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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6169
January Session, 2019
LCO No. 1713
Referred to Committee on AGING
Introduced by:
(AGE)
AN ACT INCREASING FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR
GRANDPARENTS AND OTH ER NONPARENT RELATIV ES RAISING
NEEDY CHILDREN.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (a) of section 17b-112 of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 2
1, 2019): 3
(a) (1) The Department of Social Services shall administer a 4
temporary family assistance program under which cash assistance 5
shall be provided to eligible families in accordance with the temporary 6
assistance for needy families program, established pursuant to the 7
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 8
1996. The Commissioner of Social Services may operate portions of the 9
temporary family assistance program as a solely state-funded 10
program, separate from the federal temporary assistance for needy 11
families program, if the commissioner determines that doing so will 12
enable the state to avoid fiscal penalties under the temporary 13
assistance for needy families program. Families receiving assistance 14
under the solely state-funded portion of the temporary family 15 Raised Bill No. 6169
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assistance program shall be subject to the same conditions of eligibility 16
as those receiving assistance under the federal temporary assistance for 17
needy families program. Under the temporary family assistance 18
program, benefits shall be provided to a family for not longer than 19
twenty-one months, except as provided in subsections (b) and (c) of 20
this section. For the purpose of calculating said twenty-one-month 21
time limit, months of assistance received on and after January 1, 1996, 22
pursuant to time limits under the aid to families with dependent 23
children program, shall be included. For purposes of this section, 24
"family" means one or more individuals who apply for or receive 25
assistance together under the temporary family assistance program. If 26
the commissioner determines that federal law allows individuals not 27
otherwise in an eligible covered group for the temporary family 28
assistance program to become covered, such family may also, at the 29
discretion of the commissioner, be composed of [(1)] (A) a pregnant 30
woman, or [(2)] (B) a parent, both parents or other caretaker relative 31
and at least one child who is under the age of eighteen, or who is 32
under the age of nineteen and a full-time student in a secondary school 33
or its equivalent. A caretaker relative shall be related to the child or 34
children by blood, marriage or adoption or shall be the legal guardian 35
of such a child or pursuing legal proceedings necessary to achieve 36
guardianship. If the commissioner elects to allow state eligibility 37
consistent with any change in federal law, the commissioner may 38
administratively transfer any qualifying family cases under the cash 39
assistance portion of the state-administered general assistance 40
program to the temporary family assistance program without regard 41
to usual eligibility and enrollment procedures. If such families become 42
an ineligible coverage group under the federal law, the commissioner 43
shall administratively transfer such families back to the cash assistance 44
portion of the state-administered general assistance program without 45
regard to usual eligibility and enrollment procedures to the degree that 46
such families are eligible for the state program. 47
(2) To the extent permissible under federal law, the payment 48
standard for a family that receives benefits under the temporary family 49 Raised Bill No. 6169
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assistance program and in which the head of the household is a 50
nonparent caretaker relative and the legal guardian of a child shall be 51
equal to seventy-five per cent of the prevailing monthly foster care rate 52
per child paid by the Department of Children and Families based on 53
the child's age and medical condition. 54
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2019 17b-112(a)
AGE Joint Favorable