PERMANENT RULES
SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES
(Economic Services Administration)
Date of Adoption: April 1, 1999.
Purpose: GA-S becomes a TANF program effective May 1, 1999. The sixty-month time limited will apply to pregnant women with no other eligible children effective May 1, 1999.
Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 388-400-0020 and 388-484-0005.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 74.04.005, 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.057, and 74.08.090.
Adopted under notice filed as WSR 99-04-102 on February 3, 1999.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 2, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 2, Repealed 0. Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.
April 1, 1999
Edith M. Rice
for Marie Myerchin-Redifer, Manager
Rules and Policies Assistance Unit
2532.2(1) To be eligible for general assistance for pregnant women (GA-S), a woman must:
(a) Meet the requirements of WAC 388-462-0005; and
(b) Meet the general assistance citizenship/alien status requirements under WAC 388-424-0005(3); and
(c) Be in financial need according to temporary assistance for needy families (TANF) income and resource rules in chapters 388-450, 388-470 and 388-488 WAC; and
(d) Provide a Social Security number as required under WAC 388-476-0005; and
(e) Reside in the state of Washington as required under WAC 388-468-0005.
(2) A woman is not eligible for GA-S if she:
(a) Is eligible for or her needs are being met by the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program TANF or state family assistance (SFA);
(b) Is under sanction for failing to comply with SSI requirements;
(c) Fails or refuses to cooperate without good cause in obtaining SSI; or
(d) Fails or refuses to cooperate in obtaining TANF or SFA. This includes disqualifications for:
(i) Convictions for misrepresenting residence to obtain assistance in two or more states as specified under chapter 388-446 WAC;
(ii) Convictions for drug-related felonies and failing to complete drug treatment as specified under chapter 388-442 WAC;
(iii) Failing to report a child's absence within five days of becoming reasonably certain the absence will exceed ninety days as specified in chapter 388-418 WAC; or
(iv) Failing to meet school attendance requirements for unmarried teen parents as specified under chapter 388-486 WAC.
(3) The assistance unit for a woman applying for or receiving GA-S will be established according to WAC 388-408-0010.
(4) Unmarried pregnant or parenting minors who are not emancipated under a court decree must meet the living arrangement requirements of WAC 388-486-0005.
(5) A pregnant woman in an institution may be eligible for GA-S as specified under WAC 388-230-0080.
(6) Effective May 1, 1999, GA-S cash benefits will count toward the sixty-month time limit as specified under WAC 388-484-0005.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.057 and 74.08.090. 98-16-044, § 388-400-0020, filed 7/31/98, effective 9/1/98.]
2533.3(1) ((A family is not eligible for TANF or SFA if the family includes an
adult who has received TANF or SFA for sixty months after August 1, 1997.
(2) In calculating the number of months an adult family member has received TANF or SFA, a month is not counted if the adult received assistance:
(a) As a minor child who was not the head of a household or married to the head of a household. A minor child is not the head of a household when residing with a parent, legal guardian, or other adult relative, or living in a department-approved living arrangement under the supervision of a nonrelated adult; or
(b) When living in Indian country, as defined under 18 U.S.C. 1151, or an Alaskan Native village, if during the months the individual received TANF or SFA at least fifty percent of the adults living on the reservation or in the village were unemployed.
(3) An adult who has received fifty-two months of TANF or SFA may be exempted from the five-year time limit for reasons of hardship or family violence if the total number of exempted cases does not exceed twenty percent of the average monthly number of TANF and SFA cases statewide during a fiscal year)) What is the sixty-month time limit?
The sixty-month time limit is a lifetime limit of cash benefits for TANF, SFA, and GA-S. The time limit applies to any combination of these cash benefits.
(2) When does the sixty-month time limit start?
The sixty-month time limit starts August 1, 1997 for TANF and SFA and May 1, 1999 for GA-S.
(3) Who does this time limit apply to?
The sixty-month time limit applies to any needy caretaker relative(s) as defined in WAC 388-454-0010.
(4) Are there any exceptions to the time limit?
A month does not count towards the sixty-month time limit when:
(a) Unmarried pregnant or parenting minors live in a department approved living arrangement as defined by WAC 388-486-0005.
(b) Living in Indian country, as defined under 18 U.S.C. 1151, or an Alaskan Native village, if during the months the needy caretaker relative(s) received TANF, SFA, or GA-S cash benefits at least fifty percent of the adults living on the reservation or in the village were unemployed.
(5) What happens if a member of my assistance unit has received sixty months of TANF, SFA, and GA-S cash benefits?
The entire assistance unit becomes ineligible for TANF, SFA, or GA-S cash benefits once any member has received sixty months of these benefits.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.057 and 74.08.090. 98-16-044, § 388-484-0005, filed 7/31/98, effective 9/1/98.]