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TANF Non-Financial Eligibility - Oklahoma

To be eligible for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), families must not only meet the TANF Financial Eligibility criteria, but they must also meet the Non-Financial Eligibility criteria detailed below.

Age of Child

The family must include a child under the age of 19. See TANF and SSI for information about including a child with disabilities in the TANF Assistance Unit or choosing Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

Deprivation

Must be deprived of parental support or care of at least one natural or adoptive parent(s) due to:

· death;

· physical or mental incapacity;

· unemployment of the principal wage earner; or

· continued absence from the home and failure to provide maintenance, physical care, or guidance.

Residence

Individuals must be making their home in Oklahoma. Individuals whose residence has been established in Oklahoma do not lose residency status when they are removed from Oklahoma against their will and held in another state, as for example, in federal prison, or have been out of the state to make use of a federal facility, or to attend school. Individuals are not required to have a fixed address. Individuals who lack a fixed or regular residence, or who have temporary accommodations, are considered as homeless.

Relationship

A child must be living with a person who is related within the fifth degree of kinship. It is only when the child is living with a person of one of these degrees of relationship that there is an eligible payee for the TANF benefit.

· Related by blood: Blood lines remain intact and are not changed by decisions of legal responsibility. Blood relatives, including half blood, are:

o parent(s) including a natural parent even if the child is legally adopted and deprivation is based on the absence of the adoptive parent(s);

o siblings;

o grandparent(s) including those denoted by prefixes of great, great-great, and great-great-great;

o aunt(s) and uncle(s) including those denoted by the prefixes of great and great-great;

o niece(s) and nephew(s) including those denoted by prefixes of grand and great-grand; and

o first cousin(s) and first cousin(s) once removed.

· Related by marriage: Kinship is determined as denoted under "Related by blood" above, whether the marriage is common-law or ceremonial. Included are step-relations. Kinship by marriage is included even after the marriage is terminated by death or divorce.

· Related by adoption: Kinship is determined as denoted under "Related by blood" and "Related by marriage" above.

For details see: TANF Structure of the Assistance Unit

Social Security Numbers

It is mandatory that a social security number be applied for or provided for each person for whom a TANF application is made. The individual's needs can be included in the cash assistance with a 25% penalty reduction of the payment standard until a social security number is applied for or provided for that individual(s). The 25% penalty is removed effective the date the social security number is applied for or provided.

School Attendance

School attendance is a condition of eligibility. It is required for all Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) children from the age they are eligible for kindergarten through 18 years of age unless the children are home educated according to the Oklahoma constitution and statutes. General Education Development (GED) and alternative high schools meet this requirement. If it is determined the children are not attending school, the cash assistance must be reduced by 25% of the payment standard. The 25% penalty is removed effective the date the caretaker relative provides documentation the children are attending school.

Immunization

Immunization of all minor children two months of age or older is a variable condition of eligibility. Caretaker relatives must provide proof of current immunization. If the minor child is attending a licensed child care center or home or is enrolled in a parochial, private, or public school, no further proof of immunization is required as each of these entities require immunization as a condition of attendance. If after six months the caretaker relative, without good cause, has failed to provide proof of immunization for the minor children, the cash assistance must be reduced by 25% of the payment standard.

Citizenship and Alien Status

To be included in a TANF benefit individuals must either be a citizen of the United States or a "qualified alien" who entered the United States before August 22, 1996. Those who entered on or after that date are not eligible for TANF for a five-year period beginning on the entry date unless they were admitted as a refugee, granted asylum, are Cuban, Haitian, or an Amerasian immigrant, or other status listed in OAC 340-10-15-1. If you are connected to the Internet, you can find the regulations at: OK Department of Human Services Policy

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