TAFDC Time-limited Benefits

(A) A nonexempt grantee, including each grantee in a two-parent family, who is receiving TAFDC or who would be receiving TAFDC but for a TAFDC sanction, may only receive TAFDC for a maximum of a cumulative 24 months in a continuous 60-month period. The ineligibility shall apply to all members of the assistance unit. (1) The initial continuous 60-month period begins on the date an assistance unit first becomes eligible for TAFDC. The maximum cumulative 24-month period in a continuous 60-month period begins on the date that an exempt grantee becomes nonexempt, or the date a nonexempt grantee first becomes eligible for TAFDC, whichever is later. (2) An assistance unit shall be considered to be receiving TAFDC if it: (a) receives a TAFDC grant; (b) has a grantee participating in the Full Employment Program or supported work; or (c) receives TAFDC benefits through vendor payments. (3) The calculation of a nonexempt grantee’s cumulative 24-month period shall stop when: (a) the entire assistance unit is ineligible, including ineligibility as the result of a sanction; (b) the grantee becomes exempt as specified in 106 CMR 703.100; or (c) the assistance unit voluntarily withdraws from TAFDC. The calculation of the cumulative 24-month period resumes when the grantee becomes nonexempt in the same continuous 60-month period. (4) A nonexempt grantee’s cumulative 24-month period is not stopped when there is a sanction period imposed on a member of the assistance unit, except as specified in 106 CMR 703.120(A)(3)(a). (5) The calculation of the 60-month period cannot be stopped. (6) If aid to the assistance unit has been terminated because of the end of the cumulative 24- month period, the assistance unit may establish eligibility for TAFDC before the end of the continuous 60-month period if the grantee meets an exemption found at 106 CMR 703.100. (7) At the end of a continuous 60-month period, a nonexempt grantee may reapply for TAFDC and begin a new cumulative 24-month eligibility period and a new continuous 60- month period. (8) In a two-parent household, both parents shall have the same 60-month period. If, because of a prior period of assistance, both parents do not share the same start date of their 60-month period, the earliest date shall apply to the household. (B) Exception. (1) A teen parent (see 106 CMR 703.180) who received assistance as a member of another TAFDC assistance unit may reapply for TAFDC, if he or she meets the teen parent requirements found at 106 CMR 703.180, and: (a) he or she is not eligible to be included in another assistance unit; or (b) the other TAFDC case is closed. (2) At the time of the reapplication, the worker shall determine if the teen parent meets an exemption specified in 106 CMR 703.100, and: (a) if the teen parent meets an exemption, the assistance unit will be exempt from the time-limited benefits defined in 106 CMR 703.120(A); or (b) if the teen parent does not meet an exemption, the teen parent is nonexempt and the time-limited benefits defined in 106 CMR 703.120(A) will apply. (D) Verification for a Waiver of the 24-month Period. (1) The preferred verification of death is the death certificate. If the death certificate cannot be obtained, death is verified by a signed statement from the funeral director or a newspaper death notice. If these are not available, death is verified by the following: (a) Veterans Administration (VA) records; (b) Hospital records; (c) Records of other medical or long-term care institutions; (d) Military service records; (e) Police records; or (f) Social Security Survivor's Benefits (RSDI). (2) a written report from a physician that verifies the incapacity and the inability of the child's custodial parents to care for the child; (3) documentation that the legal custody or guardianship of the child has been transferred to the other parent or a relative; (4) written documentation from the penal institution verifying the incarceration of the custodial parents and the dates of incarceration and expected release, if any; or (5) written documentation from the institution where the custodial parent is institutionalized, as well as the date of admission and expected date of discharge, if any.