AFDC Eligibility – AFDC relatedness refers to the requirement that for a child to be

AFDC Eligibility – AFDC relatedness refers to the requirement that for a child to be classified as Title IV-E eligible, s/he must have some relationship to the general AFDC program authorized under Title IV, Part A IV-A. This relationship can be established if any one of the following criteria is met: 1. In the month the child was removed from the home, the child was in an active AFDC case; 2. In the month the child was removed from the home, the child would have been eligible for AFDC had an application been made; or 3. In the six (6) months prior to the month the child was removed from the home, the child was living with a qualified relative and would have been eligible for AFDC if an application had been made. For those children who have the potential to have been AFDC eligible at the time of removal, if the program still existed, but there exists the potential that these children could be Title IV-E eligible if application were made, the following AFDC eligibility conditions still apply: Age, Enumeration, Residence, School Attendance, Citizenship, Living in the home of a specified relative, Deprivation, Need as determined by resources and income of the family unit. Age – The age limit for Title IV-E funding is eighteen (18) years of age, depending on the option of the state. Enumeration – The application for and disclosure of a Social Security account number is a technical factor of eligibility. Residence – The child must be a resident of the state of Mississippi. Residents of Mississippi are people who are voluntarily living in Mississippi with the intention of making their home here. Compulsory School Attendance – Compulsory school age children must attend school and documentation of attendance must be maintained in the case record. Compulsory school age child is a child who: 1. Has attained, or will attain, the age of six (6) years on or before September 1 of the calendar year; 2. Who has not attained the age of seventeen (17) years on or before September 1 of the calendar year; and 3. Includes any child who has attained, or will attain, age five (5) on or before September 1 and is enrolled in a full-day public school kindergarten program. Citizenship and Alienage – The child must be a citizen of the United States or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence or otherwise residing in the United States under color of law. If the child is an alien, the case record must have verification that the child is a legal alien. Living with a Specified Relative – If a child was not removed from a parent, s/he had to have been living with another relative who comes within the fifth degree of relationship. The child and relative must live together in a place of residence maintained by the relative as his/her home. The child must also have qualified for AFDC during the month the child came into custody. Deprivation – A child is deprived of the support of one of his parents when there is: 1. Parental absence from the home due to: a. Lack of marriage, voluntary separation, desertion, or divorce. b. A parent living at an address separate and apart from the child except when: i. the parent left home to seek or accept employment or ii. the parent is absent solely because of active duty in the uniformed service of the United States. c. A continued absence when a parent is out of the home and the nature of the absence is such that it terminates or interrupts that parent’s functioning as a provider of maintenance, physical care, or guidance for the child. d. The known or indefinite duration of the absence precludes the child from relying on the parent’s support and care of the child, thus increasing the responsibilities of the caretaker relation with whom the child lives. 2. Incapacity is a condition of deprivation which is applicable to the physical or mental incapacity of one or both parents. Medical documentation and a medical review are required for a determination of incapacity if the parent is not receiving a disability type of assistance, such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security. 3. Death of a parent must be verified with supporting evidence such as a death certificate or verification from Social Security, etc. that the child(ren) receives survivor’s benefits. 4. Unemployment of principal wage earner – When both parents are in the household at the time of removal and neither are disabled or employed, MDCPS can make a determination as to whether the principal wage earner is unemployed. MDCPS must have verification of wages/unemployment for the past two years to determine the primary wage earner. Needs – determined by resources and income of the family unit. 1. The amount of real and personal property that can be reserved for the child’s family unit cannot exceed $10,000 per family unit. 2. The initial eligibility budget to determine the household’s income will include the family unit which consists of the legal parent(s) and any siblings under the age of eighteen (18) who live in the household from which the children were removed.