Title 45—Public Welfare--Volume 1
PART 264—OTHER ACCOUNTABILITY PROVISIONS
§ 264.0   What definitions apply to this part?
(a) The general TANF definitions at §§ 260.30 through 260.33 of this chapter apply to this part.
(b) The following definitions also apply to this part:
Casino, gambling casino, or gaming establishment means an establishment with a primary purpose of accommodating the wagering of money. It does not include:
(i) A grocery store which sells groceries including staple foods and which also offers, or is located within the same building or complex as, casino, gambling, or gaming activities; or
(ii) Any other establishment that offers casino, gambling, or gaming activities incidental to the principal purpose of the business.
Countable State Expenditures means the amount of qualifying State expenditures, as defined in § 264.75, plus the amount of contingency funds expended by the State in the fiscal year.
Electronic benefit transfer transaction means the use of a credit or debit card service, automated teller machine, point-of-sale terminal, or access to an online system for the withdrawal of funds or the processing of a payment for merchandise or a service.
FAG means the Family Assistance Grant granted to a Territory pursuant to section 403(a)(1) of the Act. It is thus the Territorial equivalent of the SFAG, as defined at § 260.30 of this chapter.
Food Stamp Trigger means a State's monthly average of individuals participating in the Food Stamp program (as of the last day of the month) for the most recent three-month period that exceeds its monthly average of individuals in the corresponding three-month period in the Food Stamp caseload for FY 1994 or FY 1995, whichever is less, by at least ten percent, assuming that the immigrant provisions of title IV and the Food Stamp provisions under title VII of PRWORA had been in effect in those years.
Liquor store means any retail establishment which sells exclusively or primarily intoxicating liquor. Such term does not include a grocery store which sells both intoxicating liquor and groceries including staple foods (within the meaning of Section 3(r) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2012(r))).
Unemployment Trigger means a State's average unemployment rate for the most recent three-month period of at least 6.5 percent and equal to at least 110 percent of the State's unemployment rate for the corresponding three-month period in either of the two preceding calendar years.
§ 264.1   What restrictions apply to the length of time Federal TANF assistance may be provided?
(a)(1) Subject to the exceptions in this section, no State may use any of its Federal TANF funds to provide assistance (as defined in § 260.31 of this chapter) to a family that includes an adult head-of-household or a spouse of the head-of-household who has received Federal assistance for a total of five years (i.e., 60 cumulative months, whether or not consecutive).
(2) The provision in paragraph (a)(1) of this section also applies to a family that includes a pregnant minor head-of-household, minor parent head-of-household, or spouse of such a head-of-household who has received Federal assistance for a total of five years.
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs (a)(1) and (a)(2) of this section, a State may provide assistance under WtW, pursuant to section 403(a)(5) of the Act, to a family that is ineligible for TANF solely because it has reached the five-year time limit.
(b)(1) States must not count toward the five-year limit:
(i) Any month of receipt of assistance by an individual who is not the head-of-household or married to the head-of-household;
(ii) Any month of receipt of assistance by an adult while living in Indian country (as defined in section 1151 of title 18, United States Code) or a Native Alaskan Village where at least 50 percent of the adults were not employed; and
(iii) Any month for which an individual receives only noncash assistance provided under WtW, pursuant to section 403(a)(5) of the Act.
(2) Only months of assistance that are paid for with Federal TANF funds (in whole or in part) count towards the five-year time limit.
(c) States have the option to extend assistance paid for by Federal TANF funds beyond the five-year limit for up to 20 percent of the average monthly number of families receiving assistance during the fiscal year or the immediately preceding fiscal year, whichever the State elects. States are permitted to extend assistance to families only on the basis of:
(1) Hardship, as defined by the State; or
(2) The fact that the family includes someone who has been battered, or subject to extreme cruelty based on the fact that the individual has been subjected to:
(i) Physical acts that resulted in, or threatened to result in, physical injury to the individual;
(ii) Sexual abuse;
(iii) Sexual activity involving a dependent child;
(iv) Being forced as the caretaker relative of a dependent child to engage in nonconsensual sexual acts or activities;
(v) Threats of, or attempts at, physical or sexual abuse;
(vi) Mental abuse; or
(vii) Neglect or deprivation of medical care.
(d) If a State opts to extend assistance to part of its caseload as permitted under paragraph (c) of this section, it would grant such an extension to a specific family once a head-of-household or spouse of a head-of-household in the family has received 60 cumulative months of assistance.
(e) To determine whether a State has failed to comply with the five-year limit on Federal assistance established in paragraph (c) of this section for a fiscal year, we would divide the average monthly number of families with a head-of-household or a spouse of a head-of-household who has received assistance for more than 60 cumulative months by the average monthly number of all families that received assistance during that fiscal year or during the immediately preceding fiscal year.
(f) If the five-year limit is inconsistent with a State's waiver granted under section 1115 of the Act, we will determine State compliance with the Federal time limit in accordance with the provisions of subpart C of part 260.
§ 264.2   What happens if a State does not comply with the five-year limit?
If we determine that a State has not complied with the requirements of § 264.1, we will reduce the SFAG payable to the State for the immediately succeeding fiscal year by five percent of the adjusted SFAG unless the State demonstrates to our satisfaction that it had reasonable cause, or it corrects or discontinues the violation under an approved corrective compliance plan.
§ 264.3   How can a State avoid a penalty for failure to comply with the five-year limit?
(a) We will not impose the penalty if the State demonstrates to our satisfaction that it had reasonable cause for failing to comply with the five-year limit on Federal assistance or it achieves compliance under a corrective compliance plan, pursuant to §§ 262.5 and 262.6 of this chapter.
(b) In addition, we will determine a State has reasonable cause if it demonstrates that it failed to comply with the five-year limit on Federal assistance because of federally recognized good cause domestic violence waivers provided to victims of domestic violence in accordance with provisions of subpart B of part 260.
§ 264.10   Must States do computer matching of data records under IEVS to verify recipient information?
(a) Pursuant to section 1137 of the Act and subject to paragraph (a)(2) of that section, States must meet the requirements of IEVS and request the following information from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the State Wage Information Collections Agency (SWICA), the Social Security Administration (SSA), and the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS):
(1) IRS unearned income;
(2) SWICA employer quarterly reports of income and unemployment insurance benefit payments;
(3) IRS earned income maintained by SSA; and
(4) Immigration status information maintained by the INS.
(b) The requirements at §§ 205.51 through 205.60 of this chapter also apply to the TANF IEVS requirement.
§ 264.11   How much is the penalty for not participating in IEVS?
If we determine that the State has not complied with the requirements of § 264.10, we will reduce the SFAG payable for the immediately succeeding fiscal year by two percent of the adjusted SFAG unless the State demonstrates to our satisfaction that it had reasonable cause or achieved compliance under a corrective compliance plan pursuant to §§ 262.5 and 262.6 of this chapter.
§ 264.30   What procedures exist to ensure cooperation with the child support enforcement requirements?
(a)(1) The State agency must refer all appropriate individuals in the family of a child, for whom paternity has not been established or for whom a child support order needs to be established, modified or enforced, to the child support enforcement agency (i.e., the IV-D agency).
(2) Referred individuals must cooperate in establishing paternity and in establishing, modifying, or enforcing a support order with respect to the child.
(b) If the IV-D agency determines that an individual is not cooperating, and the individual does not qualify for a good cause or other exception established by the State agency responsible for making good cause determinations in accordance with section 454(29) of the Act or for a good cause domestic violence waiver granted in accordance with § 260.52 of this chapter, then the IV-D agency must notify the IV-A agency promptly.
(c) The IV-A agency must then take appropriate action by:
(1) Deducting from the assistance that would otherwise be provided to the family of the individual an amount equal to not less than 25 percent of the amount of such assistance; or
(2) Denying the family any assistance under the program.
§ 264.31   What happens if a State does not comply with the IV-D sanction requirement?
(a)(1) If we find that, for a fiscal year, the State IV-A agency did not enforce the penalties against recipients required under § 264.30(c), we will reduce the SFAG payable for the next fiscal year by one percent of the adjusted SFAG.
(2) Upon a finding for a second fiscal year, we will reduce the SFAG by two percent of the adjusted SFAG for the following year.
(3) A third or subsequent finding will result in the maximum penalty of five percent.
(b) We will not impose a penalty if:
(1) The State demonstrates to our satisfaction that it had reasonable cause pursuant to § 262.5 of this chapter; or
(2) The State achieves compliance under a corrective compliance plan pursuant to § 262.6 of this chapter.
§ 264.40   What happens if a State does not repay a Federal loan?
(a) If a State fails to repay the amount of principal and interest due at any point under a loan agreement developed pursuant to section 406 of the Act:
(1) The entire outstanding loan balance, plus all accumulated interest, becomes due and payable immediately; and
(2) We will reduce the SFAG payable for the immediately succeeding fiscal year quarter by the outstanding loan amount plus interest.
(b) Neither the reasonable cause provisions at § 262.5 of this chapter nor the corrective compliance plan provisions at § 262.6 of this chapter apply when a State fails to repay a Federal loan.
§ 264.50   What happens if, in a fiscal year, a State does not expend, with its own funds, an amount equal to the reduction to the adjusted SFAG resulting from a penalty?
(a)(1) When we withhold Federal TANF funds from a State during a fiscal year because of other penalty actions listed at § 262.1 of this chapter, the State must replace these Federal TANF funds with State funds during the subsequent fiscal year.
(2) If the State fails to replace funds during the subsequent year, then we will assess an additional penalty of no more than two percent of the adjusted SFAG during the year that follows the subsequent year.
(b) A State must expend such replacement funds under its TANF program, not under “separate State programs.”
(c) We will assess a penalty of no more than two percent of the adjusted SFAG plus the amount equal to the difference between the amount the State was required to expend and the amount it actually expended in the fiscal year.
(1) We will assess the maximum penalty amount if the State made no additional expenditures to compensate for the reductions to its adjusted SFAG resulting from penalties.
(2) We will reduce the percentage portion of the penalty if the State has expended some of the amount required. In such case, we will calculate the applicable percentage portion of the penalty by multiplying the percentage of the required expenditures that the State failed to make in the fiscal year by two percent.
(d) The reasonable cause and corrective compliance plan provisions at §§ 262.5 and 262.6 of this chapter do not apply to this penalty.
§ 264.60   What policies and practices must a state implement to prevent assistance use in electronic benefit transfer transactions in locations prohibited by the Social Security Act?
Pursuant to Section 408(a)(12) of the Act, states are required to implement policies and practices, as necessary, to prevent assistance (defined at § 260.31(a) of this chapter) provided with federal TANF or state TANF MOE funds from being used in any electronic benefit transfer transaction in any: liquor store; casino, gambling casino or gaming establishment; or retail establishment which provides adult-oriented entertainment in which performers disrobe or perform in an unclothed state for entertainment.
§ 264.61   What happens if a state fails to report or demonstrate it has implemented and maintained the policies and practices required in § 264.60?
(a) Pursuant to Section 409(a)(16) of the Act and in accordance with 45 CFR part 262, a penalty of not more than five percent of the adjusted SFAG will be imposed for failure to report by February 22, 2014 and each succeeding fiscal year on the state's implementation of policies and practices required in § 264.60. The penalty will be imposed in the succeeding fiscal year, subject to § 262.4(g) of this chapter.
(b) Pursuant to Section 409(a)(16) of the Act and in accordance with 45 CFR part 262, a penalty of not more than five percent of the adjusted SFAG will be imposed for FY 2014 and each succeeding fiscal year in which the state fails to demonstrate the state's implementation of policies and practices required in § 264.60. The penalty will be imposed in the succeeding fiscal year subject to § 262.4(g) of this chapter.
(c) A penalty applied under paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section may be reduced based on the degree of noncompliance of the state.
(d) Fraudulent activity by any individual in an attempt to circumvent the policies and practices required by § 264.60 shall not trigger a state penalty under paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section.
§ 264.70   What makes a State eligible to receive a provisional payment of contingency funds?
(a) In order to receive a provisional payment of contingency funds, a State must:
(1) Be a needy State, as defined in § 260.30 of this chapter; and
(2) Submit to ACF a request for contingency funds for an eligible month (i.e., a month in which a State is a needy State).
(b) A determination that a State is a needy State for a month makes that State eligible to receive a provisional payment of contingency funds for two consecutive months.
(c) Only the 50 States and the District of Columbia may receive contingency funds. Territories and Tribal TANF grantees are not eligible.
§ 264.71   What determines the amount of the provisional payment of contingency funds that will be made to a State?
We will make a provisional payment to a State that meets the requirements of § 264.70, within the following limits:
(a) The amount that we will pay to a State in a fiscal year will not exceed an amount equal to 1/12 times 20 percent of that State's SFAG for that fiscal year, multiplied by the number of eligible months for which the State has requested contingency funds;
(b) The total amount that we will pay to all States during a fiscal year will not exceed the amount appropriated for this purpose; and
(c) We will pay contingency funds to States in the order in which we receive requests for such payments.
§ 264.72   What requirements are imposed on a State if it receives contingency funds?
(a)(1) A State must meet a Contingency Fund MOE level of 100 percent of historic State expenditures for FY 1994.
(2) A State must exceed the Contingency Fund MOE level to keep any of the contingency funds that it received. It may be able to retain a portion of the amount of contingency funds that match countable State expenditures, as defined in § 264.0, that are in excess of the State's Contingency Fund MOE level, after the overall adjustment required by section 403(b)(6)(C) of the Act.
(b) A State must complete an annual reconciliation, in accordance with § 264.73, in order to determine how much, if any, of the contingency funds that it received in a fiscal year it may retain.
(c) If required to remit funds under the annual reconciliation, a State must remit all (or a portion) of the funds paid to it for a fiscal year within one year after it has failed to meet either the Food Stamp trigger or the Unemployment trigger, as defined in § 264.0, for three consecutive months.
(d) A State must expend contingency funds in the fiscal year in which they are awarded.
(e) A State may not transfer contingency funds to the Discretionary Fund of the CCDF or the SSBG.
(f) A State must follow the restrictions and prohibitions in effect for Federal TANF funds, including the provisions of § 263.11 of this chapter, in its use of contingency funds.
§ 264.73   What is an annual reconciliation?
(a) The annual reconciliation involves the calculation, for a fiscal year, of:
(1) The amount of a State's qualifying expenditures;
(2) The amount by which a State's countable State expenditures, as defined in § 264.0, exceed the State's required Contingency Fund MOE level; and
(3) The amount of contingency funds that the State may retain or must remit.
(b) If a State exceeded its required Contingency Fund MOE level, it may be able to retain some or all of the contingency funds that it received.
(c) A State determines the amount of contingency funds that it may retain by performing the following calculations:
(1) From the lesser of the following two amounts:
(i) The amount of contingency funds paid to it during the fiscal year; or
(ii) Its countable State expenditures, as defined in § 264.0, minus its required Contingency Fund MOE level, multiplied by:
(A) The State's Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) applicable for the fiscal year for which funds were awarded; and
(B) 1/12 times the number of months during the fiscal year for which the State received contingency funds.
(2) Subtract the State's proportionate remittance (as reported to the State by ACF) for the overall adjustment of the Contingency Fund for that fiscal year required by section 403(b)(6)(C) of the Act.
§ 264.74   How will we determine the Contingency Fund MOE level for the annual reconciliation?
(a)(1) The Contingency Fund MOE level includes the State's share of expenditures for AFDC benefit payments, administration, and FAMIS; EA; and the JOBS program for FY 1994.
(2) We will use the same data sources and date, i.e., April 28, 1995, that we used to determine the basic MOE levels for FY 1994. We will exclude the State's share of expenditures from the former IV-A child care programs (AFDC/JOBS, Transitional and At-Risk child care) in the calculation.
(b) We will reduce a State's Contingency Fund MOE level by the same percentage that we reduce the basic MOE level for any fiscal year in which we reduce the State's annual SFAG allocation to provide funding to Tribal grantees operating a Tribal TANF program.
§ 264.75   For the annual reconciliation, what are qualifying State expenditures?
(a) Qualifying State expenditures are expenditures of State funds made in the State TANF program, with respect to eligible families, for the following:
(1) Cash assistance, including assigned child support collected by the State, distributed to the family, and disregarded in determining eligibility for, and amount of the TANF assistance payment;
(2) Educational activities designed to increase self-sufficiency, job training, and work, excluding any expenditure for public education in the State except expenditures involving the provision of services or assistance to an eligible family that are not generally available to persons who are not members of an eligible family;
(3) Any other services allowable under section 404(a)(1) of the Act and consistent with the goals at § 260.20 of this chapter; and
(4) Administrative costs in connection with the provision of the benefits and services listed in paragraphs (a)(1) through (a)(3) of this section, but only to the extent that such costs are consistent with the 15-percent limitation at § 263.2(a)(5) of this chapter.
(b) Qualifying State expenditures do not include:
(1) Child care expenditures; and
(2) Expenditures made under separate State programs.
§ 264.76   What action will we take if a State fails to remit funds after failing to meet its required Contingency Fund MOE level?
(a) If, for a fiscal year in which it receives contingency funds, a State fails to meet its required Contingency Fund MOE level, we will penalize the State by reducing the SFAG payable for the next fiscal year by the amount of contingency funds not remitted.
(b) A State may appeal this decision, as provided in § 262.7 of this chapter.
(c) The reasonable cause exceptions and corrective compliance regulations at §§ 262.5 and 262.6 of this chapter do not apply to this penalty.
§ 264.77   How will we determine if a State met its Contingency Fund expenditure requirements?
(a) States receiving contingency funds for a fiscal year must complete the quarterly TANF Financial Report. As part of the fourth quarter's report, a State must complete its annual reconciliation.
(b) The TANF Financial Report and State reporting on expenditures are subject to our review.
§ 264.80   If a Territory receives Matching Grant funds, what funds must it expend?
(a) If a Territory receives Matching Grant funds under section 1108(b) of the Act, it must:
(1) Contribute 25 percent of the expenditures funded under the Matching Grant for title IV-A or title IV-E expenditures;
(2) Expend 100 percent of the amount of historic expenditures for FY 1995 for the AFDC program (including administrative costs and FAMIS), the EA program, and the JOBS program; and
(3) Expend 100 percent of the amount of the Family Assistance Grant annual allocation using Federal TANF, title IV-E funds and/or Territory-only funds, without regard to any penalties applied in accordance with section 409 of the Act.
(b) Territories may not use the same Territorial expenditures to satisfy the requirements of paragraphs (a)(1), (a)(2) and (a)(3) of this section.
§ 264.81   What expenditures qualify for Territories to meet the Matching Grant MOE requirement?
To meet the Matching Grant MOE requirements, Territories may count:
(a) Territorial expenditures made in accordance with §§ 263.2, 263.3, 263.4, and 263.6 of this chapter that are commingled with Federal TANF funds or made under a segregated TANF program; and
(b) Territorial expenditures made pursuant to the regulations at 45 CFR parts 1355 and 1356 for the Foster Care and Adoption Assistance programs and section 477 of the Act for the Independent Living program.
§ 264.82   What expenditures qualify for meeting the Matching Grant FAG amount requirement?
To meet the Matching Grant FAG amount requirement, Territories may count:
(a) Expenditures made with Federal TANF funds pursuant to § 263.11 of this chapter;
(b) Expenditures made in accordance with §§ 263.2, 263.3, 263.4, and 263.6 of this chapter that are commingled with Federal TANF funds or made under a segregated TANF program;
(c) Amounts transferred from TANF funds pursuant to section 404(d) of the Act; and
(d) The Federal and Territorial shares of expenditures made pursuant to the regulations at 45 CFR parts 1355 and 1356 for the Foster Care and Adoption Assistance programs and section 477 of the Act for the Independent Living program.
§ 264.83   How will we know if a Territory failed to meet the Matching Grant funding requirements at § 264.80?
We will require the Territories to report the expenditures required by § 264.80(a)(2) and (a)(3) on the quarterly Territorial Financial Report.
§ 264.84   What will we do if a Territory fails to meet the Matching Grant funding requirements at § 264.80?
If a Territory does not meet the requirements at either or both of § 264.80(a)(2) and (a)(3), we will disallow all Matching Grant funds received for the fiscal year.
§ 264.85   What rights of appeal are available to the Territories?
The Territories may appeal our decisions to the Departmental Appeals Board in accordance with our regulations at part 16 of this title if we decide to take disallowances under section 1108(b) of the Act.