89 Pa. Commw. 260 | Pa. Commw. Ct. | 1985
Opinion by
Merry Snyder, Petitioner, seeks review of an order of the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare
The pertinent facts of this case are not in dispute. Petitioner is the mother of a minor son. She never married the child’s father and the father does not reside with the family, nor does he provide monetary support to the child. She states however, that the father takes an active interest in the child’s well-being and provides in-kind support in the nature of clothing, food and toys. Petitioner was receiving a monthly cash GA grant in the amount of $162 as well as food stamps, and while she did not seek a cash grant for the child, she did seek and was granted medical assistance for the child who was considered as categorically needy.
In May of 1983, the Perry County Assistance Office (CAO) conducted a review of Petitioner’s eligibility to continue to receive her GA benefits. Section 432 (3) (ii) of the Public Welfare Code
In this appeal, Petitioner raises two assignments of error on the part of DPW which she contends require our reversal of the DPW order and a reinstatement of her GA benefits. First, she contends that DPW erred as a matter of law when it discontinued her GA benefits due to her refusal to institute a support action against her child’s father in that the standards used by DPW to determine her eligibility for GA were inapplicable to her situation or, in the alternative, unreasonable. Second, she contends that even if the standards applied by DPW were applicable to her situation, DPW’s conclusion that she is eligible for AFDC benefits is not supported by .substantial evidence. We shall address these issues seriatim, duly noting that our scope of review of a DPW adjudication is limited to determining whether necessary findings are supported by substantial evidence, in accordance with law, and whether or not any of the Petitioner’s constitutional rights have been violated. Section 704 of the Administrative Agency Law, 2 Pa. C. S. §704; Montgomery County Child Welfare Services v. Hull, 51 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 1, 413 A.2d 757 (1980).
We shall first examine Petitioner’s contention that DPW erred as a matter of law when it determined that she was required to seek financial benefits from available Federal programs before becoming eligible for GA benefits. Her argument is that since she had never
As noted, Petitioner was receiving a cash grant for herself as well as food stamps and medical assistance under the Commonwealth’s general assistance program. Section 402 of the Public Welfare Code
Our study of the applicable provisions of the Public Welfare Code, notably Section 432.21,
We now turn to Petitioner’s final contention that DPW’s conclusion that she is eligible for AFDC benefits is not supported by substantial evidence. To be eligible for AFDC benefits, an applicant is required to show both a need for assistance and the dependency of a child. Royer v. Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, 42 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 304, 400 A.2d 913 (1979). There is no dispute that Petitioner is in need of assistance. Her prior qualification for GA benefits and her child’s eligibility for medical assistance attest to that need. Her eligibility for AFDC, then, must be determined on the issue of whether her child is dependent within the meaning of the program.
Section 406(a) of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. §606(a) defines “dependent child” as a needy child under the age of eighteen and who has been deprived of parental support and care by reason of, among other things, the continued absence from the home of a parent. Petitioner argues that her son is not deprived of parental support and care due to his father’s absence from the home in that the father visits the child and provides some in-kind support. However, frequent visitation by a parent who does not live in the home does not negate a finding of deprivation caused by the parent’s absence. See 45 C.F.R. §233.90(c) (1) (iii); Simone v. Division of Public Welfare, 191 N.J. Super. 228, 465 A.2d 1226 (1983). The evidence in the record substantiates DPW’s conclusion that, despite the visits and limited in-kind support he provides, the child’s father is not fulfilling his function as a pro
Having found substantial evidence in the record to support the contested factual findings and determined that no errors of law were committed or constitutional rights violated, we shall affirm the adjudication of DPW.
Order
And Now, this 14th day of May, 1985, the order of the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare at Case No. 11701, dated September 27, 1983, which denied the appeal of Merry Snyder, is hereby affirmed.
Act of June 13, 1967, P.L. 31, as amended, 62 P.S. §432(3) (ii).
62 P.S. §432.7. Subsection (3) of tbis statute requires applicants to cooperate with DPW in establishing the paternity of a child born out of wedlock with respect to whom assistance is claimed, except when such cooperation would not be in the best interest of the child. Subsection (4) requires applicants to cooperate with DPW in obtaining support payments for the applicant and for the child for whom aid is claimed.
62 P.S. §402.
62 P.S. §432(3).
62 P.S. §§482.6 & 482.7. Section 432.6 requires assistance applicants whose eligibility for assistance is based on deprivation due to absence of a parent from a home be required to take all steps necessary, with DPW’s assistance, to obtain support payments from absent parents.
62 P.S. §482.21. This section requires assistance applicants to look to certain Federal programs as their primary source of financial assistance. The statute specifically mentions Social Security Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Retirement, Survivor’s and Disability Income (RSDI) benefits as examples of such Federal programs but specifically mentions “other” Federal programs not listed. In that the AFDC program is a Federal assistance program which is also included in the Social Security Act, we find that AFDC is one of the “other Federal programs” to which the General Assembly determined that assistance applicants must first turn for financial assistance.