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201.10 TANF MANUAL 7/20 Page 4

3. Counting the Six Months of Receipt of Assistance - In counting the six months of receipt of assistance, count the month of entitlement as the first month of assistance when noncooperation began prior to case approval. If noncooperation occurred after approval, the six months are still counted from the date of entitlement.

Exception: For a child added to the payment subsequent to case approval, the six- month period begins with the first month of receipt of assistance for the child.

Example 1: At the time of application Ms. Rageolla refuses to name the father of her child. The agency determines that Ms. Rageolla is not cooperating in identifying the father of one of her children, and that good cause does not exist. Her case is approved in March, with her needs removed. The date of entitlement is March 20. The case is reviewed in August, the sixth month of receipt of assistance, to determine whether the case must be closed in accordance with C.2 above.

Example 2: Ms. Zorda cooperates at application (April) in identifying the putative father of her child. Her case is approved effective May 1. In the second month assistance is received (June), she is notified that she must come to the DCSE office for genetic testing. Ms. Zorda fails to keep the appointment, and DCSE notifies the eligibility worker that Ms. Zorda is not cooperating. Good cause for not cooperating does not exist and her needs are removed from the payment. In October, Ms. Zorda has received six months of assistance, and the agency must determine whether the case must be closed in accordance with C.2 above.

Example 3: If Ms. Zorda's refusal to cooperate had occurred more than six months after entitlement, i.e., entitlement is in January and refusal to cooperate occurs in November, the sixth month of receipt of assistance would have been June and the agency would immediately evaluate continuing eligibility of the case in accordance with C.2 above.

Example 4: Ms. Bonnewit has been receiving TANF for several years. A child who had been residing elsewhere, comes to live with his mother, Ms. Bonnewit. His paternity has not been established. In determining the child's eligibility, Ms. Bonnewit refuses to name the father. At the same time the child is added to the payment, the mother's needs are removed. In this situation, the six-month period begins with the first month of receipt of assistance for the child, which is January 1. On April 15, Ms. Bonnewit requested that her case be closed. The case closes April 30. Ms. Bonnewit later reapplies and is determined eligible for TANF in June. Her six month period resumes in June. June will be her fifth month for the non- cooperation penalty.

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