Work First 104 – THE APPLICATION INTERVIEW

II. REQUIRED FAMILY UNIT MEMBERS

A. The following individuals are required to be included in the Work First family unit if they live in the home. This may include individuals who are temporarily absent from the home. See Section 112, Kinship/ Living with Requirement.

1. Children: All minor brothers and sisters, half brothers, half sisters, stepbrothers and stepsisters. (This includes a child who is subject to the family cap.)

2. All parents and stepparents of the child(ren) who are required to be included.

a. A minor parent is considered a child and can not be case head/payee for a WFFA case. (See Section 107, Minor Parent Rules)

b. If both the adoptive parent and biological parent live in the home with the child(ren), only the adoptive parent can be included.

c. When two parents have a mutual child(ren) the entire family is considered one family unit. Parents with a mutual child living in the same household cannot receive WFFA in separate cases. If the family is ineligible for WFFA, evaluate the family members for the appropriate Medicaid programs.

B. The following individuals may be included if they apply, choose to be included, and meet the requirements.

1. A parent (or stepparent) may choose to apply for WFFA when the only child(ren) receives Supplemental Security Income or adoption assistance.

2. Children other than siblings, stepsiblings and half-siblings may be included when they meet the Kinship Requirement (See Section 112, Kinship/Living with Requirement).However, if a child has countable incomes discuss the impact that the child’s income will have on the WFFA payment amount.

C. Once the caseworker identifies all required family unit members, the case worker must determine if there are individuals that need to be excluded from the case due to individual ineligibility.

The following individuals can not be included in the WFFA case:

1. An adult relative caretaker (other than a parent or stepparent) can not be included in the WFFA case.

NOTE: Adult caretakers (other than parents or stepparents) may be eligible for Medicaid even though they can not be included in the Work First payment. You must evaluate each adult caretaker for Medicaid eligibility. See the Family and Children’s Medicaid manual.

2. SSI recipients can not be included in the WFFA case.

3. Children for whom foster care or adoption assistance payments are being made can not be included in the WFFA case.

4. Incarcerated or institutionalized individuals can not be included in the WFFA case. See the Family and Children’s Medical manual.

5. Individuals who do not meet the Citizenship/Qualified Immigrant rule may not be included in the WFFA case. Also they are not required to provide or apply for a Social Security number. (See Section 111, Citizenship/Immigrant Rules)

6. Any child who does not meet the Kinship/ Living With Requirement. (See Section 112, Kinship/Living with Requirement).

7. Parents who fail to cooperate with child support enforcement are not included on the case in the Eligibility Information System (EIS), as the result of the non-coop sanction. When the parent(s) are determined to be ineligible, evaluate the parent for eligibility in other Medicaid aid program categories. See the Family and Children’s Medical manual.