1335 Living with a Specified Relative

Georgia State Seal

Georgia Division of Family and Children Services
TANF Policy Manual

Policy Title:

Living with a Specified Relative

Effective Date:

May 2024

Chapter:

1300

Policy Number:

1335

Previous Policy Number(s):

MT 56

Updated or Reviewed in MT:

MT-77

Requirements

A child must be living in the home with a relative who is receiving cash assistance on the child’s behalf.

Basic Considerations

Living Arrangements

A home includes the following:

  • family residence

  • homeless shelter

  • battered women’s shelter

  • substance abuse treatment facility

  • other group living facilities. This list is not all-inclusive.

A child is not considered to be living in the home with a specified relative when the child or relative is in one of the following facilities:

  • detention facility such as a jail, prison, Regional Youth Detention Center, Youth Detention Center,

  • public institution for the treatment of mental disease,

  • private residential childcare institution such as the Georgia Baptist Children’s Home, the United Methodist Children’s Home, or the Georgia Sheriffs' Youth Homes.

Temporary Absence

When the relative or the child is temporarily absent from the home because of treatment or training, the child is considered to be living with the relative if the following criteria are met:

  • the absence is temporary, with a plan for the relative or the child to return to the home,

    AND

  • the relative continues to exercise care and control of the child.

Treatment or training may be received at locations such as schools, colleges, substance abuse treatment facilities, hospitals, private psychiatric facilities, and Job Corps facilities.

Joint Custody

When the parents of a child share custody, the child must reside in the home of the parent at least half of the time in order to be considered living with that parent. The time the child spends with the other parent is considered a visit.

Relationship

Relationship is established by one of the following:

  • birth

  • ceremonial or common-law marriage

  • legal adoption

  • legal guardianship.

Refer to the glossary for the definition of a valid common law marriage. The common law marriage must have existed prior to July 1, 1997.

The following relationships meet the relationship requirement:

  • parent (either by birth, legal adoption, or step relationship)

  • grandparent (up to great-great-great)

  • sibling (half, whole, step)

  • aunt/uncle (up to great-great)

  • niece/nephew (including child and grandchild of niece/nephew)

  • first cousin

  • first cousin once removed (the child of a first cousin)

  • legal guardian

  • spouse of any person named in the above group even after the marriage is terminated by death or divorce, unless the child is born after termination of the marriage.

The spouse of a stepparent or the spouse of a stepsibling is not within the specified degree of relationship.
Refer to Section 1315, Deprivation.

An individual who is not related to the child for whom assistance is requested, but who has legal guardianship, either temporary or permanent, is eligible to receive TANF for the child. Legal guardianship is assigned by a court, such as a family court, according to state laws.

A legal guardian may choose to be included in the AU or may receive TANF benefits for the child as payee only. However, the relatives of legal guardians are not within the specified degree of relationship.

Adoption

When a child is adopted, the adoptive family assumes the new relationships created by the adoption. However, adoption or severance of parental rights does not terminate the blood relationship for specified relatives. Therefore, biological siblings of an adopted child remain the siblings.

For TANF purposes the new adoptive relationship will take precedence over the blood relationships. The biological siblings will no longer be tied to the Standard Filing Unit.

A biological parent whose parental rights have been terminated or who has a child who has been adopted, continues to meet the relationship requirement but is treated as a non-parent relative.

Biological siblings of the child who has been adopted will continue to meet the relationship requirement.

Emergency Payee

An unrelated individual may be designated as an emergency payee for a period not to exceed three months.

Refer to Chapter 1900, TANF Issuance

Verification and Documentation

The AU’s statement is accepted in determining who lives in the household, unless information provided conflicts with other information known to the agency.

If living arrangements are questionable, one of the following sources of verification is used:

  • a statement from the landlord

  • a statement from persons outside the AU who have knowledge of the AU’s situation

  • school records

  • any other source which verifies the AU’s statement.

The relationship of the child to the relative is traced by recording the names and relationships of all direct and/or intermediate relatives.

Refer the non-custodial individual most likely to be the parent of the child-to-Child Support Enforcement. Paternity does not have to be verified. Case Notes must be documented with how the child is related.

The AU’s statement of relationship is accepted unless information known to the agency conflicts with the AU’s statement or is otherwise questionable.

The AU’s statement is accepted in determining degree of relationship except for legal guardianship. Legal guardianship must be verified.

Verification Sources

If relationship is questionable, one of the following sources of verification is used:

  • adoption record

  • affidavit of persons present at the birth

  • baptismal or other church record

  • birth certificate of the child, relative and the intermediary relative

  • census record

  • court record

  • family Bible

  • insurance record

  • marriage record

  • medical record

  • school record

  • social security record

  • vital statistics record

  • will

  • other reliable genealogical record

  • letter of legal guardianship.

Documentation

The following information must be documented:

  • AU’s statement of relationship and living arrangements

  • source of verification, if questionable.

The following chart indicates if a child in a special situation meets the living arrangement criteria:

Chart 1335.1 - Living with a Specified Relative
SITUATION TREATMENT

The adult relative is absent from the home because of treatment or training.

The child meets the living with a specified relative criterion when all of the following conditions exist:

  • the absence is temporary, with a plan for treatment or training to return the adult relative to the home,

    AND

  • the adult relative continues to exercise care and control of the child,

    AND

  • the adult relative wants to receive cash assistance during the absence.

Treatment or training may be received at locations such as schools, colleges, general hospitals, private psychiatric facilities, substance abuse treatment facilities, nursing homes, and Job Corps facilities. This list is not all-inclusive.

The child does not live with the adult relative if either of the following conditions exist:

  • The adult relative is incarcerated

  • The adult relative is in a public institution.

The AU resides in a shelter.

The AU meets the living arrangements criteria in facilities such as homeless or battered women and children shelters as for any other group of related individuals who live together.

The child lives with an individual who has legal custody but who is not a legal guardian and is not within the degree of relationship.

The child does not meet the living with specified relative criteria and is not eligible.

The child is absent from the home because of treatment or training.

The child meets the living with a specified relative criterion when all of the following conditions exist:

  • the absence is temporary, with a plan for treatment or training to return the child to the home

    AND

  • the care and control of the dependent child continue to be the responsibility of the caretaker relative

    AND

  • the caretaker or other eligible adult relative wants the child to be included in the AU.

Treatment or training may be received at locations such as schools, colleges, general hospitals, private psychiatric facilities, substance abuse treatment facilities, nursing homes, and Job Corps facilities. This list is not all-inclusive.

The child does not meet the living with a specified relative criterion if the following conditions exist:

  • The child is incarcerated, including placement in a detention facility.

  • The child is placed in a public institution.

  • The child is placed in a private residential childcare institution such as the Georgia Baptist Children’s Home, the United Methodist Children’s Home or a Georgia Sheriffs' Youth Home.

The only child(ren) receives SSI.

The child’s eligibility is determined on all points other than financial need.

The eligible caretaker and other eligible adult relative (if applicable) are eligible. The SSI child cannot be included in the AU when determining eligibility for cash assistance.

The income and resources of an SSI child are not considered in the eligibility determination.

The child is in and out of the home.

The child meets the living with a specified relative criterion when the absence is to be temporary and care and control of the child remains with the adult relative.

The child who appears to reside in the home based on any of the following indicators meets the living arrangements criteria:

  • The child has no other address.

  • The child lists the home as his/her address.

A child who visits the home does not meet the living arrangements criteria.

The parents have joint custody

The child meets the living with specified relative criteria as long as the child resides for more than half the time in the home of the parent who is applying.

The parent is in and out of the home.

The child meets the living with a specified relative criterion if the following are met:

  • The parent has no other residence.

  • The parent lists the home as his/her address.

  • The parent shares in household expenses.

A parent who appears to visit the home based on any of the following does not meet the living with criteria:

  • The parent does not share in household expenses.

  • The parent has a specific time frame for his/her visits.

  • The parent maintains another residence.

The parent lives in the home with the child and a specified relative who has legal custody of the child (parental rights have not been terminated).

The child meets the living with a specified relative criteria based on the parent.

The relative with legal custody may be designated as the payee if it is not in the best interest of the child for the parent to be payee.

The stepparent lives in the home

AND

the stepparent has no children of his or her own living in the home.

The child meets the living with a specified relative criterion if one of the following situations exists:

  • There is not a parent living in the home.

  • The parent in the home receives SSI.

The child does not meet the criteria based on the stepparent if a non-SSI parent lives in the home.

The child lives with an individual who has legally adopted the child, parental rights have been terminated and the biological parent(s) live in the home with the adoptive parent and the child.

The adopted child’s biological siblings also live in the home.

The child meets the living with a specified relative criterion based on the legal adoption. The biological parent (s) will be considered non-parent relative (s) and will not be included in the AU. The adoptive parent will receive TANF benefits for the child.

Biological siblings are no longer part of the new TANF AU’s SFU. Adoption has terminated previous AU.

The Legal Adoption is terminated, and the child comes to live with his/her biological parent(s) and siblings.

The child meets the living with a specified relative criterion based on biological parent(s). Adoption does not terminate blood relationship.

Eligible biological siblings must be included in the same AU with the child.

Procedures

Follow the steps below to determine if the dependent child lives with a specified relative:

Step 1

Identify the dependent child for whom assistance is requested.
Step 2

Establish that the child lives in the home.
Step 3

Identify the relationship to the child of the individual requesting assistance. Document how maternal and paternal relationships were traced.
Step 4

Refer non-custodial parent to Child Support Enforcement to establish paternity.