PM 10-04-04
A determination of liability is made when income is received by a parent living in the home who is not included in the assistance unit. The parent must be living with a minor caretaker under age 18 or be excluded from the case due to receipt of disability income.
This liability amount is determined by IES when the adult(s) are not included in the cash assistance unit. The following fields must be completed in IES:
- Program Request Details page
- "Parent Liability Size" - enter the number of people to include in the parent liability size PM 10-04-04
- Individual Demographics-Citizenship/Residency page
- answer "Yes" to "Is this individual's income to be counted towards Parent Liability" for each adult not included in the cash assistance unit that income will be counted towards the Parent Liability.
Combined Liabilities
Enter income for each parent and IES will compute the parent liability.
Example: Tonya is an unmarried 16-year-old applying for TANF for herself and her child. She lives with her parents, Bob and Sue, who are both employed, and her 2 younger brothers. Bob's gross salary is $2,094 per month and Sue's gross salary is $1,203 per month. There is no other income, and no allowable self-employment deductions.
Step 1: Determine the size of the parents' family unit, which includes the parents and other dependents besides the applicants.
The family unit size is 4, including Bob and Sue and their 2 sons. Do not include Tonya and her child.
Step 2: Determine the parents' total monthly net income by adding together the parents' gross income minus the Initial Employment Deduction (IED) for a family size of 4.
Compute net monthly income: ($2,094 + $1,203 = $3,297) - $375= $2,922.
Step 3: From the parents' net income, subtract 3 x's the payment level amount for a family size of 4.
Compute parent liability $2,922 -$2,625 ($875 x 3 = $2,625) = $297.
Subtract parent liability from Tonya's payment level for herself and her child to determine eligibility for a grant: $575 - $297 = $278. Tonya and her child are financially eligible.
Excluded Parent Receiving Disability
Example: Cynthia receives SSA, SSI and is employed. She has 4 children active on TANF. Cynthia receives SSA of $450 per month, SSI of $464 per month and a gross salary of $1,926 per month.
Step 1: The size of the parent's family unit is 1 (Cynthia). Do not include Cynthia's 4 children.
Step 2: Determine Cynthia's total monthly net income by adding the total gross monthly income minus the Initial Employment Deduction (IED) for a family size of 1 and minus the one person SSI payment level.
Compute net monthly income: $1,926- $183 (IED for 1) = $1,743
$1,743 + $450 (do not budget Cynthia's SSI because SSI cannot be budgeted against the needs of others) = $2,193.
$2,193 - $914 (SSI payment level) = $1,279 net income.
Step 3: Compute the Parent Liability amount, from Cynthia's net income, subtract 3 x's the payment level for a family size of 1 ($425 x 3 = $1275)
$1,279 - $1,275 = $4 Parent Liability Amount
Subtract parent liability amount from the payment level for her 4 children to determine eligibility for a grant: $521 (child only payment level) - $4 = $517. Cynthia is eligible to receive TANF for her 4 children.
Recomputing Liability
Recompute the liability when a change in income is reported and at each redetermination.
Parent Liability at Intake
When a benefit unit is found ineligible for cash because the parent of a minor mother has a liability sufficient to meet the needs of the benefit unit or the minor mother fails to verify the parent's income, IES will determine eligibility for medical assistance.
