Section 703.184 - TAFDC Teen Parent Living Independently(A)Requirements. The Department may determine that a teen parent may live on his or her own if he or she has the necessary educational and vocational goals and acquired sufficient independent living skills and parenting skills. A teen parent may live independently if he or she is: (1) married and living with his or her spouse; or(2) unmarried, or married and living apart from his or her spouse; and (a) if younger than 18 years old, the Department of Children and Families (DCF) confirms that there is no known reason the teen parent cannot live independently, that the teen parent is a graduate of a DCF independent living program, and the teen parent is: 1. a graduate of high school;2. a graduate of a HiSET program;3. attending school full-time not beyond high school; or4. attending a full-time HiSET program and participating in an approved training or employment-related activity for a total of 20 hours per week.(b) if 18 or 19 years of age, and is: 1. a graduate of high school;2. a graduate of a HiSET program;3. attending school full-time not beyond high school; or4. attending a full-time HiSET program and participating in an approved training or employment-related activity for a total of 20 hours per week; or(c) if 17 years of age, DCF or a DCF vendor has assessed both the home of the teen's parents and the teen's current living situation and finds that the teen parent cannot return to the parent's home, and the current living environment poses no apparent health or safety risks to the teen parent or his or her dependent child. DCF shall make this determination based on the following:
1. the principal of the school or the HiSET vendor states that the teen parent is making satisfactory progress toward a diploma or certificate, or is a high school graduate or a graduate of a HiSET program;2. if the teen parent is the subject of an open DCF case, the DCF case worker determines that the teen parent should be permitted to live on his or her own rather than in a structured living program;3. the teen parent has an established, stable, quality child care arrangement; and4. the teen parent has an established relationship with a teen parenting program and the program agrees that the teen parent can continue living on his or her own. The DTA Commissioner or designee will review the recommendation of DCF and approve or deny the independent living arrangement of the teen parent.
(B)Verifications. (1) Verification of marriage shall be a license or certificate of marriage.(2) Verification that there is no known reason the teen parent younger than 18 years old cannot live independently and graduation from a DCF independent living program shall be by a written statement from DCF.(3) Verification of school attendance and graduation from high school shall be in accordance with 106 CMR 703.181.(4) Verification of graduation from a HiSET program shall be a copy of the certificate attesting to completion of the HiSET program.(5) Verification of participation in an approved training or employment-related activity shall be by a method determined by the Department.(6) Verification of 106 CMR 703.184(A)(2)(c) is the responsibility of DCF. DCF must submit to the DTA Commissioner or designee, written statements from:(a) the principal of the school or the HiSET vendor that state the teen parent is making satisfactory progress toward a diploma or certificate program, or that the teen parent is a high school graduate or a graduate of a HiSET program;(b) the DCF case worker, if the teen parent is an open DCF case, that the teen parent should be permitted to live on his or her own rather than in a structured living program; (c) the DCF case worker that the teen parent has an established, stable, quality child care arrangement; and(d) the teen parenting program that it agrees that the teen parent should be able to live on his or her own.Adopted by Mass Register Issue 1360, eff. 3/9/2018.