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IMA POLICY MANUAL
PART IV: NON-FINANCIAL ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
CHAPTER 1: GROUP COMPOSITION
| MA |
N/A
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| TANF |
N/A
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| GC |
N/A
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| FS |
FS The following policies describe living situations which must meet specific requirements to allow eligibility.
- A boarder is a person residing in a licensed commercial boarding house who pays a fee to a person or group of people for housing and meals. Boarders are ineligible for FS as a separate group. If the boarder does not pay a reasonable amount for meals provided, the boarder must be included in the FS group consisting of the household that provides the boarder services. If the boarder pays a reasonable amount for meals provided, the group that provides the boarder services can choose whether or not to include the boarder in its FS group. Boarder status shall not be granted to individuals otherwise required to be included in the FS unit. If the boarder is excluded from the FS unit, the amount paid to the household providing boarder services less reasonable expenses is treated as self-employment income (see Section 4.40: Self-Employment in Part VI).
- A live in attendant who lives in the group's home to provide housekeeping, medical or child care, or similar personal services may form a separate group if s/he purchases and prepares food separately from other household members. Persons who take someone into their own home to provide such services are not considered live in attendants. Spouses, parents, children, and siblings cannot be live in attendants for one another, regardless of the actual situation.
- A roomer is a person to whom the group furnishes lodging, but not meals, for compensation. A roomer may apply for FS as a separate group if s/he purchases and prepares meals separately.
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The SSR should determine if someone has left the group permanently or is only temporarily absent. If the person has left the group permanently, then the SSR should remove the person from the group and adjust the benefit level when appropriate. If the individual who left the group wishes to apply for assistance as his/her own group, s/he must re-apply for program benefits.
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| MA |
A person's absence is temporary if:
- The individual's location is known, there is a definite plan to return home when the purpose of the absence has been accomplished, s/he continues to make his/her home in D.C., and s/he does not establish residency in another state; or
- the absence is for vacations, medical conditions, business trips, school attendance, or family commitments. An absence outside the United States may also be a temporary absence.
A person who is in and out of the home is considered to be living in the home provided another residence has not been established and his/her possessions remain in the home.
A newborn who remains in the hospital is considered to be living with the mother unless the hospital certifies that the baby will never be released to the home, the baby is made a ward of the District, or someone else obtains legal custody.
Verification of absences of more than 30 days is mandatory to determine if the individual is returning to the home.
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| TANF |
See MA. In addition, the 'living with' requirement (see Section 1.10: Living With and Living Together in this Chapter) continues to be met when either the child or caretaker is temporarily absent if:
- the caretaker continues to exercise responsibility for care and control of the child;
- the family has definite plans to unite; and
- the caretaker or child’s absence has lasted, or is expected to last, 90 days or less.
Assistance will be denied to any minor child who is absent from the home or is expected by the parent or caretaker relative to be absent from the home without good cause in excess of 90 days.
A parent or caretaker relative who fails to notify the Department on a timely basis of the absence or the expected absence of a minor child from the home for a period in excess of 90 days shall be disqualified from program participation for three consecutive payment months (the child now absent from the group must also be removed from the group) effective the first month the change can be made (adequate and timely notice is required). Notification of an absence expected to last more than 90 days must be provided to the Department within a five-day period, which begins on the date that it becomes clear to the parent or caretaker relative that the minor child will be absent in excess of 90 days.
The absent child remains eligible if an absence of more than 90 days is due to good cause. Good cause is defined as:
- training, including the Job Corps;
- schooling, including schools which also provide medical care;
- treatment in a residential center for drug/alcohol addiction;
- hospitalization, including newborns who remain in the hospital after the mother is discharged, unless:
- the hospital indicates that it is unlikely that the baby will ever be released to the home,
- the baby is made a ward of the District, or
- someone else obtains legal custody of the baby; and
- a situation in which joint or shared custody or a visitation order exists which requires the child to be out of the home for more than 90 days, but the applicant/customer is expected to maintain a home for the child. This exception applies as long as the child is not in an assistance unit with the other parent in D.C. or any other jurisdiction.
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| FS |
FS A member of a FS group must be in the household at least one day during the month to be considered part of the FS stamp unit. |
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