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Memorandum No. TANF-ACF-IM-2007-01 |
Date: March 9, 2007 |
TO: |
State
Agencies Administering the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
Program and Other Interested Parties |
SUBJECT: |
Additional
Clarification and Guidance on Coding Type of Family for Work Participation
and Work-Eligible Individual Indicator Under the Interim Final Rule |
BACKGROUND: |
The
Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 amended the work participation requirements by
directing HHS to improve the verification and oversight of work
participation. One provision extends
work participation requirements to some non-recipient parents of children
receiving assistance by requiring us to “ensure consistent measurement of
work participation rates” including information on “the circumstances under
which a parent who resides with a child who is a recipient of assistance
should be included in the work participation rates.” This would primarily affect child-only cases,
but could include some two-parent cases as well, where one of the parents is
living in the household but not part of the assistance unit. The Work-Eligible Individual Indicator data
element is designed to identify all work-eligible individuals. The definition excludes non-recipient noncustodial
parents, non-recipient caretaker relatives, and some non-recipient parents
who are aliens (and ineligible due to their immigration status) or, at State
option, SSI recipients. Families receiving MOE-funded assistance
under a Tribal TANF program are not reported in the TANF Data Report and,
thus there is no specific code to identify such individuals. States have the option to include or
exclude a non-recipient parent who is receiving SSI as a work-eligible individual
on a case-by-case basis. A
non-recipient parent (or minor child head-of-household), whose needs have
been removed from the grant due to a sanction (i.e., sanctioned for any
reason, not just a work sanction) or any other reason is a work-eligible individual. Work eligible individual means an adult (or minor child
head-of-household) receiving assistance under TANF or a separate State
program or a non-recipient parent living with a child receiving such
assistance unless the parent is: (1) A minor parent and not the
head-of-household or spouse of the head-of-household; (2) An alien who is
ineligible to receive assistance due to his or her immigration status; or (3)
At State option on a case-by-case basis, a recipient of Supplemental Security
Income (SSI) benefits. The term also
excludes: (1) A parent providing care for a disabled family member living in
the home who does not attend school on a full-time basis, provided that the
need for such care is supported by medical documentation; and (2) An individual
receiving MOE-funded assistance under an approved Tribal TANF program, unless
the State includes the Tribal family in calculating work participation rates,
as permitted under §261.25. For
the purpose of calculating the two-parent work participation rate, the
two-parent families include any family with two or more natural or adoptive
parents (of the same minor child) who are work-eligible individuals, living
in the home, unless both are minor and neither is the head-of-household. |
CONTENT: |
The
attached TANF Data Report and SSP-MOE Data Report have been revised as
follows: (1) to correct the definition of a two-parent family; (2) to correct
and clarify guidance on the work-eligible individual indicator; and (3) to clarify coding of the data
elements “Type of Family for Work Participation” and “Work-Eligible
Individual Indicator.” In
the TANF Data Report Instructions, the minimal definition of a “two-parent
family for work participation” was truncated.
The correct definition (see CFR 261.24(c)) is shown above in the last
paragraph of the background and in the attached revised TANF Data Report. In
the current guidance to the TANF Data Report – Section One, data element #48,
Work-Eligible Individual Indicator, is the statement “The definition excludes
noncustodial parents, …” This
statement is only partially correct. The definition excludes non-recipient,
noncustodial parents. The definition
does not exclude noncustodial parents who are receiving assistance. A noncustodial parent who is receiving assistance
would be coded with a “1” for data element #48. However, a family with two recipient
parents, one of whom is a noncustodial parent would not meet the minimal
definition of a two-parent family as the noncustodial parent is not living in
the home. The Work-Eligible individual
In
order to properly code TANF Data Report – Section One, data element #12, Type
of Family for Work Participation,” the State must first determine the number
of work-eligible individuals. If there
are no work-eligible individuals, code data element #12 with code “3.” If there is only one work-eligible
individual, then code data element #12 with a “1.” If there are two or more work-eligible individuals,
the State must first determine if the family meets the minimal definition (or
the |
ATTACHMENT: |
Revised
TANF Data Report and Revised SSP-MOE Data Report |
INQUIRIES: |
Inquiries
should be directed to the appropriate ACF TANF Program Manager. |
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/S/ ____________________ |
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Sidonie Squier |
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