Okla. Admin. Code § 340:75-13-13

Current through Vol. 41, No. 19, June 17, 2024

Section 340:75-13-13 - Title IV-E eligibility criteria

A child is determined eligible for Title IV-E when paragraphs (1) and (2) are present.

(1)Legal status. The child's removal or placement is the result of a:

(A) court finding, determined on a case-by-case basis documented in a court order that:

(i) continuation in the home is contrary to the child's welfare, or that the placement is in the child's best interests, or language to that effect, per Oklahoma Administrative Code (OAC) 340:75-3-300.

(I) The finding must be made in the first court order that sanctions the child's removal from the home.

(II) Failure to include this finding in the first court order results in a determination of ineligibility for Title IV-E foster care reimbursement for the duration of the child's stay in out-of-home care; and

(ii) prior to the placement of the child in out-of-home care, reasonable efforts were made to prevent the removal from the home, or reasonable efforts were not required due to an emergency, per Section 1-4-201 of Title 10A of the Oklahoma Statutes and OAC 340:75-1-16.

(I) The determination must be made no later than 60-calendar days from the date of the child's removal from the home.

(II) Failure to include this finding within 60-calendar days of the child's removal results in a determination of ineligibility for the duration of the child's stay in out-of-home care; or

(B) voluntary consent with a signed written agreement between Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS) or a tribe and the child's parent or legal guardian that is binding on the parties to the agreement and specifies the child's legal status, the rights and obligations of the parent or legal guardian, and the rights and responsibilities of DHS or the tribe. A court order with required Title IV-E findings and custody to DHS or the tribe is necessary when the child is in out-of-home care more than 90-calendar days, per OAC 340:75-4-12.1.

(2)Relationship to Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). The Title IV-E determination is made based on the child's circumstances in the month of the child's removal from the home and up to the point of removal. The child must have been categorically related to the AFDC program using the AFDC rules in effect as of July 16, 1996, per DHS 10-1-1. To qualify for Title IV-E, a child is:

(A) removed:

(i) physically and legally from the parent; or

(ii) constructively from the parent or specified relative, per DHS:10-1-21, regardless of whether the child was physically moved from the current relative or non-relative caregiver's home. The child must have been living with the parent or specified relative and AFDC eligible in that home:

(I) in the month of the initiation of court proceedings; or

(II) within six months of the initiation of court proceedings and would have been eligible in the month court proceedings were initiated if the child was living in that home;

(B) a citizen of the United States or having an alien status that qualifies for Title IV-E; and

(C) deprived of parental support or care, per 1996 AFDC policy;

(D) the household's countable income must be below the 1996 AFDC need standard; and

(E) Title IV-E, Section 472 of the Social Security Act allows a resource value of $10,000 for Title IV-E eligibility.

Okla. Admin. Code § 340:75-13-13

Added at 15 Ok Reg 1457, eff 4-1-98 (emergency); Added at 16 Ok Reg 1052, eff 4-26-99; Amended at 19 Ok Reg 561, eff 12-20-01 (preemptive); Amended at 22 Ok Reg 1270, eff 5-26-05; Amended at 25 Ok Reg 970, eff 5-15-08; Amended at 29 Ok Reg 635, eff 6-1-12

Amended by Oklahoma Register, Volume 37, Issue 24, September 1, 2020, eff. 9/15/2020