Illinois Administrative Code › Title 89 - SOCIAL SERVICES › Part 112 - TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES › Subpart C - TANF EMPLOYMENT AND WORK ACTIVITY REQUIREMENTS › Section 112.80 - Good Cause for Failure to Comply with TANF Participation Requirements

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 28, July 12, 2024
a) If a participant
				has good cause for not complying with a TANF participation requirement,
				financial assistance shall not be discontinued. Examples of good cause for
				failure to comply include, but are not limited to:
1) temporary illness for its
				duration;
2) court required
				appearance or temporary incarceration;
3) death in the family;
4) extreme inclement weather;
5) lack of any supportive service (see
				Section
				112.82), even
				though the necessary service is not specifically provided under TANF, to the
				extent the lack of the needed service presents a significant barrier to TANF
				participation;
6) The individual is
				engaged in employment and/or training that is consistent with the employment
				related goals of the program, and that employment and training is later
				approved by TANF staff (e.g., a participant is unable to attend an orientation
				session because she is already attending GED classes);
7) failure of Department staff or contractor
				to correctly forward the information to TANF staff;
8) attendance at a test or a mandatory class
				or function at an educational program (including college), when an
				education/training program is officially approved by TANF. When TANF workers
				know in advance of the tests and mandatory classes or functions, they shall
				schedule TANF activities around them if possible;
9) the participant's illiteracy;
10) a determination is made that the
				participant should be in a different TANF activity;
11) non-receipt by the participant of a
				notice advising him or her of a participation requirement. If the non-receipt
				of mail occurs frequently, the Department shall explore an alternative means of
				providing notices of participation requests to participants;
12) non-comprehension of written and/or oral
				English;
13) child care (or day
				care for an incapacitated individual living in the same home as a child) is
				necessary for the participation or employment and that care is not available
				for a child under age 13;
14) the
				participant verifies a scheduled job interview, medical appointment for the
				participant or a household member, or a school appointment for the participant
				or his or her children;
15) the
				individual or family is experiencing homelessness. An individual or family is
				experiencing homelessness if the individual or family:
A) lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate
				nighttime residence, or shares the housing of other persons due to the loss of
				housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason;
B) is living in a motel, hotel, camping
				ground or other temporary accommodation due to the lack of alternative
				accommodations;
C) is living in an
				emergency or transitional shelter;
D) resides in a primary nighttime residence
				that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a
				regular sleeping accommodation for human beings (e.g., residing in a car, park,
				abandoned building, substandard housing, bus, train station, or similar
				settings);
16)
				documented circumstances beyond the control of the participant which prevent
				the participant from completing program requirements;
17) violations of workplace rights due TANF
				recipients as determined by the U.S. Department of Labor;
18) receipt of an eviction notice;
19) discontinued utilities; or
20) the individual exits a publicly-funded
				institution or system of care (such as a healthcare facility, a mental health
				facility, foster care or other youth facility, or a correction program or
				institution) without an option to move to a fixed, adequate nighttime
				residence.