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SB1603 - 572R - I Ver
REFERENCE TITLE:
temporary assistance; child only case
State of Arizona
Senate
Fifty-seventh Legislature
Second Regular Session
2026
SB 1603
Introduced by
Senators
Alston: Angius, Bravo, Diaz, Epstein, Gabald�n, Kuby, Miranda, Sears, Shope,
Sundareshan;� Representative Connolly
AN
ACT
amending sections 46-101 and
46-292, Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to welfare.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Section 46-101, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
46-101.
Definitions
In this title, unless the context otherwise requires:
1. "Aid to families with dependent
children" means assistance granted under section 403 of title IV of the
social security act as it existed before August 22, 1996.
2. "Applicant" means a person who has
applied for assistance or services under this title, or a person who has
applied for assistance or services under this title and who has custody of a
dependent child.
3. "Assistance" means payments in cash or
kind to or on behalf of a person or persons in need as provided for in this
title.
4. "Assistance unit" means those members
of a needy family, as prescribed by the department in rule, or a child only
case, that meets the nonfinancial eligibility criteria for cash assistance and
whose needs and other circumstances are considered as a whole to determine a
cash assistance benefit amount.
5. "Cash assistance" means temporary
assistance for needy families paid to a recipient for the purpose of meeting
basic living expenses as defined by the department.
6. "Child care personnel" means any person
who supervises children in a day care home or center that receives child care
food program monies under this article.
7. "Child only case" means a case in which
the eligible dependent child is
either of the following:
(
a
)
In
the legal custody of the department of child safety, a tribal court or a tribal
child welfare agency located in this state and placed in foster care with an
unrelated adult or with a nonparent relative who is not receiving cash
assistance
Or a licensed foster
car payment
.
(
b
) Placed
pursuant to the order of a court or tribal court with an unrelated adult or
with a nonparent relative who is not receiving cash assistance.
8. "Dependent child" means a needy child
who has been deprived of parental support or care by reason of the death,
unemployment of the supporting parent as defined and prescribed by the rules of
the department, continued absence from the home, or physical or mental
incapacity of a parent, and whose relatives who are responsible under the law
for the child's support are not able to provide adequate care and support of
the child without public assistance, and who is living with his father, mother,
grandfather, grandmother, brother, sister, stepfather, stepmother, stepbrother,
stepsister, uncle, aunt, niece, nephew or cousin in a place of residence
maintained by one or more of such relatives as his or their own home or who is
in the legal custody of the department of child safety and placed in a foster
home or with an unrelated adult as a recipient of temporary assistance for
needy families. Such dependent child must be under eighteen years of
age or, if eighteen, must be a full-time student in a high school, or in
the equivalent level of vocational or technical training, and shall be
reasonably expected to complete the program before reaching age nineteen.
9. "Director" means the director of the
department of economic security.
10. "Domestic violence" means battered or
subject to extreme cruelty as defined in section 408(a)(7)(C)(iii) of the
social security act.
11. "Employment plan" means an agreement
between the department and the cash assistance recipient regarding the
participant's work activities and services provided by the department.
12. "Federal poverty level" means the
poverty guidelines that are issued by the United States department of health
and human services pursuant to section 673(2) of the omnibus budget
reconciliation act of 1981 and that are reported annually in the federal
register.
13. "Head of household" means a dependent
child's parent or the spouse of the parent, or the dependent child's nonparent
relative or spouse of the nonparent relative, who receives cash assistance for
himself and on behalf of the dependent child or only on behalf of the dependent
child.
14. "Homestead property" means a home
owned and occupied by the applicant or recipient, or his spouse.
15. "Jobs program" means services
established by the department to ensure that participants comply with work
requirements as prescribed in Public Law 104-193.
16. "Needy family":
(a) Means a family that resides in the same home and
includes a dependent child, one or more of the dependent child's parents and
nonparent relatives of the dependent child and their spouses who meet financial
cash assistance eligibility criteria established by this title and by
department rule.
(b) Does not include a child only case.
17. "Nonparent relative" means a dependent
child's grandfather, grandmother, brother, sister, stepfather, stepmother,
stepbrother, stepsister, uncle, aunt, niece, nephew or cousin and includes a
permanent guardian who is appointed pursuant to section 8-872.
18. "Participant" means a recipient of
cash assistance engaged in work activities through the JOBS program.
19. "Personal responsibility declaration"
means a document that is prescribed by the department and in which the
applicant acknowledges understanding of the applicant's personal
responsibility.
20. "Recipient" means a person who
receives assistance or services under the provisions of this title.
21. "Services" includes social casework,
rehabilitation counseling and similar services rendered to a person or persons
in need as provided for in this title.
22. "Sponsor" means any political
subdivision of this state, any federally recognized Indian tribe, any military
base or any other person, partnership, corporation or association contracting
with this state to provide assistance in the distribution of child care food
program monies pursuant to this article.
23. "State department" or
"department" means the department of economic security.
24. "Temporarily deferred" means the
postponement of work activities.
25. "Temporary assistance for needy
families" means assistance granted under section 403 of title IV of the
social security act as it exists after August 21, 1996.
26. "Vendor payment" means any payment to
a person other than the recipient on his behalf.
27. "Work activities" means the following
activities that are countable toward the federal work participation rate as
prescribed in Public Law 104-193, section 407 (1996):
(a) Unsubsidized employment.
(b) Subsidized private or public employment.
(c) Work experience.
(d) On-the-job training.
(e) Job search and job readiness assistance.
(f) Community service programs.
(g) Vocational educational training.
(h) Job skills training directly related to
employment.
(i) Education directly related to employment in the
case of a recipient who has not received a high school diploma or a certificate
of high school equivalency.
(j) Satisfactory attendance at secondary school or
in a course of study leading to a certificate of general equivalency, in the
case of a recipient who has not completed secondary school or received such a
certificate.
END_STATUTE
Sec. 2. Section 46-292, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
46-292.
Eligibility for assistance
A. A family without a dependent child in the
household may not receive cash assistance.
B. Cash assistance may be given under this title to
any dependent child and member of a needy family:
1. Who has established residence in Arizona at the
time of application and who is either:
(a) A citizen by birth or naturalization.
(b) A qualified alien who entered the United States
on or before August 21, 1996.
(c) A qualified alien who entered the United States
as a member of one of the exception groups under Public Law 104-193,
section 412, in which case the person shall be determined eligible in
accordance with Public Law 104-193.
(d) Defined as a qualified alien by the attorney
general of the United States under the authority of Public Law 104-208,
section 501.�
For the purposes of subdivisions (b)
and (c) of this paragraph, "qualified alien" means a person who is
defined as a qualified alien under Public Law 104-193, section 431.
2. If the parent or parents of the dependent child
or the nonparent relative head of household receiving assistance, if
employable, does not refuse to accept available employment. The
department shall assess the applicant's employability at the time of initial
application for assistance to establish a self-sufficiency diversion
option, if appropriate, before benefit issuance.� The determination of
employability and the conditions under which employment shall be required shall
be determined by the state department, except that claimed unemployability
because of physical or mental incapacity shall be determined by the state
department in accordance with this title.
3. If the parent or parents of the dependent child
or the nonparent head of household in a needy family has not, within one year
before application, or while a recipient, transferred or assigned real or
personal property with the intent to evade federal or state eligibility
requirements. Transfer of property with retention of a life estate
for the purpose of qualifying for assistance is prohibited. Where
fair consideration for the property was received, no inquiry into motive is
necessary. A person found ineligible under this section shall be
ineligible for such time as the state department determines.
4. Who meets the requirements of this section and
department rule to qualify as part of the assistance unit.
C. Qualified aliens entering the United States after
August 21, 1996 are ineligible for benefits for a period of five years
beginning on their date of entry, except for Cuban and Haitian entrants as
defined in section 501(e)(2) of the refugee education assistance act of 1980
and exceptions provided under Public Law 104-193 (personal responsibility
and work opportunity reconciliation act of 1996) and Public Law 105-32
(balanced budget act of 1997).
D. A parent or any other relative who applies for or
who receives cash assistance under this title on behalf of a child shall
cooperate with the department by taking the following actions:
1. Providing information regarding the identity of
the child's father and mother and other pertinent information including their
names, social security numbers and current addresses or a sworn statement that
attests to the lack of this information and that is accompanied by facts
supporting the asserted lack of information.
2. Appearing at interviews, hearings and legal
proceedings.
3. Submitting and having the child submit to genetic
testing.
4. Signing authorizations for third parties to
release information concerning the applicant or the child, or both.
5. In cases in which parentage has not been
established, providing a sworn statement alleging paternity and setting forth
facts establishing a reasonable possibility of the requisite sexual contact
between the parties.
6. Supplying additional information the department
requires.
E. The department shall sanction a recipient who,
without good cause as prescribed in subsection F of this section, fails to
cooperate with child support enforcement efforts according to the sanction
provisions of section 46-300.
F. One or more of the following circumstances
constitute good cause for failure to cooperate with child support enforcement
efforts:
1. Cooperation may result in physical
or emotional
harm to the parent, child for whom support is sought or
caretaker relative with whom the child is living.
2. Legal proceedings for adoption of the child for
whom support is sought are pending before a court.
3. The participant has been working, for less than
ninety days, with a public or licensed private social agency on the issue of
whether to allow the child for whom support is sought to be adopted.
4. The child for whom support is sought was
conceived as a result of sexual assault pursuant to section 13-1406 or
incest.
G. A person claiming good cause has twenty days
from
after
the date the good cause claim
is provided to the agency to supply evidence supporting the
claim. When determining whether the parent or relative is
cooperating with the agency as provided in subsection D of this section, the
agency shall require:
1. If the good cause exception in subsection F,
paragraph 1 of this section is claimed, law enforcement, court, medical,
criminal, psychological, social service or governmental records or sworn
statements from persons with personal knowledge of the circumstances that
indicate that the alleged parent or obligor might inflict physical harm on the
parent, child or caretaker relative.
2. If the good cause exception in subsection F,
paragraph 2 of this section is claimed, court documents that indicate that
legal proceedings for adoption are pending before a court of competent
jurisdiction.
3. If the good cause exception in subsection F,
paragraph 3 of this section is claimed, records from a public or licensed
private social services agency showing that placing the child for whom support
is sought is under consideration.
4. If the good cause
exception in subsection F, paragraph 4 of this section is claimed, law
enforcement, court, medical, criminal, psychological, social service or
governmental records or sworn statements from persons with personal knowledge of
the circumstances surrounding the conception of the child that indicate the
child was conceived as a result of sexual assault pursuant to section 13-1406
or incest.
H. Notwithstanding subsection B of this section and
except as provided in subsection I of this section, a dependent child or
children who are born during one of the following time periods are not eligible
for assistance under this title:
1. The period in which the parent or other relative
is receiving assistance benefits.
2. The temporary period in which the parent or other
relative is ineligible pursuant to a penalty imposed by the department for
failure to comply with benefit eligibility requirements, after which the parent
or other relative is eligible for a continuation of benefits.
3. Any period after November 1, 1995 that is less
than sixty months between a voluntary withdrawal from program benefits or a
period of ineligibility for program benefits
which
that
immediately followed a period during which program
benefits were received and a subsequent reapplication and eligibility approval
for benefits.
I. The following exceptions apply to subsection H of
this section:
1. The department shall allow an increase in cash
assistance under the program for a dependent child or children born as a result
of an act of sexual assault pursuant to section 13-1406 or incest.� The
department shall ensure that the proper law enforcement authorities are
notified of allegations of sexual assault or incest made pursuant to this
paragraph.� For the purposes of this paragraph, "an act of sexual
assault" includes sexual assault of a spouse if the offense was committed
before August 12, 2005.
2. For those parents or other relatives who are
currently authorized for cash assistance the department shall allow an increase
in cash assistance under the program as a result of the birth of a child or
children to the parent or other relative only if the birth occurred within ten
months
of
AFTER
the initial eligible
month.� The department may use only the additional child or children who are
born from the pregnancies covered in this subsection in computing the
additional benefit.
3. The department shall allow an increase in cash
assistance for any dependent child born to a parent who has not received cash
assistance under this title for at least twelve consecutive months if the child
is born within the period beginning ten months after the twelve consecutive
month period and ending ten months after the parent resumes receiving cash
assistance.
4. A dependent child or children who were born
during a period in which the custodial parent received cash assistance through
the Arizona works program shall be eligible to receive assistance under this
title.
5. A dependent child or children who were born
within ten months after the custodial parent received cash assistance through
the Arizona works program shall be eligible to receive assistance under this
title.
6. The department of economic security shall allow
cash assistance for an otherwise eligible dependent child during the period in
which the dependent child is in the legal custody of the department of child
safety, a tribal court or a tribal child welfare agency located in this state
and is placed in unlicensed kinship foster care with a nonparent relative or
unrelated adult.
7. The department shall allow cash assistance for an
otherwise eligible child who meets one of the following:
(a) The court has placed the child with a nonparent
relative.
(b) The child's parents are deceased and the child
is living with a nonparent relative.
(c) A nonparent relative has custody of the child
because the child is abandoned as defined in section 8-201.
J. The department shall calculate the sixty-month
time period referenced in subsection H, paragraph 3 of this section in the
following manner:
1. For persons who are receiving cash assistance on
November 1, 1995, the sixty-month time period begins on November 1,
1995. A subsequent sixty-month time period begins immediately
after the previous period ends if the person is receiving cash assistance
through two sixty-month periods. If the individual is not
receiving cash assistance at the end of the previous sixty-month period,
any subsequent sixty-month time period begins on the date when cash
assistance became effective again, regardless of when the person received an
actual payment.
2. For persons who begin receiving cash assistance
after November 1, 1995, the sixty-month time period begins on the date
cash assistance becomes effective, regardless of when the person received an
actual payment. A subsequent sixty-month period begins as
provided in paragraph 1 of this subsection.
K. In calculating a parent's or any other relative's
benefit increase that arises from any general increase that has been approved
for all program recipients, the department shall not consider a child or
children born under the time periods listed in subsection H of this section.
L. For the parents or other relatives who have
additional children for whom they receive no cash assistance payment under
subsection H of this section, the department shall make any necessary program
amendments or request any necessary federal waivers to allow the parents or
other relatives to earn income in an amount equal to the disallowed cash
assistance payment without affecting their eligibility for assistance.
M. The director shall adopt rules:
1. To implement this section, including rules to
define the investigatory steps that must be taken to confirm that an act of
sexual assault pursuant to section 13-1406 or incest led to the birth of
a dependent child or children.
2. That require the department to inform both
verbally and in writing the parents and other relatives who are receiving
assistance under this article of the specific family planning services that are
available to them while they are enrolled as eligible persons in the Arizona
health care cost containment system.
N. This section does not prevent an otherwise
eligible child who is not included in the family's calculation of benefits
under this article from being eligible for coverage under title 36, chapter 29
or for any services that are directly linked to eligibility for the temporary
assistance for needy families program.
O. Assistance shall not be denied or terminated
under this article because the principal wage earner works one hundred or more
hours per month.
P. Except as provided in paragraph 2 of this
subsection, all members of a needy family, including stepparents, must meet the
same financial eligibility criteria established in this title, by department
rule and as follows:
1. The department shall include all income from
every source available to a needy family requesting cash assistance, except
income that is required to be disregarded by this subsection and as determined
by the department in rules. For the amount of income that is
received from employment, each month every employed person is entitled to
receive an earned income disregard of
ninety dollars
$90
plus an additional thirty percent of the remaining earned
income.� A needy family that includes an employed person is entitled to an
earned income disregard equal to the actual amount billed to the household for
the care of an adult or child dependent household member, up to
two
hundred dollars
$200
a month for a child under two
years of age and up to
one hundred seventy-five dollars
$175
a month for each other dependent. This
dependent care disregard is allowed only if the expense is necessary to allow
the household member to become or remain employed or to attend postsecondary
training or education that is preparatory to employment.
2. The total gross countable income of a needy
family
that includes a nonparent relative head of household who
is not applying for or receiving cash assistance and who is requesting cash
assistance only for a dependent child
shall not exceed one hundred
thirty percent of the federal poverty guidelines.
Q. If the total gross countable income in subsection
P, paragraph 2 of this section does not exceed one hundred thirty percent of
the federal poverty guidelines, in determining benefit amount, the department
shall exclude the income of all members of the needy family except for the
income of the eligible dependent child for whom cash assistance is requested.
R. For the purposes of eligibility and benefit
amount
,
for a child only case, both
of the following apply:
1.
Only the income of the
dependent child is considered for a child only case.
2. The benefit amount is based on
available monies as determined by the department.
S. Any parent or other relative who applies for or
receives cash assistance under this article on behalf of a dependent child who
is between six and sixteen years of age shall ensure that the child is enrolled
in and attending school.� An initial applicant is ineligible for benefits until
the applicant's dependent children are verified to be enrolled in and attending
an educational program. The department of education shall assist the
department of economic security in obtaining verification of school enrollment
and attendance. The director of the department of economic security
may adopt rules for granting good cause exceptions from this
subsection. The department of economic security shall sanction a
recipient who fails, without good cause, to ensure school enrollment and
attendance according to section 46-300.
T. Any parent or other relative who applies for or
receives cash assistance under this section on behalf of a dependent child
shall ensure that the child is immunized in accordance with the schedule of
immunizations pursuant to section 36-672.� The director of the department
of economic security may adopt rules for granting good cause exceptions from
this subsection. The department of economic security shall sanction
a recipient, in accordance with section 46-300, who fails, without good
cause, to obtain the required immunizations for a dependent child unless the
recipient submits to the department of economic security the documentation
described in section 15-873.
END_STATUTE