BACKGROUND
Historically, there have been four groups categorically eligible for TAFDC:

1. Single parents with kids

2. Two-parent families where one of the two is disabled OR has a minimal work history as defined by DTA (contact the CRC if you need specifics)

3. Pregnant women in the last 120 days of pregnancy

4. Minor children living with relatives (by blood or marriage) who care for them even through they do not have a legal responsibility to financially support them (i.e., not parents).

This fourth category is little known and can be very helpful to extended family members who take on this responsibility. For this group the income and assets of the relative are not taken into account in determining eligibility unless the relative chooses to be included in the TAFDC grant. Note that even children living with legal guardians, if they are relatives, can access this benefit.

Undocumented parents or relatives can also apply for their children if their children are citizens or lawfully present immigrants. But the caretaker cannot get assistance for him/herself if he/she is undocumented. If an immigrant parent is in the process of adjusting his or her status with INS, she/he should talk with an immigration specialist about the "public" charge consequences of receiving public assistance. Currently DTA does not report undocumented people to INS. For more background on TAFDC and definitions of 'Family Cap' and 'Workfare' see the November 1997 and January 1998 issues of the MGH Community News (contact Joscelyn Ruelle-Kersker for a copy) or visit the following website: http://www.neighborhoodlaw.org.

TIME LIMITS
The Massachusetts time-limit rules went into effect in December of 1996. Starting on that date, families (unless exempt) can only receive 24 months of benefits within a 5-year period. Reportedly this is one of the strictest time limits in the country. The first group of Massachusetts’s families will reach this limit on December 1^st.

Ms. Baker stress that reports in the Boston Globe of an extension for many families through the holidays are not accurate and that DTA Central plans to terminate families in December, but possibly not until the second payment cycle. She expressed concern that these reports would add to the already substantial confusion surrounding the time limit, and possibly lead to families not applying in a timely way for an extension. If extensions are not filed on time, families lose the right to have benefits continue pending the outcome of the extension.

THE "SAFETY NET"
Ms. Baker emphasized that this time limit only effects TAFDC Benefits. For those who lose this cash assistance MassHealth benefits should continue uninterrupted. Food Stamp benefits should actually increase with a decrease in income. She warned, however, that food stamp recipients would receive a letter that benefits will end in a month and that they have to go in for re-certification. This process is required to continue Food Stamp eligibility. Also those who live in public or subsidized housing should have their rents dropped to zero if their incomes drop to zero (by seeking a waiver of the $50.00 minimum rent requirement). They need to notify the housing authority and this change would be immediate. The time limit also does not eliminate payments for childcare. Through the program of "Transitional Childcare," if a parent needs childcare for employment, childcare can continue for 12 months. If there were because the parent is enrolled in education or training, this would continue for up to 6 months.

TIME LIMIT EXEMPTIONS
People who fall under the following conditions should be exempt from the TAFDC time limit.

• Disabled parent – or both parents are disabled if it is a two-parent family. The disability standard is that the disability will last 60 days and that the parent has a reduced capacity to support his/her family (e.g., she/he cannot manage even sedentary work), OR she/he has a mental impairment that reduced work capacity. The parent or parents should fill out a disability supplement to apply for a disability exemption. If approved, the clock will stop retroactively to the date the disability supplement was filed.

• Caring for a disabled child, spouse, parent or grandparent. The applicant needs to show proof of the family member’s disability as well as the need to provide constant care. The state is requiring that a child receive SSI. MLRI disagrees that this is a required under the law. Cases involving disabled children should be brought to the legal services office in the patient’s community.

• Families with any child under age 2 who are not subject to the Family Cap.

• Families with any child under 3 months old, even if a Family Cap child.

• Pregnant women within 120 days of their due date. This applies even if the pregnancy is with a "Family Cap" (one conceived after parent already was receiving TAFDC) baby. This also stops the clock for a total of 7 months if the pregnancy results in a healthy baby – 120 days for the pregnancy and 3 months for the baby. If this is someone new to TAFDC, so that it is not a Family Cap baby, they are exempt for 2 years as noted above. This is another area that should be carefully discussed with patients. DTA is saying that the recipient must report the pregnancy for the clock to stop. MLRI’s position is that DTA has been telling women that they will not receive additional benefits for a "family Cap" baby, so women probably would not think it important to do so. In their view, the clock should stop for the 120 days prior to the due date as well as the first 3 months of the baby’s life, regardless of when DTA was informed. Please refer these cases to legal services.

• Parents under age 20 as long as attending high school or in a GED program and, if under 18, living with a parent or in a special program

• Children living with relatives other than parents (see number 3 under "Background" above).

• Families with parents age 60 or over

• Special case: Recipients who were participating in a MassJobs (now called ESP) program on January 1, 1995. Benefits will not stop due to the time limit until they have completed that program. The clock runs, but the benefits do not stop until the program is completed.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE WAIVERS
There is also the possibility of applying for a domestic violence waiver of the TAFDC time limit and work rules. Those who might qualify include current or past victims of domestic violence. To be eligible the person must file a lengthy waiver request form that documents that losing TAFDC will make it harder to escape the abuse, or that loss of benefits under the time limit would unfairly punish her or her children for the domestic violence. Families who need assistance under a domestic violence waiver should contact legal services.

FAMILY CAP EXCEPTIONS
Waivers for the Family Cap rule are available to families where the child is born as a result of rape, incest or sexual assault. Sexual assault should include cases such as in domestic violence situations where the woman was forced or coerced into having sex, kept from using birth control and/or from terminating the pregnancy. Waivers for the Family Cap are also considered for "extraordinary circumstances" some examples of which might include the pregnancy was a result of failure of a birth control method, or the child, parent or other family member has serious health problems. The CRC has copies of this form available upon request. Legal services are available to represent families denied these waivers.

CHECKING ACCURACY OF THE "TIME CLOCK"
Another advocacy method recommended by MLRI is double-checking the "time clock." Clients should ask for a printout that shows which months DTA is counting towards the family’s time clock. A check mark will appear beside each month that DTA counts.

Only full calendar months of TAFDC receives after November 30, 1996 count toward the time limit. So if one’s benefits stared the 5^th of the month that month should not count. Or if TAFDC was not received for part of a month because the case was temporarily closed or the full family was sanctioned for part of a month, that month should not be counted towards the time clock. Also if there was any month since December 1, 1996 where the State collected child support for your child(ren) that exceeded the amount of the monthly TAFDC benefit this month or months should not count. Contact Paul Cronin at the Dept. of Revenue 577-7200 x30412 to ascertain the amount collected.

Any of the exceptions explained above that are applicable should be noted when assessing the time clock’s accuracy, especially for families where the mother was pregnant or had a "Family Cap: child during the 24 moths.

EXTENSIONS
If an extension is granted, the recipient will be required to do 35 hours a week of "structured job search" or "job club, " minus any hours of part-time work. There are no guaranteed extensions. Also it is not clear what the length of extensions will be, but it is likely to be less than 6 months.

To Qualify, the recipient must file an extension request form before the effective date her benefits will end. If filed within the last two months of benefits eligibility, benefits will continue pending the outcome of the application. The CRC has copies, which we can send on request. When asking for an extension the applicant should highlight how she has looked actively for work and has been unable to find it; where existing jobs are not close enough for the mother to get to or appropriate for her to do; how the father of the children does not pay child support in spite of the recipient’s cooperation or because domestic violence makes it unsafe to go after him for support; the child(ren) have health problems or special needs.

Since there are no clear standards for who should get an extension, MLRI cannot predict which families will get an extension regardless of the merits. MLRI encourages recipients to apply and to make the most sympathetic case possible. Pat Baker distributed guidelines as to how to do this, which the RC can send upon request.

OK, so you’ve got it, right? Want to make sure? Take the following quiz to see.

QUIZ
Questions

1. A woman is pregnant with a "Family Cap" baby. For how long is she exempt from the time limit?

2. In the example above, the woman is 19.

3. What if she has a 15-month-old child already?

4. What if the pregnancy resulted because an abusive partner coerced the woman? Or as a failure of birth control?

5. What about a woman, whose youngest child is over 2, but was a domestic violence survivor?

6. What if a woman began receiving TAFDC on the 15^th of the month? Would that month count? What if it was on the 2^nd of the month?

Answers

1. The last 120 days before her due date, plus the first 3 months of the new baby’s life. These months should then not count on her time clock.

2. As long as she is attending high school or a GED program and living either with her parent or in an approved program she is exempt until age 20. If she completes the program before age 20, it then depends on the ages of her children at the time. If she doesn’t meet the school rules or living requirements she is not eligible for TAFDC at all.

3. If she has an older child that is not a "Family Cap" child, they are exempt from the time limit until that child is 2 years old. These months should then not count on her time clock. In other words, when her child turns 2 she has 24 months remaining.

4. She could apply for an exemption from the "Family Cap" and be eligible for benefits until the child is 2. Once the child is 2, she has 24 months remaining unless she meets another exemption.

5. She could apply for an exemption based on disability if she can demonstrate that the violence has resulted in a physical or mental impairment reducing her ability to work. Or she could apply for a domestic violence waiver if she can show that losing TAFDC will make it harder for her to escape from the violence or that it would unfairly punish her or her children for the violence (e.g., it prevented her from finding or being able to hold a job).

Congrats! Now you can help your clients advocate for themselves to get the support they need. Thanks to Pat Baker of MLRI for the presentation and giving so generously of her time to review this article.