Section 468-2-007 - UNIT SIZEThe Aid to Dependent Children unit size is based on the number of eligible family members or individuals and determines the appropriate standard of need and payment standard during the budgeting process.
007.01STANDARD FILING UNIT. The parent does not have a choice of whom he or she wants to include in the grant unit. All parents and their dependent children, as well as all siblings who meet the definition of a dependent child, must be included in the grant unit except:(A) An unborn child during the first two trimesters of the mother's pregnancy;(B) Recipients of Supplemental Security Income, State Disability Program, or Aid to the Aged, Blind, or Disabled;(C) Sanctioned individuals;(E) An alleged father when the parents are unmarried and paternity has not been established;(F) A parent and his or her child when unmarried parents are living together, have a child in common, and the household does not qualify for a grant as a single unit;(G) Department wards, children of Department wards, and children who are receiving an adoption or guardianship subsidy; and(H) Individuals serving an Intentional Program Violation Disqualification.007.02ELIGIBILITY OF A SPECIFIED RELATIVE, GUARDIAN OR CONSERVATOR, OTHER THAN A PARENT, TO BE INCLUDED IN THE UNIT. In household's where a parent is not present, only one specified relative, guardian, or conservator may be included in the unit. Income of the spouse of a specified relative, guardian, or conservator must be included when determining eligibility for the unit.007.03INDIVIDUALS LIVING AS A FAMILY WITHOUT A PARENT. If a non-parent specified relative, guardian, or conservator requests assistance for more than one child in the household, all children for whom assistance is requested must be included in a single unit.007.04JOINT CUSTODY. In a household where both parents are not continuously present, but the non-custodial parent has sufficiently frequent contact with the child(ren) so that the normal parental roles of providing guidance, physical care, and maintenance have not been interrupted, both parents will be included in the Aid to Dependent Children unit.007.05MINOR'S PARENT RECEIVING AID TO DEPENDENT CHILDREN. If a minor parent is living with his or her parent who is receiving Aid to Dependent Children for another child, the minor parent must be in his or her parent's unit. If assistance is received for the minor's child, that child must also be in the minor's parent's unit.007.06MINOR PARENT LIVING WITH A NON-PARENT SPECIFIED RELATIVE, GUARDIAN, OR CONSERVATOR. If a minor parent is living with a non-parent specified relative, guardian, or conservator who is receiving Aid to Dependent Children for another child, the minor parent must be in the same unit. If assistance is received for the minor's child, that child must also be included in the unit.007.07MINOR'S PARENT NOT RECEIVING CATEGORICAL ASSISTANCE. If a minor is living in his or her parent's home and the parent is not receiving categorical assistance, the minor may apply for assistance for himself or herself and his or her child. Since the minor's parent is considered responsible for the minor, income of the minor's parent's over 300 percent of the Federal Poverty Level for the household must be deemed to the minor parent and the child. For the purposes of determining the 300 percent Federal Poverty Level, the household includes the minor's parent and any 18-year-old or younger siblings of the minor parent. 007.08WARD. If a ward who is receiving a foster care payment is in the home of an Aid to Dependent Children unit, the ward is not included in the unit and his or her income is not included when determining eligibility for the unit. 007.08(A)CHILD OF A WARD. If a ward who is receiving a foster care payment has a child living with him or her in a foster home, group home, or child caring institution, the ward's child may receive a separate foster care grant. The ward's child is not eligible for a grant from Aid to Dependent Children funds. Neither the ward nor the ward's child is included in the foster family's Aid to Dependent Children unit.007.09ADOPTED CHILD. If a family has an adopted child for whom they are receiving an adoption subsidy administered by the Department, the child is not included in the Aid to Dependent Children unit and the subsidy is not included when determining eligibility for the unit.007.10ELIGIBLE DEPENDENT CHILD. In order to be eligible for Aid to Dependent Children, a dependent child must meet the applicable requirements as determined by their age:(1) Unborn beginning with the first day of the mother's third trimester through age 15;(2) Age 16 or 17, registered and attending full-time a secondary school, college, or university or a course of vocational or technical training designed to fit him or her for gainful employment, including a participant in the Job Corps Program;(3) Age 18 through the entire month of their 19th birthday, registered and attending fulltime secondary school or in the equivalent level of vocational or technical training.007.10(A)FULL-TIME STUDENT. A full-time student must have a school schedule that is equal to full-time curriculum for the school he or she is attending, as defined by the school district.007.10(B)CONTINUED ENROLLMENT. Enrollment is considered continued through normal periods of class attendance, vacation, and recess unless the student graduates, drops out, is suspended or expelled, or does not intend to register for the next normal school term, excluding summer school.007.11SCHOOL ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENT. Minors age 15 or younger who have not graduated from high school and who are dependent children or parents in an Aid to Dependent Children unit are required to attend school. Aid to Dependent Children benefits will be reduced $50 for each dependent child or minor parent who, without good cause, has accumulated a number of unexcused absences from school sufficient to jeopardize the student's academic progress, and the Aid to Dependent Children specified relative or guardian or conservator in the unit has not taken reasonable steps to encourage the child to improve his or her attendance. The $50 sanction is imposed only on a specified relative or guardian or conservator who is in the unit. If a 16-year-old child is removed from the unit, the grant is reduced by the amount of one individual, but the $50 sanction is no longer imposed. 007.11(A)GOOD CAUSE. Good cause exemptions from the unexcused absences include but are not limited to the following:(i) The student is expelled from school and alternative public schooling is not available;(ii) The minor has a child three months of age or younger;(iii) No child care is available for the child of a minor;(iv) Prohibitive transportation problems exist; or(v) Chronic illness of the minor.007.11(B)STEPS TO ENCOURAGE ATTENDANCE. Examples of reasonable steps taken by a specified relative, guardian, or conservator to encourage attendance include but are not limited to:(1) Attending conferences with school officials;(2) Cooperating with school officials;(3) Providing a home environment conducive to school attendance;(5) Assisting the child in such activities as meeting transportation, nutritional, and dress needs. 007.11(B)(i)VERIFICATION. Statements from the specified relative, guardian, or conservator are sufficient verification that the responsible adult is making reasonable efforts to encourage attendance.007.11(C)LIFTING THE SANCTION. If the student demonstrates satisfactory attendance according to the school, the sanction may be lifted before any subsequent grading period. The benefit payments must be reinstated after a subsequent grading period in which the child has substantially improved his or her attendance.468 Neb. Admin. Code, ch. 2, § 007
Amended effective 1/9/2017.Amended effective 8/29/2022