Unrestricted payment of assistance - Exceptions

1. The usual method of providing assistance under this chapter is through payments by check, direct deposit, or credit on account, immediately redeemable at par, made to the caretaker relative or legal guardian at regular intervals, with no restrictions on the use of the funds. This practice is followed because recipients of assistance do not, by virtue of their need for assistance, lose the capacity to select how or when the needs of the household are met. If the caretaker relative or other members of the household manage funds in a manner that is clearly detrimental to members of the household, or if the caretaker relative is subject to sanction for nonconformance to program requirements, protective payments may be used to assist the household in financial management. 2. a. A determination that there is a detrimental mismanagement of funds may be based on: (1) Continued failure to plan for and make necessary expenditures during periods for which assistance is provided; (2) Continued failure to provide children in the household with proper food, clothing, or housing so as to threaten the chances of those children for healthy growth and development; (3) Persistent failure to pay the cost of rent, food, utilities, school supplies, or other essentials; (4) Repeated loss of housing due to nonpayment of housing costs; or (5) Repeated failure to pay debts that result in attachments of or levies against current income. b. The fact that debts are not paid on a timely basis may not be the sole basis for a determination that there is detrimental mismanagement of funds unless relevant factors, including the following, have been considered: (1) Whether the family has experienced an emergency or extraordinary event that reasonably required the expenditure of funds ordinarily used to meet the needs of the household; (2) Whether reasonable payments on necessarily incurred debt exceed the family's income; or (3) Whether the family has withheld payment on a debt as a part of a legitimate dispute concerning the amount of the debt or the terms or performance of a contract out of which the debt arises. 3. a. The human service zone may select, appoint, and remove a protective payee to receive and manage a household's cash grant. In making a selection, the human service zone shall consider any individual nominated by the caretaker relative. b. The protective payee is a fiduciary responsible for assuring that the cash grant is expended to achieve the maximum reasonable benefit for the assistance and for working cooperatively with the human service zone. c. The protective payee may be furnished information about the household, from the human service zone's records, sufficient to allow the protective payee's role to be carried out. The information furnished to the protective payee under this section remains confidential information subject to the provisions of North Dakota Century Code section 50-06-15. d. The status of a household for which a protective payee has been appointed must be reviewed by the human service zone as often as necessary, but no less often than every six months, to determine if: (1) The protective payee is performing satisfactorily; (2) The household should be restored to unrestricted money payment status; and (3) Some other arrangement should be sought for the care of children who are members of the household.