Arkansas Administrative Code › Agency 016 - DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES › Division 02 - Alcohol & Drug Abuse Prevention › Rule 016.02.18-001 - HOPE Act- TEA

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 6, June, 2024
2200
Eligibility Determination
In addition to the eligibitity requirements dealt with during
				the application interview (i.e., the PRA, providing or applying for an SSN for
				all family members, and initial cooperation with the OCSE), it will be
				determined and documented in the case record whether the family meets the
				remaining TEA eligibility requirements as described in the following
				sections.
If it is determined, at any point, that an eligibility
				requirement is not met, it is not necessary to determine whether the applicant
				meets any other requirements. The application may be denied based on the
				requirement not met. Each requirement is discussed in more detail in the
				following sections.
2201
			 TEA Family/Assistance Unit Defined
08/01/18
For purposes of the TEA program, the terms "TEA family" and
				"assistance unit" have the same meaning and are used interchangeably throughout
				this manual.
The above terms refer to the under age 18, non-SSI child{ren)
				for whom application is made and the following persons:
1. The parent(s), including minor parents,
			 living in the home with the child unless such parent receives SSI benefits. If
			 both parents are in the home, they do not have to be married to both be
			 included in the unit.
2. The
			 non-SSI step-parent living in the home with the child.
3. Any non-SSI sibling under age 18 of the
			 child for whom application is made who is living in the home and for whom the
			 parent or other adult caretaker has responsibility even if application is not
			 made for that child. {See
EXAMPLE #1
below.)
4. A non-parent, non-SSI adult caretaker
			 relative who chooses to be included as an eligible family member. Only one such
			 relative may be included.
Please see the
NOTES
below.
The persons described in Items 1-3 are required to be included
				as TEA family members except when a specific individual eligibility requirement
				is not met by such person. Individual eligibility requirements are the
				following:
a) SSN Enumeration
			 (
TEA 2110)
b) Child's Relationship to the Caretaker
			 Relative
(TEA 2210
)
c) Citizenship or Alienage
(TEA
			 2220)
d) Fleeing Felon
			 or Parole or Probation Violator (
TEA 2240
)
e) Family Cap Provision (
TEA
			 2361
and
TEA 4131)
\
NOTES
:
* Minor Parents - If the application is made for the minor
				parent and child only, the minor parent's parent(s), stepparent, or siblings
				are not required to be included in the assistance unit. (See
Example #2
below.}
* Legal/Biological Father - If the child has a legal father
				(according to state law) who does not live in the home but the alleged
				biological father does, such biological father will not be included as the
				child's parent until the issue of the legal father has been legally
				resolved.
* Consolfdated Units
If there are two or more otherwise separate families living in
				the same house, such families will not be combined into one single TEA family
				even if some of the children may be half-siblings to each other. (See
EXAMPLE #3
below.}
Ail minor non-SSI children in the home for whom the caretaker
				relative has responsibility will be included in one unit.
All minor non-SSI children in the home for whom a legally
				married couple has responsibility and for whom they are receiving, or wish to
				receive, assistance will be included with the couple as one TEA family, or
				assistance unit. (See
EXAMPLE
#A
below.)
EXAMPLE #1
: Ms. Adams applies only for
				her son James and does not want to apply for her daughter Crystal because
				Crystal receives SSA benefits from her deceased father's account. Even though
				Ms. Adams is not applying for Crystal, she must be included in the application
				and the TEA family, even if Crystal's SSA income causes ineligibility for the
				assistance unit.
EXAMPLE #2
: Ms. Craig applies for
				assistance for her 16 year old daughter Sue and Sue's baby, Emily. Other
				household members include Sue's two brothers. Ms. Craig does not want
				assistance for herself and her two sons. The TEA family will consist of Emily
				and her mother. Sue.
EXAMPLE #3
: Ms. Jones and Ms. Smith
				each have two children. Mary, Ms. Jones' child, and Tom, Ms. Smith's child,
				have the same father making them half-siblings. The Jones and Smith families
				will remain separate families under TEA even though Mary and Tom are
				half-siblings.
EXAMPLE #4
: Mr. and Mrs. Madison each
				have a child of their own from a previous marriage living with them. Even
				though they have no child in common, the four of them (Mr. and Mrs. M. and the
				two children) will be considered to be one TEA family, not separate
				families.
EXAMPLE #5
: Mr. and Mrs. Sanchez each
				have a child of their own from a previous marriage living with them. They do
				not have a child in common. Mr. Sanchez's son is receiving $400 per month in
				child support from his mother. Mr. Sanchez does not want to receive TEA
				assistance for his son. Because Mr. Sanchez is a stepparent to Mrs. Sanchez's
				child, he must be included in the TEA case with Mrs. Sanchez and her child.
				However, his child is not required to be in the case because his child is not a
				sibling or half sibling to Mrs. Sanchez's child. Therefore, Mr. Sanchez may
				choose to exclude his child and thus, the child's income.
The eligibility requirements described in the following
				sections will be determined in relation to the TEA family members as defined
				above. If a requirement affects only an individual's eligibility, the section
				specific to that requirement specifies so and describes how to treat an
				individual family member who is ineligible due to the requirement.
1.
Worked Forty (40) Qualifying
			 Quarters of Coverage -
SSA Query screen (WQRY) will be used to
			 determine if an alien has 40 qualifying quarters of coverage, including
			 credited quarters from his or her parent or spouse. Form SSA-3288, SSA Consent
			 for Release of Information, must be signed by the person for whom quarter of
			 coverage information is needed before making the inquiry. (If the person is
			 deceased, no consent is needed.) Refer to the DCO User's Manual for
			 instructions on how to inquire to WQRY for this purpose.
2.
Battered aliens
:
			 Form 1-130 filed by alien's spouse or parent of the battered child. Form 1-30
			 petition as a widow(er) of a U.S. citizen, an approved self-petition under
			 Violence Against Women Act or an application for cancellation of removal or
			 suspension of deportation filed as a victim of domestic violence.
3.
Honorable
			 Discharge
: A U.S. military discharge certificate (DD Form 214)
			 that shows character of service as "Honorable" and does not show, in the
			 narrative reason for discharge entry, that the discharge was based on alien
			 status, lack of U.S. citizenship, or other "alienage" reason.
4.
Active Duty Member of the
			 Armed Forces
: The green service identity card (U.S. Form DD-2) or
			 (rarely) red service identity card and copy of current orders showing active
			 duty (not active duty for training purposes only).
5.
Spouse or Dependent Child of
			 Veteran or Active Duty
: A marriage license or birth certificate
			 verifying the individual's relationship to the veteran or active duty military
			 person along with the appropriate verification for honorable discharge or
			 active duty.
6.
Trafficking Victim
: A certification letter issued by
			 the Office of Refugee Resettlement verifying that an individual has been
			 identified as a trafficking victim pursuant to section 107(b) of the
			 Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000.