4. Caretaker

A caretaker is any specified relative who:

is present in the home; and

supervises and cares for the TANF child.

A caretaker must be the child's:

father or mother;

grandfather or grandmother;

brother or sister;

uncle or aunt;

first cousin;

nephew or niece;

stepfather or stepmother;

stepbrother or stepsister; or

first cousin once removed.

Relationship extends to the:

Spouse of the listed relatives, even after the marriage has ended in death or divorce, regardless of when the child's birth occurred.

Degree of great-great for uncles or aunts and nephews or nieces.

Degree of great-great-great for grandparents.

A caretaker meets the relationship requirement even if a court has jurisdiction over the child or an agency is the child's managing conservator. If a child lives with a managing conservator, the conservator must meet the relationship requirement.

If a child lives with a married relative, not a parent, who wants to be considered the caretaker, eligibility and benefits are determined using:

normal budgeting procedures for the applicant's income; and

stepparent budgeting for the income of the applicant's spouse.

If the non-parent caretaker applying for the child is not financially eligible based on their income or resources to receive TANF, then financial eligibility can be determined using only the eligible children.

No one else is included as caretaker if the legal parent is:

in the home; and

physically and mentally able to provide care.

Exception: The stepparent may be certified as caretaker if the stepparent wants to be included and the legal parent has a disability. The stepparent and legal parent who has a disability are certified for TANF-SP when the stepparent is included in the certified group.