Page 8

302.7 TANF MANUAL 11/10 Page 2a

non-cooperation can be determined, the applicant has cooperated, or the needed information has been received from another source. (See 201.10I)

The caretaker/relative other than the parent may request exclusion from the assistance unit at any other time except when that person has received a lump sum. The caretaker/relative may request exclusion prior to actual receipt of the lump sum. See 305.4 C regarding treatment of a lump sum received by the caretaker/relative.

No person's needs will be included in more than one assistance unit, but a person receiving assistance under another program may be payee for person(s) receiving TANF. A person receiving TANF in one assistance unit as a caretaker may also be the payee for persons receiving TANF in another assistance unit. (See Section 401.1 for the requirements of a request for assistance.)

A recipient of SSI is not eligible for inclusion in the assistance unit. An SSI recipient is an individual who is entitled to SSI benefits regardless of whether the benefit is currently being received.

Note: In some situations, it may be difficult to determine if family members live together or live separately but in the same dwelling. For example, a mother and her two children may live in the downstairs portion of a home while her ex-husband, his wife and child live upstairs. In determining whether the mother and her two children constitute a separate assistance unit, a determination must first be made that two separate mailing addresses, for example apartments A and B, or 1st and 2nd floors, exist. If separate mailing addresses exist, and other eligibility criteria are met, the mother and her child can be considered a separate TANF AU. If separate mailing addresses do not exist, the agency can consider the family a separate AU only if the mother can verify that the portion of the house in which she lives has an entrance separate from that of the other residents, and, at a minimum, separate bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen facilities.

Individuals who must be excluded from the TANF assistance unit.

C. Children Who Are Not To Be Included In The Assistance Unit:

1. A child who is receiving SSI;

2. A child who is an alien whose needs are met by an individual sponsor or who has been in the U.S. less than three years and is sponsored by an agency/organization, unless it can be documented that the agency/organization no longer exists or the agency/organization provides a statement that they are financially unable to support the alien.*

3. A child whose SSN has not been provided or application for an SSN has not been made. See 201.8 for the exception regarding a newborn child.

TANF Transmittal 45