Section 218-RICR-20-00-2.4 - The Assistance Unit2.4.1Persons Included in the Assistance UnitA. The assistance unit consists of the group of persons living together in a single household who are included in the application for assistance and in the assistance payment if eligibility is established.B. An application on behalf of a dependent child must include as applicants, certain relatives living in the same household as the dependent child. If otherwise eligible, the individuals specified below must be included in the assistance filing unit. 1. "Otherwise eligible" means that an individual meets the non-financial requirements for cash assistance such as age, residence, citizenship, enumeration, etc., and is not ineligible, for example, due to receipt of SSI or the imposition of a sanction. When applied to the assistance unit, "otherwise eligible" indicates that the unit is eligible by virtue of meeting all requirements for cash assistance.2. Parents. Any biological or adoptive parent living in the same household as the dependent child must be included in the assistance unit. In two-parent cases, both parents must be included in the unit if otherwise eligible. If the biological or adoptive parent is married, her/his spouse must also be included in the assistance unit.3. Siblings a. Blood-related or adoptive brothers and sisters living in the same household as the dependent child must also be included in the assistance unit if they meet the age and deprivation requirements. Brothers or sisters of half-blood must also be included.b. The children of a stepparent must also be included in the unit.4. Minor Parents. A minor parent may be in the assistance unit which may also include all natural, step, or adoptive parents of the minor parent and all minor blood-related, step or adoptive brothers and sisters.5. Custody. If the parents are not residing together, a child shall be considered residing with the parent who has legal custody and physical possession of the child the majority of the time, as outlined in a court order. If legally established that the child resides with the parents in their separate households, equal time, the parent who applies for cash assistance for that child, first in time, shall be the eligible parent.2.4.2Income and ResourcesA. All of the income and resources of individuals required to be included in the assistance filing unit and of those whom the parent has opted to include must be considered in determining eligibility and the amount of the assistance payment.B. A child with Retirement, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (RSDI) benefits, for example, may not be excluded from the assistance unit merely by virtue of receipt of those benefits. Moreover, if s/he is a member of the unit, the benefits must be counted in the eligibility determination.2.4.3Persons Excluded from the Assistance UnitA. Parents and siblings must be included in the assistance unit unless they are otherwise ineligible for cash assistance.B. Individuals excluded from the assistance unit include the following categories. 1. SSI Recipients. The income and resources of an SSI recipient, including the SSI itself, are not counted as the income and resources of a cash assistance unit.2. Non-citizens not meeting non-citizen requirementsa. An applicant or participant must be a United States citizen, or must meet the non-citizen requirements established in Pub. Law 104-193 §402(b) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA). United States citizen is defined, and non-citizen requirements are described in detail, in §2.5.6 of this Part.b. Non-citizens considered ineligible solely because they do not meet non-citizen requirements are excluded. The income and resources of ineligible non-citizen family members must be counted in determining the assistance unit's eligibility and payment amount. The work expense and dependent care disregards are applied to earned income and an amount is allocated to meet the non-citizen's own needs by subtracting the cash assistance standard for a plan size excluding the non-citizen from the standard for a plan size including the non-citizen.c. If the ineligible non-citizen who is a parent has dependents also ineligible solely because they do not meet non-citizen requirements, an amount is allocated to meet their needs, as well, by using the methodology specified above. The net income is then applied to the needs of the cash assistance unit. See § 2.17 of this Part for further discussion.3. Non-citizens Ineligible Due to Sponsorshipa. Non-citizens who are sponsored by an individual are subject to income deeming. See §2.17.4 of this Part.4. Parents a. Parents and other assistance unit members ineligible either because they are statutorily barred or disqualified as a result of the imposition of a sanction for failure to cooperate, e.g., with the child support enforcement program, are excluded from receipt of income.b. The income and resources of statutorily barred parents are counted in determining the assistance unit's eligibility and payment amount. Their income and resources are counted as outlined in §2.15.9 of this Part.c. The income and resources of a disqualified individual, parent, or child, shall be counted in determining the assistance unit's eligibility and payment amount. None of the earned income disregards is applied, and no amount is allocated to meet the ineligible individual's own needs. See §2.15.9 of this Part for further discussion.d. Both statutorily barred and disqualified individuals who are eligible to work are required to cooperate with RI Works program work requirements. Parents who receive SSI and undocumented non-citizen parents are not required to enter into an employment plan, except that parents who are undocumented and apply for an extension to cash assistance on the basis of hardship, are required to have employment plans that address the conditions that led to the hardship request as well as to determine whether there is a pathway to legal status.5. Parents and Siblings with Lump Sum Incomea. Parents and other assistance unit members previously eligible but currently ineligible for cash assistance due to receipt of lump sum income are excluded. Some members of the same household, not affected by the receipt of such income, may be eligible for cash assistance. (See §2.15.6 of this Part for further discussion.) The income of those members of the household ineligible due to receipt of lump sum income, insofar as the income is already allocated to meet the needs of the ineligible members, is not counted in determining the assistance unit's eligibility and payment amount.b. However, additional income of a parent or other assistance unit member received during the period of ineligibility and not factored into the determination of that period, is counted in determining the eligibility and payment amount of a newborn or other additional member of the household for whom cash assistance is requested and for whom the parent has a support obligation.c. Further, the resources of a parent, even though excluded from the assistance unit, are always considered available to a dependent child in the same household; thus, non-excluded resources of the parent in excess of five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) render the child ineligible for cash assistance.d. When an excluded individual becomes eligible to receive cash assistance, e.g., a sanction is cured, s/he must be included in the assistance unit. In order to end penalties for failure to comply with his or her employment plan, the individual must meet the requirements outlined in §2.11.14 of this Part. For child support enforcement sanction cures, the individual should be included in the payment beginning on the date of compliance with the child support agency.2.4.4Optional Inclusion in the Assistance UnitThe parent(s) of an adopted child(ren) for whom the parent receives adoption subsidy payments has the option to include or exclude such child(ren) from the assistance filing unit upon application for benefits. If the parent(s) includes the child(ren) in the assistance unit, any and all income and/or resources (including any adoption subsidy payments) of the adoptive child must be used to calculate eligibility for, as well as the amount of, assistance to which the household may be entitled. Exclusion of the adopted child (and the income/resources of the adopted child) does not disqualify the parent from eligibility.
2.4.5Ineligibility of Incomplete Assistance UnitA. Failure to include an individual required to be in the assistance unit or to provide information (e.g., failure of an ineligible non-citizen to provide income information) necessary for determining eligibility and amount of cash assistance results in ineligibility for the entire assistance unit. In either situation, the agency has insufficient information to determine the eligibility of the unit. The Department may assist the participant in obtaining information if necessary.B. Any payment made to an ineligible assistance unit constitutes an overpayment and must be recovered.2.4.6Parent in home who is not Providing CareA. When the natural or adoptive parent is in the home, the Department presumes that the parent is functioning as the caretaker relative, i.e., the parent is providing day-to-day care and control of her/his minor dependent child.B. However, this presumption may be rebutted by another adult living in the home.C. DHS has the responsibility to make the final determination as to which adult is actually functioning as the caretaker relative.D. If DHS determines that a parent is unable to provide day-to-day care of the child and that another relative is providing such care, the assistance unit consists of the dependent child, the adult parent (if otherwise eligible), and the relative of proper degree of relationship (see §2.5.3 of this Part) who is providing the day-to-day care of the child. The non-parent caretaker relative is not required to be the legal guardian of the dependent child.E. An otherwise eligible parent must continue to be included in the assistance unit even though s/he is not functioning as the caretaker.F. If otherwise eligible, the needs of all three (3) persons in this situation would be included in the cash assistance payment.G. The following guidelines are offered to assist DHS eligibility staff in making the factual determination of whether or not the parent is providing for the day-to-day care of the child. Such determinations involve two (2) steps:1. An applicant's statement that s/he is actually caring for the child despite the presence of a parent in the home; and2. Documentation to support the contention that the natural/adoptive parent is incapable of providing care. Acceptable forms of documentation are:a. Evidence of physical or mental inability on the part of the parent to care for the child as supported by receipt of RSDI, SSI, Veterans Administration benefits due to total disability, Workers Compensation, or Medicaid, etc.; orb. Evidence from another agency (e.g., DCYF, BHDDH, DOC, licensed mental health agency, licensed substance abuse treatment facility) or evidence from a treating physician or mental health professional, that the parent is not able to function as the caretaker; orc. Evidence that the non-parent caretaker is providing day-to-day care such as school records or day care records which list the caretaker as the contact person; medical or dental records which indicate that the caretaker has scheduled appointments for the child; or the presence in the home of a homemaker or home health aide to care for the parent at any time during the last six (6) months; ord. Payment to the caretaker relative of the child's other income such as child support, RSDI, SSI, etc.; ore. Appointment of the caretaker relative as guardian, custodian, or conservator by a court of appropriate jurisdiction; orf. Any other evidence provided by the applicant verifying that s/he is providing day-to-day care and control of the dependent child.218 R.I. Code R. 218-RICR-20-00-2.4
Adopted effective 1/6/2019
Amended effective 2/16/2020
Amended effective 2/27/2022
Amended effective 11/11/2022
Amended effective 8/26/2023
Amended effective 11/4/2023