Title 7 . Health and Social Services

Chapter 45 . Hearings

Section 610. Sixty-month time limit; extension

7 AAC 45.610. Sixty-month time limit; extension

(a) When implementing the provisions of AS 47.27.015 (a)(1) regarding application of the 60-month time limit on assistance under ATAP, the department will extend the period of eligibility in accordance with the procedures and criteria in this section and will regularly review all relevant circumstances of each family for which the department has granted an extension, to determine the family's eligibility for continuing the extension.

(b) If a family includes more than one parent, the family is considered to have reached the 60-month limit if any of the adult parents has received cash assistance for that period under ATAP or another state's program, under a tribal family assistance program, or under a combination of those programs, where the program or programs were operated under the federal TANF grant program. In such a family that has reached the 60-month limit, each adult parent must meet at least one of the extension criteria stated in AS 47.27.015 (a)(1) in order to continue receiving ATAP benefits.

(c) Upon a family's request, the department will conduct an extension review to determine the eligibility of the family for an extension of the 60-month limit in AS 47.27.015 (a). This review will be conducted by a staffing team that will include the family's case manager and other persons the department determines appropriate. The team shall document issues that are keeping the family from becoming self-sufficient, recommend activities to address those issues, determine whether the family meets the criteria for an extension, and, if the family does, recommend the length of time until the next extension review. The department will develop or modify an FSSP to incorporate the team's recommendations.

(d) The department will extend, under AS 47.27.015 (a)(1)(A), the 60-month limit for a caretaker relative or pregnant woman if the department determines (1) that the caretaker relative or pregnant woman is or recently has been a victim of domestic violence; and (2) as a result of domestic violence, the victim's physical, mental, or emotional well-being would be endangered by a strict application of the 60-month limit, as evidenced by the person's inability to participate in work activities as defined in AS 47.27.900 or to accept or retain employment at a level that allows the family to be self-sufficient. The written or oral statement of the caretaker relative or pregnant woman is sufficient to establish that the individual is a victim of domestic violence. If appropriate, the department will make the extension determination in consultation with a domestic violence program.

(e) The department will extend, under AS 47.27.015 (a)(1)(B), the 60-month limit for an individual who is physically or mentally unable to perform gainful activity. For the purpose of applying AS 47.27.015 (a)(1)(B), the individual must meet the criteria in 7 AAC 45.235.

(f) The department will extend, under AS 47.27.015 (a)(1)(C), the 60-month limit for an individual who is providing care for a child who is living in the home and experiencing a disability. For the purpose of applying AS 47.27.015 (a)(1)(C), "parent" in that provision means caretaker relative; and "child who is experiencing a disability" means a dependent child who has a medical disability, either physical or mental, as verified by a written statement of a physician or psychiatrist or by other relevant documentation such as receipt of social security disability benefits or supplemental security income for the child. The child's disability must, in the written opinion of a physician or other licensed medical or health care practitioner, require a level of care that interferes with the parent's ability to participate in work activities as defined in AS 47.27.900 or to accept or retain employment at a level that allows the family to be self-sufficient.

(g) The department will extend, under AS 47.27.015 (a)(1)(D), the 60-month time limit for a family experiencing "hardship," as defined in 7 AAC 45.990(c) . For the purpose of applying AS 47.27.015 (a)(1)(D), the department will grant an extension when circumstances outside the family's control prevent the caretaker relative from participating in work activities or becoming self-sufficient and the loss of ATAP benefits would result in conditions that threaten the family's health or safety. As used in this subsection,

(1) "circumstances outside the family's control" includes

(A) a specific catastrophic event meeting the criteria for a formal disaster declaration under state or federal law that affects the family in a way that reasonably prevents self-sufficiency;

(B) an adult in the family who has a documented functional impairment that interferes with the individual's ability to earn a wage sufficient to support the family; and

(C) an adult living in the family's home who is related within the fifth degree of consanguinity to the caretaker relative and who has a medical disability, either physical or mental, as verified by a written statement of a physician or psychiatrist or by other relevant documentation such as receipt of social security disability benefits or supplemental security income for the adult; that adult's disability must, in the written opinion of a physician or other licensed medical or health care practitioner, require a level of care that interferes with the caretaker relative's ability to participate in work activities as defined in AS 47.27.900 or to accept or retain employment at a level that allows the family to be self-sufficient;

(2) "conditions that threaten the health or safety of the family" includes one or more of the following conditions in which the family

(A) will not have sufficient income or resources to provide for housing, food, transportation, or other essential needs;

(B) does not have access to support from any other source to meet essential needs;

(C) does not have access to appropriate child care or other employment supports needed to maintain employment;

(D) will be unable to stay together if ATAP benefits are ended;

(E) is working with the department for the safe return of a child temporarily removed from the home or for the prevention of removal of a child from the home, and that effort would be disrupted if ATAP benefits are ended, resulting in the child being at risk of placement in emergency shelter or foster care; and

(3) a "functional impairment" is a condition in which the individual has limited capability for attaining employment at a level that allows the family to be self-sufficient; that condition may be documented by work history that shows limited earning potential, evidence provided by a licensed medical or health care practitioner showing a medical or mental health condition that prevents self-sufficiency, or information from screenings and formal assessments; indicators of functional impairment include the following:

(A) the individual's work history showing that the individual has been unable to obtain, retain, or advance in employment at a level that allows the family to achieve self-sufficiency;

(B) the individual's history of regular full-time employment, but inability to support the family at the current wage or to advance in employment enough to enable the family to achieve self-sufficiency;

(C) screenings, assessments, or other evidence that provides additional information about the nature and severity of problems and conditions that limit the family's ability to be self-sufficient.

(h) A family that receives ATAP benefits due to an extension under AS 47.27.015 (a)(1) shall continue to comply with its FSSP. If the family is granted an extension under AS 47.27.015 (a)(1)(A) - AS 47.27.015 (a)(1)(C), failure to comply with the FSSP subjects the responsible individuals to the penalties set out in 7 AAC 45.980. If the extension is granted under AS 47.27.015 (a)(1)(D), failure, without good cause, to comply with the FSSP will result in termination of the extension or denial of further extension.

(i) If it appears that a family might qualify for an extension under AS 47.27.015 (a)(1) and the department determines that additional information or an assessment is needed, the department will allow a limited extension for the time necessary to obtain that information or perform that assessment and to make the decision on the family's eligibility for a further extension.

History: Eff. 6/27/2002, Register 162; am 1/7/2005, Register 173

Authority: AS 47.05.010

AS 47.27.005

AS 47.27.015

AS 47.27.030