Assistance is provided to needy families. A family is one or more children living with a specified relative, guardian, or custodian (adult acting in loco parentis).
Specified relative is defined as:
| . | Any relative by blood, marriage, or adoption who is within the fifth degree of kinship to the dependent child. The degree of relationship is as follows: a parent (1st degree), grandparent (2nd degree), sibling (2nd degree), great-grandparent (3rd degree), uncle or aunt (3rd degree), nephew or niece (3rd degree), great-great-grandparent (4th degree), great-uncle or aunt (4th degree), first cousin (4th degree), great-great-great-grandparent (5th degree), great-great uncle or aunt (5th degree), or a first cousin once removed (5th degree). |
| . | Any other persons named in the above groups whose relationship to one of the child's parents is established by legal adoption; |
| . | The spouse of any person named in the above groups even though the marriage terminated by death or divorce. |
| . | A party to a civil union of any person named in the above groups even if the civil union terminated by death or dissolution. |
For the purposes of the TANF program a guardian is defined as:
| . | An adult providing an appropriate supportive living arrangement who has been appointed as guardian of the child(ren) in his/her care by an authorized court, or |
| . | an adult who has received the consent and approval to exercise the day-to-day care, custody, and control of the child(ren) in his/her care by the Delaware Division of Family Services or any agency or court licensed or authorized to place children in a nonrelated home. |
A custodian or an adult acting in loco parentis ("in the place of a parent") is defined as:
An adult who provides an appropriate supportive living arrangement for the child(ren) in his/her care, and who has:
| . | intentionally taken over the duties of a parent and is responsible for exercising the day-to-day care, custody, and control of the child(ren), |
| . | accepted the legal responsibility of caring for the child, |
| . | been referred to the Delaware Division of Family Services for purposes of determining suitability of the adult to act in loco parentis and the dependency of the child(ren). |
Adults acting in loco parentis are required to acknowledge their acceptance of the legal responsibility for the child(ren) in their care and their intentional acceptance of the day-to-day care, custody, and control of the child(ren) in their care. This acknowledgement must be in writing and on a Division of Social Services approved form.
The Division of Family Services (DFS), within the Department of Services for Children, Youth, and Their Families (DSCYF) must approve the living arrangement of a custodian and the children they are caring for by the next redetermination. If verification of consent and approval by DFS is not provided by the next redetermination, TANF payments should be stopped.
Paternity Establishment:
When a child lives with both the natural father and the mother but paternity has not been legally established, refer the parents to the Division of Child Support Enforcement (DCSE) for a voluntary acknowledgement of paternity. If the alleged father is unwilling to complete the voluntary acknowledgement of paternity, DSS will consider the child deprived of the care and support of his/her father. Refer the case to DCSE for follow-up on establishing paternity.
When a child lives with the natural father, but paternity has not been legally established, have the father complete a declaration of natural relationship document. Obtain one additional document from the documents listed below to support the natural father's claim of relationship.
| . | Social Security Administration records; |
| . | Hospital, clinic, or Public Health Records; |
| . | Department of Services to Children, Youth, and Their Families records; |
| . | Income Tax records specifying the relationship; |
| . | Insurance policies which specify the relationship; |
| . | Military or veterans records which specify the relationship Statement from a minister, priest, or rabbi; |
| . | Family bible, Baptismal Certificate or other family records (such as wills, deeds), written in ink and not altered which specify the relationship; |
| . | Statement of physician or midwife who attended the birth and remembers the names of the people involved; |
| . | Other government or local agency records, newspaper records, or local histories which specify the relationship; |
| . | A Declaration of Natural Relationship signed by the mother or other maternal relative; |
| . | If none of the above documents are available, a declaration of Natural Relationship signed by a knowledgeable person. |
When a child lives with a relative of the natural father, but paternity has not been legally established, have the relative complete a Declaration of Natural Relationship document. Obtain one additional document from the documents listed above to support the relative's claim of relationship.
14 DE Reg. 304 (10/01/10)
15 DE Reg. 1498 (04/01/12)
3004.1Living in the homeThe parent's or caretaker's statement that the child is living in the home must be verified at the time of application and at each subsequent redetermination.
A home is defined as the family setting where the child and the caretaker reside. The home exists even if the child or caretaker is temporarily absent (See DSSM 3023.4, 3023.5, and 3023.6).
The child is considered living with the caretaker even if the child is under the jurisdiction of the court (e.g., receiving probation services or protective supervision) or legal custody is held by an agency, as long as the child continues to live at home.
14 DE Reg. 304 (10/01/10)
3004.1.1Joint CustodyThe home exists even if the responsible caretaker relative or child is temporarily absent per DSSM 3023.4, 3023.5, and 3023.6 for TANF purposes. Joint custody cases can complicate deciding if a child is eligible for TANF and with which specified relative.
The Division of Social Services uses the following terms and definitions. (Note: The court system may use similar terms having different definitions.)
Joint Custody-Two parties are given the control to make major life decisions for a child. Joint custody exists when two parties are given, by court decree, the responsibility for making the major decisions in a child's life. This also covers shared custody situations. (This is not meant to be an exhaustive list but a guide. There may be other decisions that fall into this category.) Major life decisions revolve around:
| . | Medical treatment options; and |
| . | Primary Residence - The physical home/location of the child the majority of the time. The court may indicate which party should maintain a primary residence for the child. This decision is often with one party but can sometimes be an equal split between the adults seeking custody. A court decree indicating that one party has the primary residence does not automatically mean only that party is permitted to apply for and receive TANF for that child. |
| . | Day-to-Day Care and Control- The person(s) who provide the care for the child the majority of the time. These care decisions do not necessarily rise to the level of major life decisions but they are the ones that the responsible adult makes on a daily basis. |
The Division of Social Services provides that in joint custody situations, the first party to apply for and have eligibility determined for TANF can receive it for that child. This is permitted, whether or not the party in the joint custody case has the primary residence of the child. We allow this situation because the child will have just one parent providing the day-to-day care or no parent providing the day-to-day care at any given time. This only applies in joint custody cases.
When both parties in the joint custody arrangement wish to receive TANFB at the same time:
| . | Determine with whom the child resides most of the time; and |
| . | Determine who maintains the day-to-day care and control of the child. |
The party with whom the child resides most of the time and the party who maintains the daily care and control of the child will be able to receive TANF for that child. If both parties have equal time and decision making for the child each month, then the party that applies first will be able to receive the TANF benefits.
9 DE Reg. 1235 (02/01/06)
16 Del. Admin. Code § 3000-3004
15 DE Reg. 1498 (04/01/12) (Final)