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201.5 TANF Manual 7/21 Page 3b

Example 1: The parents have shared joint legal and physical custody. The child lives with his mother from Monday through Friday. The child lives with his father on the weekends. The agency verifies the living arrangements. The child lives with the mother more than 51% of the time and would meet the “living with” requirement if his mother applied for assistance for him; he would not meet the “living with” requirement if his father made the application.

Example 2: The agency verifies that the parents have 50/50 joint legal custody and that the child actually spends 50% of the time with each parent in alternating weeks. The child will meet the “living with” requirement with either parent; either the father or mother could receive assistance for him if otherwise eligible.

3. Local Agency Custody: A child living with his parent(s) may be eligible for TANF even though custody is held by the social services agency, if all other eligibility factors for TANF are met. A child living with a relative other than a parent may also be eligible for TANF, even though custody is held by the social services agency, unless the home is an approved foster home. No foster care maintenance payment will be made on behalf of a child in agency custody while he is included in the TANF assistance unit of a parent or non-parent caretaker.

It should be noted that for TANF eligibility purposes, a child can only have one home, as defined above in this section. Therefore, a child in agency custody cannot be considered temporarily absent from the home of the parent or other relative with whom the child was living before coming into care if another parent or relative is currently eligible for TANF based on the presence of the child in his/her home.

The case record must be documented relative to the local agency's finding that the child is living in the home.

A child may not be denied TANF, either initially or subsequently, on the basis that the home is considered "unsuitable" because of conditions existing in the home, unless provision is otherwise made for his adequate care and assistance.* If such conditions appear to exist, referral for protective services must be made.

D. Minor Parent Residency Requirement ** - A minor parent is an individual under 18 years of age who is the natural parent of the child. A minor parent and the dependent child in her care must reside in the home maintained by her parent or person standing in loco parentis, unless she meets an exception. (In loco parentis is defined as standing in place of or taking the role of a parent. For TANF, the in loco parentis role may be filled by a relative [see 201.5A], the legal guardian of the minor child, or a person 18 years of age or older who is acting as a parent. By definition, the in loco parentis role may not be filled by a person such as a boyfriend or girlfriend whose relationship to the minor parent is other than parental.) Minor applicants must be informed about the residency requirement at the time of application. If the minor cannot make arrangements to live in the home of a parent or person standing in loco parentis within the standard 30 day processing time, and does not meet an exception, then the worker must deny the application.

* 45 CFR 233.90(b) ** Section 63.2-607, Code of Virginia

TANF Transmittal 71