Title 7 . Health and Social Services

Chapter 45 . Hearings

Section 990. Definitions

7 AAC 45.990. Definitions

(a) Unless the context indicates otherwise, in this chapter,

(1) "activity" means one or more "work activities," as that term is defined in AS 47.27.900 ;

(2) "AFDC" means the Aid to Families with Dependent Children assistance program formerly administered by the department under former AS 47.25.301 - 47.25.420, and includes the JOBS program under former AS 47.25.421 - 47.25.429;

(3) "ANCSA" means the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act set out in 43 U.S.C. 1601 - 1629h;

(4) "APA" means the Adult Public Assistance program under AS 47.25.430 - 47.25.615, administered by the department, that provides monthly cash assistance to eligible aged, blind, and disabled persons in need; for purposes of this chapter, "APA" does not include interim assistance under AS 47.25.455 ;

(5) "applicant" means an individual who has signed and submitted an application to the department for ATAP assistance on behalf of that individual, a dependent child, or other qualified recipient;

(6) "assistance unit" means those individuals described in 7 AAC 45.335;

(7) "ATAP" means the Alaska Temporary Assistance Program administered by the department under AS 47.27;

(8) "caretaker relative" means an individual who provides the care and control of a dependent child; a "caretaker relative" does not include a guardian, friend, neighbor, unrelated godparent, second cousin of a dependent child, or an individual who has been given a dependent child to take care of; a caretaker relative must be

(A) a biological or legally adoptive relative of the dependent child to the fifth degree of consanguinity; a biological relative must be of full or half blood; a biological relative may be a caretaker relative even though the legal relationship has been terminated;

(B) a stepfather, stepmother, stepbrother, or stepsister of the dependent child; or

(C) the spouse of an individual described in (A) or (B) of this paragraph, even after the marriage is terminated by death or divorce;

(9) "child support services agency" means the child support services agency of the Department of Revenue;

(10) "commissioner" means the commissioner of the Department of Health and Social Services;

(11) "countable income" means the countable income of an assistance unit as determined under 7 AAC 45.470(b) ;

(12) "department" means the Department of Health and Social Services;

(13) "dependent child" or "dependent children" means the same as in AS 47.27.900 ;

(14) "director" means the director of the division of the department that is responsible for administering ATAP under this chapter;

(15) "district office" means the office of the department division that is responsible for administering ATAP under this chapter;

(16) "domestic violence" has the meaning given in AS 18.66.990 ;

(17) "DVR" means the division of vocational rehabilitation, Department of Labor and Workforce Development;

(18) "economic unit" means those persons who reside together and whose separate income and resources are considered to be available to each other under 45 C.F.R. 233.20 and this chapter;

(19) "family" has the meaning given "assistance unit" in this section.

(20) "fee agent" means a department-paid volunteer who is authorized by the department to conduct a face-to-face interview with an applicant and assist an applicant in completing an application and related forms;

(21) "FSSP" means the family self-sufficiency plan required by AS 47.27.030 and 7 AAC 45.257;

(22) "GED" means general educational development, leading to testing and a diploma, recognized by the Department of Education and Early Development;

(23) "home" means the family setting maintained, or in the process of being established, as evidenced by assumption and continuation of responsibility for day-to-day care of the child by the caretaker relative with whom the child is living; a home exists as long as the relative exercises responsibility for the care and control of the child, even though the child or the caretaker relative is temporarily absent from the family setting;

(24) "household" means the individuals who reside together under one roof;

(25) "identifiable application" means an application described in 7 AAC 45.150;

(26) "licensed medical or health care practitioner" means an individual who is legally authorized to practice a medical profession in the state under the licensing provisions and exceptions set out in AS 08;

(27) "minor parent" means a parent who is an applicant described in AS 47.27.027 (a);

(28) "month" means a calendar month unless otherwise specified in this chapter;

(29) "motor vehicle" means a motorized vehicle used to provide transportation of persons or goods; "motor vehicle" includes a car, truck, recreational vehicle, all-terrain vehicle, boat, snow machine, airplane, helicopter, superlight or ultralight aircraft, and hovercraft; "motor vehicle" does not include a pickup truck shell or camper that is designed to be mounted on a car or truck;

(30) "occupation" means work that offers a regular source of paid employment;

(31) "parent" means a child's natural or legally adoptive father or mother;

(32) "PMB" means prior month budgeting, as described in 7 AAC 45.360;

(33) "provider" means a public or private organization or agency that delivers an activity to a participant;

(34) "recipient" means an individual who has been found eligible to receive, and is receiving, ATAP benefits;

(35) "resource" means cash, or an asset that can be converted to cash, and includes

(A) real estate;

(B) cash on hand; cash on deposit; and other liquid resources such as a promissory note, stock, bond, or security that is readily convertible to cash;

(C) a life insurance policy, burial insurance policy, or a prepaid burial contract;

(D) a United States government savings bond or treasury note; a municipal or government bond; or a corporate bond, stock, or security;

(E) the portion of a lump sum payment received by the applicant or recipient, that is treated as a resource rather than income under this chapter; a lump sum payment includes a large termination paycheck, insurance policy cash-in, and inheritance;

(F) a motor vehicle; and

(G) all household goods and personal effects;

(36) "sponsor" means a person who agrees in writing to support an alien as a condition of the alien's entry into the United States and the alien is not the child of the sponsor or the sponsor's spouse;

(37) "SSI" means the supplemental security income program that is administered by the United States Social Security Administration and that provides monthly cash assistance to eligible aged, blind, and disabled individuals in need;

(38) "stepparent" means a person who is not a child's natural or adoptive parent, but who is legally married to a natural or adoptive parent of the child;

(39) "suitable employment" means employment that complies with AS 23.10.050 - 23.10.150 (Alaska Wage and Hour Act) or produces self-employment income derived from products or services in demand within the marketing region;

(40) "TANF" means the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families;

(41) "Title IV-E" means Title IV-E of the Social Security Act, and refers to payments made under 42 U.S.C. 670 - 673;

(42) "total gross monthly earned income" means the total of an individual's gross monthly earned employee income that is available to an assistance unit, calculated in accordance with 7 AAC 45.435, and the gross monthly earned self-employment income that is available to an assistance unit, calculated in accordance with 7 AAC 45.445;

(43) "total gross monthly income" means the sum of an assistance unit's available total gross monthly earned income and the available total monthly unearned income;

(44) "tribal family assistance program" means a program, including an Alaska Native family assistance program under ch. 96, SLA 2000, that meets the requirements of 42 U.S.C. 612 and has been approved for financing through a tribal family assistance grant directly from the United States Department of Health and Human Services;

(45) "tribal organization" has the meaning given in 25 U.S.C. 450b;

(46) "UIB" means the unemployment insurance benefits program administered by Department of Labor and Workforce Development under AS 23.20;

(47) "work activities" has the meaning as given in AS 47.27.900 .

(48) "WIA" means the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2801 - 2945).

(b) In AS 47.27.015 , "voluntary separation" means

(1) voluntary termination of employment by an employee;

(2) intentional misconduct by an employee on the job, causing the employer to terminate the employment; or

(3) failure of an employee to show up for work as scheduled.

(c) In AS 47.27.015 , 47.27.025, and 47.27.035, "hardship," "undue hardship," and "unreasonable hardship," respectively, are equivalent terms that mean that a family experiences circumstances outside of its control that 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 health or safety of the family.

(d) In AS 47.27, "participant" means a recipient of ATAP benefits, including a recipient who is participating in work activities under AS 47.27.035 . In this chapter, "participant" means an ATAP recipient who is participating in work activities under AS 47.27.035 in accordance with a family self-sufficiency plan developed under AS 47.27.030 .

History: Eff. 8/5/92, Register 123; am 7/28/95, Register 135; am 7/1/97, Register 142; am 10/1/97, Register 143; am 12/6/98, Register 148; am 6/27/2002, Register 162; am 1/7/2005, Register 173

Authority: AS 47.05.010

AS 47.27.005

AS 47.27.900

Editor's note: As of Register 142 (July 1997), in addition to adding new definitions, the definitions in 7 AAC 45.990(a) were rearranged to re-establish full alphabetical order.

As of Register 151 (October 1999), the regulations attorney made technical revisions under AS 44.62.125 (b)(6) to reflect the name change of the Department of Labor to the Department of Labor and Workforce Development made by ch. 58, SLA 1999 and the corresponding title change of the commissioner of labor.

As of Register 151 (October 1999), the regulations attorney made technical revisions under AS 44.62.125 (b)(6) to reflect the name change of the Department of Education to the Department of Education and Early Development made by ch. 58, SLA 1999, and the corresponding title change of the commissioner of education.

As of Register 171 (October 2004), and acting under AS 44.62.125 (b)(6) and sec. 12, ch. 107, SLA 2004, the regulations attorney made technical changes to reflect the name change of the child support enforcement agency to the child support services agency made by sec. 1, ch. 107, SLA 2004.

As of Register 173 (April 2005), the definitions in 7 AAC 45.990(a) were rearranged to re-establish alphabetical order.