Pennsylvania Code › Title 55 - HUMAN SERVICES › Part II - Public Assistance Manual › Subpart C - Eligibility Requirements › Chapter 153 - DEPRIVATION OF SUPPORT OR CARE › DEPRIVATION OF SUPPORT OR CARE PROVISIONS FOR TANF › Section 153.44 - Procedures

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
(a)
Absence
					 from the home.
The following procedures relate to absence from the
					 home:
(1) "Continued absence" will be
					 considered to exist whenever the parent is a convicted offender permitted to
					 live at home while serving a court-imposed sentence by performing unpaid public
					 work or unpaid community service during the workday.
(2) When the eligibility of a child for TANF
					 is based on deprivation due to "continued absence," the Application for Support
					 Services form will be completed at the time assistance is authorized for the
					 child and forwarded to the Bureau of Claim Settlement Child Support Liaison
					 Agent assigned to the CAO for processing as specified in paragraph
					 (1).
(3) There must be proof that a
					 parent is absent from the home and there must be evidence that the absence of
					 the parent deprives the child of, or interrupts the child's receiving support,
					 care or guidance.
(4) If it is
					 verified that a parent is absent for one of the reasons listed in paragraph
					 (6), the absence will be considered to interfere with the child's receiving
					 support, care or guidance from the parent. No further evidence on this point
					 will be necessary.
(5) Proof of the
					 circumstances in the subparagraphs of this paragraph consists of the statement
					 of the applicant or recipient supported by other valid evidence. Examples of
					 acceptable evidence are divorce decrees; court orders; official court
					 statements; and official letters from the penal institution or other
					 institution, hospital, and the like. Acceptable evidence of marital separation
					 consists of documentation that husband and wife live at different addresses due
					 to marital discord. Circumstances which establish absence are:
(i) Divorce.
(ii) Pending divorce.
(iii) Desertion.
(iv) Marital separation.
(v) Hospitalization.
(vi) Imprisonment, including a person who is
					 a convicted offender permitted to live at home while serving a court-imposed
					 sentence by performing unpaid public work or unpaid community service during
					 the workday. A person so sentenced is not considered part of the assistance
					 unit and is not eligible to receive assistance.
(vii) Other institutionalization.
(6) Whenever the CAO finds that a
					 parent is absent from the home, and not for one of the specific reasons listed
					 in paragraph (5), for purposes of eligibility for TANF there must be evidence
					 that temporarily or permanently the parent is not taking responsibility for the
					 support, care or guidance of the child.
(7) Deprivation due to absence does not exist
					 if the absence of the parent from the home is due solely to the parent's
					 performance of active duty in a uniformed service. Deprivation due to absence
					 may be established only if there is evidence that absence for one of the
					 specific reasons listed in paragraph (6) exists.
(8) If pieces of evidence in a case show
					 conflicting information, the county staff will decide which is most reliable;
					 and the decision and the reason for it will be recorded.
(9) Whenever a person applies for assistance
					 on behalf of a child living with him and either or both parents are absent from
					 the home, the CAO shall assure itself that the absent parent or parents have
					 the opportunity to participate in planning for the child unless circumstances
					 make it inadvisable or impossible. If the person applying indicates that the
					 absent parent or parents are not interested in taking part in planning for the
					 child or that it would be inadvisable or impossible for the parent to do so,
					 the CAO will require the person applying to produce some evidence of this
					 fact.
(10) For requirements
					 relating to establishing paternity and securing support from a putative father
					 or from parents who are absent from the home, see Chapter 187 (relating to
					 support from relatives not living with the client).