(1) You can get temporary assistance for needy families (TANF) or state family assistance (SFA) for a child you live with if you are responsible for the care and control of the child and you are the child's:

(a) Parent or other relative as defined in WAC 388-454-0010;

(b) Court-ordered guardian or court-ordered custodian; or

(c) Other adult acting in loco parentis (in the place of a parent).

(2) If a child lives with more than one relative or parent because the relatives share custody of the child:

(a) We include the child in the assistance unit (AU) of the parent or relative that the child lives with for the majority of the time; or

(b) If relatives share physical custody of the child in equal amounts, we include the child in the AU of the parent or relative that first applies for assistance for the child.

(3) If you or the child in your AU is temporarily absent from the home according to WAC 388-454-0015 and 388-454-0020, you can still get TANF or SFA during the absence.

(1) In Loco Parentis caregiver means:

(a) You are acting as a parent for a child living with you;

(b) The child is not related to you; and

(c) You do not have a court order that gives you legal custody or guardianship of the child.

(2) You are required to complete a financial interview to determine eligibility of the child in your care, per WAC 388-400-0005.

(3) You are eligible to receive a TANF/SFA grant for the child in your care as long as:

(a) The child meets all of the criteria under WAC 388-400-0005;

(b) You, and all adults 18 years of age or older, residing in the household must complete, sign, and provide the department a background check authorization form.

(4) In addition to the cash grant, you will be offered a voluntary assessment from the department to discuss the child's needs. The assessment may include a home visit. During the assessment, you will receive a referral to resources in your local community to provide support for the child in your care.

(5) If the background check or the assessment with the department raises concerns of child abuse or neglect, per RCW 26.44.030 the department will make a report to the department of children, youth, and families for the safety of the child.

(6) With regard to In Loco Parentis applicants, the department must do the following:

(a) Determine financial eligibility;

(b) Notify the child's parents of the approval of the TANF/SFA assistance per WAC 388-454-0025;

(c) Provide the caregiver information of exemptions under WAC 388-422-0020 from the requirement to cooperate with the division of child support on collection of child support from the non-custodial parents, where there are safety concerns for the caregiver or the child;

(d) Process the background check of all adults 18 years of age or older residing in the household and evaluate the findings for suitability and competency to care for the child in your home;

(e) Accept a certificate of parental improvement, from the In Loco Parentis applicant, as described in WAC 110-05-0001, and not considering the related finding of child abuse or neglect in the background check;

(f) Provide a voluntary assessment, voluntary home visit, and offer resources to the child in the home of the In Loco Parentis caregiver.

To get TANF or SFA, a child must live with a parent, other relative, court-ordered guardian, court-ordered custodian, or other adult acting in loco parentis.

(1) We consider the following people as parents for TANF and SFA:

(a) The child's natural or adoptive parent; or

(b) A stepparent who is legally obligated to support the child.

(2) We consider a man as a child's natural father if the relationship is:

(a) Made under a judgment or order under RCW 26.26.130 that set the relationship between the parent and child; or

(b) Presumed under the Uniform Parentage Act (chapter 26.26 RCW).

(3) When a child lives with a relative, the relative must be one of the following relationships to the child in order for that child to be eligible for TANF or SFA:

(a) The following blood relatives (including relatives of half blood) or their spouses: Siblings, first cousins (including first cousins once removed), nephews and nieces, and persons of earlier generations (including aunts, uncles and grandparents) as shown by the prefixes of great, great-great, or great-great-great;

(b) A natural parent whose parental rights were terminated by a court order;

(c) A stepparent who no longer has to support the child because:

(i) The child's natural or adoptive parent died; or

(ii) Divorce or dissolution ended the marriage between the stepparent and the child's natural or adoptive parent.

(d) A step sibling even if the marriage between the step sibling's parent and the child's natural or adoptive parent ended by death, divorce or dissolution.

The temporary absence policy described in this WAC applies to the temporary assistance for needy families (TANF) and state family assistance (SFA) programs. In some situations, a child receiving TANF/SFA can continue to be eligible for TANF/SFA cash assistance when there is a temporary separation of the child and the child's caregiver. There must be a clear expectation the absence is temporary and the child is expected to be reunited with the family. Temporary absences can't exceed one hundred eighty days except as described in (1)(a).

(1) For recipients, temporary absences include, but are not limited to:

(a) A caregiver receiving care in a hospital, substance abuse treatment facility, or other medical institution. If the temporary care exceeds one hundred eighty days, the assistance payment for the person is reduced to the CPI amount specified under chapter 388-478 WAC.

(b) Out-of-home visits less than one hundred eighty days, when the caregiver is still responsible for the support and care of the child.

(c) A caregiver or child attending school or training as described in WAC 388-454-0020.

(d) Placement of a child in foster care or in the care of a relative or other adult, including when the child's primary caregiver is in a residential treatment facility. The division of children and family services (DCFS) must place the child and determine the child is expected to return to the primary caregiver within one hundred eighty days of the placement.

(2) For applicants, temporary absences include:

(a) When the child is placed in unlicensed foster care or in the care of a relative or other adult and DCFS expects the child will return to the home within one hundred eighty days of removal. Benefits can also be approved for an applicant if DCFS determines that the child will be in the care of the applying adult within thirty days of authorizing assistance even if the child has been out of the home for over one hundred eighty days.

(b) When the child is out of the home because of illness or hospitalization and the absence isn't expected to exceed one hundred eighty days.

(3) For situations described in (1)(d) and (2)(a) of this WAC, concurrent TANF or SFA cash assistance can be made for the child, only when DCFS places the child in the temporary care of an unlicensed-relative, other caregiver, or in foster care. DCFS must expect the child return to the home of the primary caregiver in one hundred eighty days.

(a) When the child goes into licensed foster care, the TANF/SFA grant to the parent continues.

(b) When the child goes into unlicensed care, whether with a relative or other caregiver, the TANF grant to the parent continues and the caregiver can also get a TANF grant.

(4) Situations that do not meet the criteria of a temporary absence include, but aren't limited to:

(a) The caregiver or child is incarcerated for any length of time.

(b) The child ran away and there is no clear expectation of when the child will be returning home.

(c) A caregiver or child is away attending school and doesn't meet the criteria outlined in WAC 388-454-0020.

(5) A caregiver must report within five days of learning that a child's absence is going to be greater than one hundred eighty days as required under WAC 388-418-0005 and 388-418-0007.

A child or caretaker is temporarily absent from the home to attend school or training when:

(1) The child's caretaker is attending a department approved vocational training program; or

(2) The child attends school or training away from home, as long as:

(a) The child returns to the family home during a year's period, at least for summer vacation; and

(b) The absence is necessary because:

(i) Isolation of the child's home makes it necessary for the child to be away to attend school;

(ii) The child is enrolled in an Indian boarding school administered through the Bureau of Indian Affairs; or

(iii) Specialized education or training is not available in the child's home community and is recommended by local school authorities.

(1) The department makes a reasonable effort to contact the parent with whom the child last lived when we find out that a child applying for assistance lives with someone other than the child's parent. We tell the parent:

(a) Within seven days of the date we approve assistance for the child;

(b) How to ask for family reconciliation services from the department; and

(c) How to request the child's address and location as allowed under WAC 388-428-0010.

(2) We do not notify the parent when there is evidence to support a claim that the parent has abused or neglected the child.