Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 49, December 7, 2024
Section 151.44 - Procedures(a)Determination of actual responsibility. The determination of actual responsibility will be made in accordance with the following: (1) If the child is living with more than one relative, the county staff shall determine which relatives actually are exercising responsibility for care and control of the child. Since specified relatives are the parents or those acting in place of the parents, two persons of opposite sex who are sharing responsibility for the care and control of a child will both be specified relatives. The Federal government participates financially in payments for only one specified relative, except that when one specified relative is an incapacitated parent or unemployed principal earner parent of the child, the Federal government also participates in payments for the spouse of the parent. A parent in this context means a natural or adoptive parent. A spouse is a person legally married, either by civil or religious ceremony or under common-law. A common-law marriage exists when the parties living together are legally free to marry, that is, single, divorced or widowed, and are living as husband and wife by mutual agreement. A common-law marriage may exist if a man and woman are living together and are considered as husband and wife by the community.(2) The question of who is exercising responsibility shall be considered as often as the situation demands, for responsibility sometimes shifts.(b)Specified relative as a resource. The determination of a specified relative as a resource will be made in accordance with the following:(1) To determine the need of the child living with a parent, reference shall be made to Chapter 183 (relating to income). If the child is living with another specified relative, the county staff will discuss with the relative the reason the child needs financial aid, the help the relative is giving the child and is willing to continue to give, or the responsibility he is willing to assume for meeting the needs of the child. Past maintenance provided the child by the relative which is no longer available will have no effect on the current eligibility of the child for assistance.(2) In determining the needs of the child, the resources considered will be those the child actually has, those that are the child's legally and those the child has a claim to. Eligibility of a child who has a legal claim to property, real or personal, will depend on a specified relative's agreement to apply for it and make it available for the use or reimbursement of the child as provided in Chapter 257 (relating to reimbursement).The provisions of this § 151.44 amended March 30, 1984, effective 3/31/1984, 14 Pa.B. 1087; amended April 12, 1991, effective 5/1/1991, 21 Pa.B. 1557; amended August 16, 1991, effective 8/17/1991, 21 Pa.B. 3699.The provisions of this § 151.44 amended under sections 201 and 403(b) of the Public Welfare Code (62 P. S. §§ 201 and 403(b)).