Rhode Island Code of Regulations › Title 218 - Department of Human Services › Chapter 20 - Individual and Family Support Programs › Subchapter 00 - N/A › Part 2 - Rhode Island Works Program Rules and Regulations › Section 218-RICR-20-00-2.12 - Special Program Requirements

Current through June 14, 2024
2.12.1
Minor
				  Parent and Pregnant Minor Requirements
A. The Personal Responsibility and Work
				  Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996,
				  Pub. Law
				  104-193 and R.I. Gen. Laws §
											40-5.2-10(k), the
				  Family Independence Act, The Rhode Island Works Program Act, require that a
				  pregnant minor or a minor parent with a dependent child(ren) in her/his care to
				  reside in the household of a parent, legal guardian, or adult relative with
				  certain exceptions. In those situations, the minor must reside in an
				  adult-supervised supported living arrangement to the extent such arrangement is
				  available and appropriate.
B. Goal.
				  The goal of this policy is to provide supervision and parenting skills to
				  parents below the age of eighteen (18), while assisting, encouraging, requiring
				  them to complete their high school education, and to provide strong support to
				  help the minor parent meet the goals of her/his employment plan.
C. Eligibility Criterion
1. A relative for purposes of this section is
				  defined in §2.5.3 of this Part. Such
				  assistance will be provided to the parent, legal guardian, or adult relative on
				  behalf of such individual unless otherwise determined by the agency
				  representative.
2. The following
				  shall be eligible for cash assistance only if such family resides in the home
				  of a parent, legal guardian, or other adult relative.
a. A family consisting of a parent who:
(1) Is under the age of eighteen (18) (minor
				  parent); and
(2) Has never been
				  married; and
(3) Has a child;
				  or
b. A family consisting
				  of a woman under the age of eighteen (18) who is
				  pregnant
D.
				  Exceptions
1. The above requirement shall not
				  apply if such minor parent or pregnant minor:
a. Has no parent, legal guardian, or other
				  adult relative who is living or whose whereabouts are unknown; or
b. Whose physical or emotional health or
				  safety (or of her/his child) is determined by the Department of Children, Youth
				  and Families to be jeopardized if s/he was required to live in the same
				  residence as her/his parent, legal guardian, or other adult relative. Refusal
				  of a parent, legal guardian, or other adult relative to allow the minor parent
				  and her/his child, or a pregnant minor, to live in her/his home shall
				  constitute a rebuttable presumption that the minor parent's health or safety
				  would be so jeopardized; or
c. Has
				  lived apart from her/his own parent or legal guardian for a period of at least
				  one (1) year before either the birth of any such minor parent's child or
				  beginning of the pregnant minor's pregnancy; or
d. Has good cause as outlined in §2.12.1(E)
				  of this Part, AND
e. Resides in an
				  approved adult-supervised supportive living arrangement to the extent
				  available. An adult-supervised supportive living arrangement is defined in
				  §2.12.1(E)
				  of this Part.
E. Adult-Supervised Living Arrangement
1. An adult-supervised supportive living
				  arrangement is defined as an arrangement with an available adult who provides
				  supervision on a routine basis as approved by a DHS agency representative. This
				  arrangement will be found approvable or not approvable after a home study
				  conducted by the TFD Program, which is provided to DHS staff and is filed in
				  the minor parent's service record. Should the minor parent move after
				  assessment is completed by the TFD Program, another referral for another home
				  study must be made.
2. "Available
				  adult" must not be the biological parent of the minor parent's child.
3. Such arrangement must require the minor
				  parent:
a. To enroll and make satisfactory
				  progress in a program leading to a high school diploma or a general education
				  development certificate; and
b. To
				  participate in an adolescent parenting program as established in R.I. Gen. Laws
				  Chapter 40-19; and
c. To undergo routine adult supervision as
				  defined in §2.12.1(E)(4)
				  of this Part.
4. Routine
				  Adult Supervision
a. Routine adult supervision
				  is defined as monitoring through home visitation and reporting on the ongoing
				  situation in which the minor parent and her/his child are living to ensure that
				  the family of the minor parent has:
(1)
				  Adequate and nutritional food;
(2)
				  Shelter that is safe, clean, and provides adequate comfort and
				  privacy;
(3) Preventive and primary
				  health care for both the parent and the child; and
(4) A safe home environment and positive
				  relationships between and among household members.
b. Adult supervision can be provided by
				  alternative programs approved by the Department and TFD providers.
c. Supervision shall occur through frequent
				  home visits scheduled according to mutually agreed-upon rules.
d. The purpose of adult supervision is to
				  evaluate and meet the developmental and support needs of the family. Routine
				  adult supervision should provide support and guidance in the areas of
				  education, vocational training, and parenting skills in order to meet the goals
				  of the parent's employment plan. Such supervision also provides guidance and
				  information on life skills needed for self-sufficiency, including but not
				  limited to infant care, grocery shopping, food preparation, money management,
				  and decision-making skills.
e. If
				  the adult supervisor becomes aware that the living arrangement puts the
				  physical or mental health of the minor parent and/or her child in jeopardy,
				  s/he must immediately report the situation to the Department for Children,
				  Youth and Families (DCYF). The TFD Program in cooperation with DCYF will assist
				  the minor parent in locating and moving to an appropriate adult-supervised
				  living arrangement or in making the current arrangement safe and
				  healthy.
f. If the TFD Program
				  representative learns that the physical or mental health of the minor parent
				  and/or her child is in jeopardy due to domestic violence, after the mandatory
				  report to DCYF, s/he may opt to conduct the Family Violence Option Assessment
				  alone, refer the parent to the domestic violence advocate for that assessment,
				  or collaborate with the domestic violence advocate in the assessment process as
				  needed, following the procedures outlined in §
													2.13   of this Part.
g. If the pregnant minor or minor parent and
				  her child leave the current adult-supervised living arrangement and further
				  adult supervision becomes impossible, the adult supervisor must make an
				  immediate referral to DCYF as well as notifying DHS.
h. If the pregnant minor/minor parent fails
				  or refuses to cooperate with the adult supervisor and makes regular adult
				  supervision impossible, the adult supervisor must report the non-cooperation to
				  DHS.
F.
				  Approvable Living Arrangements
1. Examples of
				  allowable adult-supervised supported living include, but are not limited to:
a. Maternity homes;
b. DCYF-licensed foster homes;
c. Independent Living with full-time adult
				  supervision; and
d. Other
				  DCYF-certified arrangements.