

When both parents claim they have physical custody of the child more than 50% of the time, refer the case for an investigation. The investigator will make the decision based on the household circumstances.

The reasons for the decision to approve or deny the case based on who has physical custody must be narrated in the case record.