1. (a) For purposes of the Transitional Employment Assistance Program, the terms “TEA family” and “assistance unit” have the same meaning and are used interchangeably throughout this part.

2. (b) The above terms refer to the under-age-eighteen, non-Supplemental Security Income child or children for whom application is made and the following persons:

   1. (1)

      1. (A) The parent or parents, including minor parents, living in the home with the child unless such parent receives Supplemental Security Income benefits.
      2. (B) If both parents are in the home, they do not have to be married to both be included in the unit;
   2. (2) The non-Supplemental Security Income stepparent living in the home with the child;

   3. (3)

      1. (A) Any non-Supplemental Security Income sibling under age eighteen (18) of the child for whom application is made who is living in the home and for whom the parent or other adult caretaker has responsibility even if application is not made for that child.
      2. (B) See Example 1, below; and

   4. (4)

      1. (A) A nonparent, non-Supplemental Security Income adult caretaker relative who chooses to be included as an eligible family member.
      2. (B) Only one (1) such relative may be included.
3. (c) Please see subsection (f) of this section.
4. (d) The persons described in subdivisions (b)(1) – (3) of this section are required to be included as transitional employment assistance (TEA) family members except when a specific individual eligibility requirement is not met by such person.

5. (e) Individual eligibility requirements are the following:

   1. (1) Social Security number enumeration (20 CAR § 502-302);
   2. (2) Child’s relationship to the caretaker relative (20 CAR § 502-403);
   3. (3) Citizenship or alienage (20 CAR § 502-407);
   4. (4) Fleeing felon or parole or probation violator (20 CAR § 502-411); and
   5. (5) Family cap provision (20 CAR §§ 502-519 and 502-907).

6. (f) Notes.

   1. (1) Minor parents.

      1. (A) If the application is made for the minor parent and child only, the minor parent’s parent or parents, stepparent, or siblings are not required to be included in the assistance unit.
      2. (B) See Example 2, below.
   2. (2) Legal/biological father. If the child has a legal father, according to state law, who does not live in the home but the alleged biological father does, such biological father will not be included as the child’s parent until the issue of the legal father has been legally resolved.

   3. (3) Consolidated units.

      1. (A)

7. (i) If there are two (2) or more otherwise separate families living in the same house, such families will not be combined into one (1) single TEA family even if some of the children may be half-siblings to each other.

   1. (ii) See Example 3, below.

      1. (B) All minor non-Supplemental Security Income children in the home for whom the caretaker relative has responsibility will be included in one (1) unit.

      2. (C)

         1. (i) All minor non-Supplemental Security Income children in the home for whom a legally married couple has responsibility and for whom they are receiving, or wish to receive, assistance will be included with the couple as one (1) TEA family, or assistance unit.
         2. (ii) See Example 4, below. Example 1: Ms. Adams applies only for her son James and does not want to apply for her daughter Crystal because Crystal receives Social Security Administration benefits from her deceased father’s account. Even though Ms. Adams is not applying for Crystal, she must be included in the application and the TEA family, even if Crystal’s Social Security Administration income causes ineligibility for the assistance unit. Example 2: Ms. Craig applies for assistance for her sixteen- year-old daughter, Sue, and Sue’s baby, Emily. Other household members include Sue’s two (2) brothers. Ms. Craig does not want assistance for herself and her two (2) sons. The TEA family will consist of Emily and her mother, Sue. Example 3: Ms. Jones and Ms. Smith each have two (2) children. Mary, Ms. Jones’ child, and Tom, Ms. Smith’s child, have the same father making them half-siblings. The Jones and Smith families will remain separate families under TEA even though Mary and Tom are half-siblings. Example 4: Mr. and Mrs. Madison each have a child of their own from a previous marriage living with them. Even though they have no child in common, the four (4) of them (Mr. and Mrs. Madison and the two (2) children) will be considered to be one (1) TEA family, not separate families. Example 5: Mr. and Mrs. Sanchez each have a child of their own from a previous marriage living with them. They do not have a child in common. Mr. Sanchez’s son is receiving four hundred dollars ($400) per month in child support from his mother. Mr. Sanchez does not want to receive TEA assistance for his son. Because Mr. Sanchez is a stepparent to Mrs. Sanchez’s child, he must be included in the TEA case with Mrs. Sanchez and her child. However, his child is not required to be in the case because his child is not a sibling or half-sibling to Mrs. Sanchez’s child. Therefore, Mr. Sanchez may choose to exclude his child and thus, the child’s income.

8. (g)

   1. (1) The eligibility requirements described in the following sections will be determined in relation to the TEA family members as defined above.
   2. (2) If a requirement affects only an individual’s eligibility, the section specific to that requirement specifies so and describes how to treat an individual family member who is ineligible due to the requirement.

Codification Notes: This section as promulgated prior to codification into the Code of Arkansas Rules provided as follows: “08/01/18”