SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES

(Economic Services Administration)

[Filed January 10, 2019, 10:50 a.m., effective March 1, 2019]

Effective Date of Rule: March 1, 2019.

Purpose: The department is amending WAC 388-408-0025 When can I choose who is in my TANF or SFA assistance unit?, to disregard the relationship between siblings and half-siblings, when the adult applying for a child-only grant has no legal responsibility for the child(ren).

Citation of Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 388-408-0025.

Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.057, 74.08.090.

Adopted under notice filed as WSR 18-21-176 on October 23, 2018.

Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

Number of Sections Adopted at the Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's own Initiative: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.

Number of Sections Adopted using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.

Date Adopted: January 8, 2019.

Katherine I. Vasquez

AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 05-02-017, filed 12/27/04, effective 1/27/05)

WAC 388-408-0025When can I choose who is in my TANF or SFA assistance unit?

If you are a child's parent or other caretaker relative (a relative who cares for the child's basic needs as defined in WAC 388-454-0010), use the table below to find who you may choose to include or exclude in your TANF or SFA AU. If you include a child in your AU, it could cause you to get more or less benefits. If someone is not allowed in the AU under WAC 388-408-0020, you cannot choose to include them in your TANF or SFA AU.

(1) If you are the parent of the child, you may choose whether or not to include:	(a) Yourself in the AU if the child gets SSI; and (b) The child in the AU if: (i) You already receive TANF or SFA; (ii) You are not married to the child's other parent; and (iii) The child lives with both parents.
(2) If you are not the child's parent, and do not live with the parents of the child, you may choose to:	(a) Include yourself if you are a relative defined in WAC 388-454-0010; (b) Include someone else that cares for the child and is a relative defined in WAC 388-454-0010; or (c) Receive a grant for the child only and: (i) Exclude a full, half, or adoptive sibling if that sibling: (A) Receives income; or (B) Would otherwise cause the household to be ineligible, with the exception of noncompliance sanction.
(3) If you are the child's parent or caretaker relative, you may choose whether or not to include any of the following children:	(a) Brothers or sisters of a child who gets SSI; (b) Stepsisters and stepbrothers of a child; and (c) Other children that are not the child's brother or sister.