(a) Each applicant/recipient shall meet each of the eligibility factors to be eligible for POWER. - (i) The following persons are potentially eligible:
- (B) A natural or adoptive parent including one (1) who is married to a stepparent.
- (C) A caretaker relative who is in need.
- (D) A stepparent who is the only caretaker relative of a natural, step or adopted child in the home and who is in need.
- (E) A two (2) parent family or a married couple with at least one (1) child in common in the home.
- (F) A parent, even if she/he has a child in the home receiving SSI.
- (G) A child, even if she/he is in the home of a parent who receives SSI.
- (H) A minor parent(s) who has a child in his/her care and who resides in the household of a parent or in a supervised setting with an adult relative or court appointed guardian or custodian.
- (I) A minor parent shall be referred to the Child Protection Services within DFS in the following situations:
- (1.) When the minor parent claims no residency is available with a parent, an adult relative or court appointed guardian or custodian. The minor parent and dependent child(ren) are not eligible for a performance payment until the living situation is resolved.
- (2.) When the only available household contains an individual convicted of or charged with incest and the charges have not received final disposition. The minor parent and dependent child(ren) are potentially eligible for a performance payment.
- (ii) An eligible person(s) cannot be any of the following:
- (A) A person(s) who is receiving SSI.
- (B) A person(s) who is an inmate in a public institution.
- (C) A person eligible for and receiving Title IV-E or other federal, state or local foster care maintenance payments, including a voluntary placement.
- (D) A child for whom adoption assistance payments are provided.
- (E) An applicant/recipient, case or person for the month the needs have been covered by cash assistance by another entity or in another state (TANF payments cannot be received concurrently).
- (F) An assistance unit when a member is participating in a strike.
- (G) Any individual who:
- (II) Is a parole violator; or
- (III) Is an illegal alien.
- (iii) Residency.
- (A) Each person applying for POWER shall be a resident of Wyoming, which includes:
- (I) A child living with a caretaker relative who is a resident of Wyoming; or
- (II) A caretaker relative who:
- (1.) Is living in the state voluntarily, with the intention of making her/his home here and not for a temporary purpose; and
- (2.) Is not receiving cash assistance from another state.
- (B) Residence continues until it is established elsewhere by the individual.
- (C) A lack of a permanent dwelling or lack of a fixed or home address does not act as a barrier to receipt of a performance payment as long as Wyoming residency requirements are met.
- (iv) Age.
- (A) Each child shall be between birth and less than age 18; or
- (B) If age 18, the child shall be attending high school full-time and expected to graduate before reaching age 19.
- (v) Educational requirements.
- (A) The parent(s) of a child, including a minor parent, age 15 and under or who has not yet completed the 10th grade shall require the child or minor parent to be currently enrolled and physically attending school full-time.
- (B) A child, including a minor parent, age 16 or older or who has completed the 10th grade and not graduated shall be:
- (I) Currently enrolled and physically attending high school full-time; or
- (II) Complying with the work program performance requirements.
- (C) A performance payment shall not be authorized for the performance period when compliance with the child educational Pay-After-Performance requirements under (A) and (B) above are not met.
- (D) To continue to be eligible, a child age 18 and a minor parent of any age in the assistance unit shall be:
- (I) Currently enrolled and physically attending high school full-time; and
- (II) Maintaining a "C" or equivalent cumulative grade point average.
- (E) A child age 18, excluding a minor parent, shall be expected to graduate from the school or program before reaching the age of 19 to continue to be included in the family's performance payment.
- (F) A dependent child who is not required to comply with the work requirements shall be eligible when not attending school because of official vacations, illness, convalescence, or family emergency involving an immediate family member and the absence is temporary.
- (G) A dependent child who is required to comply with the work requirements shall seek and accept employment during summer breaks if not enrolled in summer school full-time.
- (vi) SSN. Each applicant/recipient shall:
- (B) Acknowledge the SSN has been received from SSA on a Third Party Query (TPQY) or a SSA 1610;
- (C) Provide verification the SSN was applied for at the hospital at the time of birth of the child;
- (D) Provide a receipt from SSA showing application has been made for an SSN; or
- (E) Reapply for assistance within two (2) years of termination and the SSN has been previously validated with evidence which is still available in the case record.
- (vii) Each applicant shall provide identification prior to being found eligible.
- (viii) Each applicant/recipient shall be a U.S. citizen or qualified alien as defined by law, and shall provide verification of citizenship or alien status.
- (ix) The applicant/recipient shall be a relative of the child(ren) and:
- (A) Lives with the child; and
- (B) Is the primary caretaker of the child(ren).
- (C) Living with a relative eligibility factor remains even if the child is temporarily absent from the home.
- (I) During the temporary absence, the POWER payment for the child will not be continued when a child is in foster care, including a voluntary placement.
- (x) Every child and parent (eligible or ineligible), unless receiving SSI, and every eligible caretaker shall meet the following asset requirements:
- (A) All the combined assets of the assistance unit will not exceed the limit of $5,000, excluding the vehicles exempted under (E).
- (B) The cash value, unpaid principal or fair market value less legal encumbrances shall be used to determine the equity value of the nonexempt resource.
- (C) The applicant/recipient shall obtain two (2) appraisals from knowledgeable sources when the value of the resource(s) causes ineligibility and is disputed by the applicant/recipient.
- (D) The asset shall not be exempted when exempt and nonexempt funds are commingled.
- (E) Assets that are specifically exempt from the asset limit are listed in Appendix A and as otherwise provided by law.
- (F) The asset is nonexempt when it is owned by the parent, the eligible caretaker relative or the eligible child(ren) or any person who would otherwise be included in POWER except for a disqualification.
- (G) The asset is available when:
- (I) No legal barrier or restriction exists;
- (II) The document shows it is owned solely by the applicant /recipient;
- (III) The applicant/recipient can withdraw funds, sell the asset or owned interest in the asset or dispose of the asset in any way; and
- (IV) The asset is owned by more than one (1) person but the applicant/recipient can access the asset, or a portion of the asset, without the permission of the co-owner(s) even when a statement of refusal to sell is furnished.
- (H) The asset shall be considered unavailable when:
- (I) More than one (1) signature is required to withdraw or convert all or part of the asset to available cash and the co-owner(s) refuses to withdraw or convert.
- (II) The applicant/recipient was unaware of his/her ownership in the asset and did not have the opportunity to become aware of it.
- (1.) The applicant /recipient bears the burden of proving each member of the assistance unit was unaware of the asset and none had the opportunity to become aware of it.
- (2.) The asset shall be considered unavailable only for the period of time for which the individual can demonstrate such unawareness or lack of opportunity to become aware of the existence of the asset.
- (I) If the asset is located out of Wyoming, the laws in that state shall apply.
- (J) Assets acquired or that increase during the performance payment month shall be evaluated as of the first day of the following performance payment month.
- (K) The assets of the sponsor, and the sponsor's spouse, are deemed to be 100% available to the alien. These are deemed until the alien(s) becomes a citizen or until 40 qualifying quarters of work without receipt of government benefits exist.
- (L) A transfer of a nonexempt asset for less than fair market value which occurred within the three (3) months prior to application shall be exempt if the transfer was:
- (I) A settlement of a legally enforceable debt;
- (II) Clearing the title to property in which the applicant had no beneficial or enforceable interest;
- (III) The equity in property which was owned jointly, and through a court action the other owner was granted the equity in the property; or
- (IV) The property was an exempt asset at the time of transfer.
- (M) The penalty for transferring the nonexempt portion of a asset, when the applicant/recipient cannot provide proof the transfer occurred for reasons other than gaining or maintaining eligibility, shall be determined as follows:
- (I) Determining the equity amount by deducting the amount of the lien(s) and the unpaid principal of the mortgage or loan existing against the property from the transferred uncompensated value;
- (II) Dividing the uncompensated equity value by the maximum payment amount for the assistance unit size; and
- (III) The resulting whole number shall be the number of full months the assistance unit shall be ineligible.
- (IV) The ineligibility shall begin with the month the transfer occurred.
- (N) The conversion of an exempt or a nonexempt asset to cash shall be considered an asset and the proceeds shall be within the asset limit to remain eligible for POWER.
- (xi) The income eligibility factor shall be met by the assistance unit.
- (A) The total income available and each source of income received by the following individuals shall be reviewed and a determination made as to whether the income is considered earned, unearned, exempt or nonexempt:
- (II) The ineligible stepparent;
- (III) The eligible caretaker relative;
- (IV) The eligible child(ren);
- (V) The ineligible child(ren) in the assistance unit;
- (VI) The parent(s) of the minor parent; and
- (VII) All disqualified family members.
- (B) The following shall be used to determine if income is available to the assistance unit:
- (I) Applicant /recipient shall apply for and accept income for which they would be eligible if they applied (i.e. RSDI, SSI, Unemployment Insurance, Workers' Compensation, veterans' benefits, or child support). Foster Care Maintenance Payments are excluded from this requirement. An assistance unit shall not be required to pursue Foster Care Maintenance Payments even if they potentially could be eligible.
- (II) The income of:
- (1.) A spouse to be available to the other spouse; and
- (2.) A parent to be available for an unemancipated child, including a minor parent, up to age 18, or up to age 19 if a full-time student and expected to graduate.
- (III) Income shall be considered in the month in which it is available.
- (IV) Income from self-employment, employment on a contractual basis, or income received intermittently on a quarterly, semiannual or yearly basis shall be prorated or averaged over the period covered by the income unless not indicative of future months.
- (V) Income shall be considered as an asset when still available on the first of the month following the month received.
- (VI) The garnishment of income shall be considered voluntarily assigned to pay a debt and countable income.
- (VII) The income of an ineligible alien sibling shall be exempt in determining the need of an otherwise eligible dependent.
- (VIII) The income of a sponsor, and the sponsor's spouse, shall be deemed to be 100% available to the alien. These are deemed until the alien(s) becomes a citizen or until 40 qualifying quarters of work without receipt of government benefits exist.
- (C) Income shall be treated as provided in Appendix B and as by law.
- (xii) Each applicant/recipient shall meet the five (5) year limit.
- (A) An assistance unit who has three (3) or more years of Aid For Dependent Children (AFDC) as of January 1, 1997 may receive an additional two (2) years of cash assistance after January 31, 1997 with the following exceptions:
- (I) Unemancipated minor parents who are head of the assistance unit shall have only one (1) year of assistance counted toward the five (5) year limit when receiving a performance payment for self and dependent child(ren);
- (II) Adults and emancipated minor parents who previously received cash assistance as a dependent child, excluding the unemancipated minor parents, shall be allowed up to the five (5) year limit under their own assistance unit;
- (III) A non-parent caretaker relative, not included in the grant, shall receive a performance payment beyond the five (5) year limit for a child(ren) if she/he is not legally financially responsible for the child(ren).
- (B) The needs of a non-parent caretaker relative shall be terminated, unless a hardship exemption exists, when she/he has been included in the performance payments and payments have been received for five (5) years.
- (I) The performance payments shall be allowed to continue for the child(ren); or
- (II) The performance payments shall not continue for the child(ren) if the child(ren) received five (5) years of assistance as part of her/his parent's AFDC grant or TANF/POWER or a POWER-SASFA performance payment.
- (C) The following are counted toward the five (5) year limit:
- (I) All months that cash assistance was received in another state or U.S. territory, regardless of location.
- (II) All months AFDC or TANF payments have been received since July 1, 1987;
- (III) A month with non-payment due to noncompliance; and
- (IV) A month in which an assistance unit member is disqualified for any reason.
- (D) Performance payments may be extended for up to two (2) years beyond the five (5) year limit for a family who is fleeing due to domestic violence and because a family member has been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty.
- (E) Performance payments may be extended for up to one (1) year beyond the five (5) year limit when the assistance unit claims desertion as provided by law.
- (I) The assistance unit shall report the desertion to law enforcement; and
- (II) The assistance unit shall meet the child support performance requirements.
- (III) If any acknowledgment exists of the absent parent assuming the care and control of the child(ren) within the one (1) year hardship period, the assistance unit shall not be eligible for POWER; or
- (IV) If the applicant/recipient refuses to notify law enforcement or meet the child support performance requirements the assistance unit shall not be eligible for POWER.
- (F) The DFS-SO shall review assistant units, excluding those specified in paragraph (G) below, within six (6) months of the five (5) year limit to determine if a hardship extension is appropriate and notify the DFS-FO of the action(s) to be taken.
- (I) When claiming to be incapacitated/disabled, the applicant/recipient shall provide verification that she/he is totally physically or mentally disabled.
- (1.) She/he shall not be capable of obtaining or retaining employment, of participation in a job training program or of maintaining independence in the community.
- (2.) This provision shall only be effective as long as the individual is totally disabled or incapacitated.
- (II) When claiming to care for a totally physically or mentally disabled immediate family member, the applicant/recipient shall provide verification she/he is needed in the home full time to provide care.
- (1.) Reasonable absences due to normal household functions shall be allowed.
- (III) The POWER extension shall be terminated if noncompliance occurs with the Pay-After-Performance requirements during the extension.
- (IV) The assistance unit shall reapply for the extension and a review shall be conducted by DFS-SO to determine if another extension should be granted.
- (G) The five (5) year limit shall not count for any month an adult Tribal member and their spouse, when applicable, was living on any reservation if, during the month at least 50% of the adults living on the reservation were unemployed.
- (H) If the applicant/recipient fails to report receipt of cash assistance after July 1, 1987, an overpayment shall occur for performance payments incorrectly paid and the individual disqualified due to intentional program violation.
- (xiii) The case shall be denied, closed, reduced, or placed in nonpayment status when one (1) or more of the eligibility factors or performance requirements are not met.