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201.5 TANF MANUAL 10/18 Page 3a

Example 1: The child lives with his mother and siblings. He spends his summer vacations with his father who lives in another county. His father would not be eligible for assistance for the child if he applied for TANF during the child’s summer vacation because the child does not actually live in the father’s home but is only there temporarily for a visit.

Note: If the child’s mother receives TANF for him, and he is gone from her home more than 60 consecutive days, the child will no longer meet the “living in a home requirement” for her household as outlined at 201.5B. In this circumstance, he would not be eligible in either household until he returns to his mother’s home following his summer vacation with his father.

Example 2: The child lives with his grandmother during the week and visits his mother every weekend. His grandmother receives TANF for him. His mother, who receives TANF for the child’s three younger siblings, requests that he be added to her assistance unit. The child is not eligible, however, since he lives with his grandmother and only visits his mother.

2. Shared Living Arrangements: In some cases, a child lives with each parent for portions of a month or for several months of the year. These shared arrangements may be formal arrangements as in the case of legal joint custody in which an agreement legally establishes that both parents are to share physical custody of the child. The arrangements may also be informal arrangements established by the parents or caretaker relatives. In either case, the agency must determine the child’s actual living arrangements. This determination may include examination of visitation schedules, written statements from each parent or caretaker relative, or other verifications. A statement by the applicant without additional documentation cannot be accepted as verification of the living arrangements except as outlined below.

The child is considered to be “living with” the parent or other caretaker relative with whom the child spends 51% or more of the time when the living arrangements are examined on an annual basis. (Note: If the living arrangements have not been in effect for at least one year, they will be examined based on the period they have been in effect. If the shared living arrangements have just begun, and the applicant states that the child will be living with her 51% or more of the time and there is no evidence to the contrary, the application can be approved. At the next review, the agency must verify the child’s actual living arrangements and determine whether the “living with” requirement continues to be met.)

If the child lives with both parents an equal amount of time and no parent has the child 51% or more of the time, both parents meet the “living with” requirement and either can apply and be granted assistance for the child if otherwise eligible.

If the agency is unable to determine the amount of time the child spends with each parent for any reason, “living with” cannot be determined and the child is ineligible.

TANF Transmittal 65