Library: Policy

OKDHS:10-1-23. Deprivation of parental support or care by a natural or adoptive parent

Issued 4-1-98

(a) Scope and applicability. A child is eligible for AFDC if, in addition to meeting other conditions of eligibility, he or she is deprived of parental support or care because either parent is deceased, absent from the home, unemployed, physically or mentally incapacitated. Additionally, a child with a solely responsible parent (i.e., single parent adoption) is eligible. Children whose families do not fall within this description are not eligible regardless of financial need.

• (1) The death, continued absence from the home, unemployment or the incapacity must bear a causal relationship to the deprivation of parental support or care. This means that one or the other of these circumstances must be an important factor in depriving the child of -support or care.
• (2) For the purpose of AFDC eligibility a parent is defined as:
  • (A) The legal father or mother.
  • (B) The legal adoptive father or mother. To be legal adoptive parents, the final court decree must have been issued.
  • (C) The natural father of a child born out of wedlock who acknowledges (orally or n writing) paternity or, whose paternity has been determined by court action, or established by documentation (e.g., birth certificate) or who is alleged by the mother to be tile father.

(b) Death of a natural or adoptive parent. Deprivation by reason of death exists when it is determined that either parent is dead. Death of a parent and the date of death are substantiated from written records kept by or for an undertaker, cemetery, physician, hospital, insurance company, newspaper or Bureau of Vital Statistics. With the consent of the client, contact with persons who have knowledge of the facts may be used if necessary. It is desirable to obtain the cause of death. A referral to Child Support Enforcement Division (CSED) is not necessary in this situation.

(c) Continued absence of a natural or adoptive parent from the home. Continued absence exists when the parent's function as a provider of maintenance, physical care or guidance is interrupted or terminated. It must be anticipated that the absence will continue for at least 30 days or more. A parent who is a "convicted offender" but who is permitted to live at home while serving a court imposed sentence by performing unpaid public work or unpaid community service during the workday is considered absent from the home for purposes of deprivation. Once "convicted offender" status is verified, deprivation is met and further action to determine continued absence is not required. For child support purposes, such parent is not considered an absent parent and referral to the CSED is not made. This does not include the "House Arrest Program".

• (1) In order to determine continued absence in situations where joint custody of child(ren) has been granted, it is necessary to determine the amount of time spent with each parent. The child(ren) must be with a parent for the entire month, not a portion of the month, before they are considered to be deprived of parental support or care by reason of continued absence from the home. The factors to be considered in determination of deprivation due to continued absence include physical absence, frequency of contacts, provision of support and maintenance and provision of physical care or guidance.
• (2) The worker makes the decision of whether deprivation due to continued absence exists on a case-by-case basis by evaluating the individual case circumstances in relation to these factors. For each of these factors, the determination is made based on the absent parent's normal relationship with the children.
• (3) The legal obligation of an own parent for the support of his minor children to the extent of his or her ability is not affected by any action, legal or otherwise except as noted in (4) of this subsection, in regard to the marital relationship of the parents, the custody of the children, or the physical separation of parent and child. This obligation rests with parents who have never been married to each other, but an unmarried mother is legally the sole parent until paternity is established. Enforcement of this obligation is provided by law.
• (4) The legal obligation of an adoptive parent(s) continues even if a child is returned to the care of a natural parent. When deprivation is based on absence of the adoptive parent(s), the appropriate steps are taken to enforce the legal obligation the same as any other case where deprivation is based on absence.
• (5) Court action resulting in termination of parental rights (of one or both parents) which occurs prior to receipt of AFDC removes the legal obligation for support of the minor children involved and does not require referral to CSED. However, action taken to terminate parental rights during AFDC eligibility may indicate non-cooperation by the parent receiving assistance.
• (6) State law requires referral to the appropriate district attorney if an active AFDC case involves willful desertion or abandonment by the parent. This referral to the district attorney is made by the Child Support Enforcement Division.

(d) Physical absence from the home. The first step in determining if deprivation due to continued absence exists is to establish that the parent is physically absent from the home, i.e., does not reside in the home with the child. The physical absence of the parent may be for any reason except for the sole purpose of employment or seeking employment, education or the performance of active duty in the United States Uniformed Services. "Uniformed Services" is defined as the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration and Public Health Services of the United States.

• (1) If a parent does not currently reside with the child because of employment, seeking employment in another locality, education or active service duty but would reside with the child were it not for the employment, education or service duty, then such parent is not considered physically absent from the home. However, if the parent would not reside in the home regardless of employment, education or Uniformed Services duty, then such parent is considered physically absent.
• (2) The best evidence of physical absence is to establish a separate place of residence for the parent. This should be accomplished by verifying the client's statement through contact with collateral's who are knowledgeable of the situation or by conducting a field investigation. A case should not be certified until independent corroboration of the absence is received.
• (3) If a parent is incarcerated in a penal institution, including incarceration while in uniformed service, verification of incarceration is done by use of Form Adm-98. The verification should indicate the date the parent entered the penal institution, the length of sentence, and the probable time the parent will have to serve before parole or expiration of sentence. Form Adm-98 also serves as a vehicle for the penal institution to inform the county of early release or parole information. However, incarceration must be reverified at each redetermination of eligibility.
• (4) If it is determined that the parent is physically absent, then it must be determined if the absence has interrupted or terminated the parent's functioning as a parent. This determination will be made according to the criteria outlined in subsections (e) - (i) of this Section.

(e) Frequency of contact. A primary factor in determining whether the absence from the home is such as to interrupt the parent's functioning as a parent is whether the parent has daily in-person contact with the child. In-person contact means that the parent and child are physically together. The length of time they are together is not a factor in determining in-person contact. Daily contact means that the contact occurs each day of the week (Sunday-Saturday). The determination of whether the contact is daily must be made based on the parent's normal pattern of visitation! contact. For example, if the parent normally has daily in-person contact with the child but is out of town on vacation for two weeks, he or she would still be considered to have daily contact since this interruption of contact is not a regular occurrence. If the absent parent does not have daily in-person contact with the child, as defined in this subsection, his or her functioning as a parent is considered interrupted and the child is deprived. Further action to determine deprivation due to continued absence is not necessary. If the parent does have daily in-person contact with the child see (f) of this Section.

(f) Support and maintenance. If physical absence is determined and daily in-person contact has been maintained, then provision of support and maintenance (as defined in (1) of this subsection) becomes a factor in determining whether parental functioning has been interrupted.

• (1) Support and maintenance are defined as payments, in cash or in kind, made to the household or other entities (including the CSED), which are intended to meet, in whole or in part, the day-to-day expenses of the child. This may include the provision of goods (food, clothing, diapers, etc.), shelter, utilities, daily transportation, or other items. If the absent parent normally provides support and maintenance (as described in this paragraph) on a monthly basis and expects to continue in the future, the child would not be deprived on the support and maintenance requirement. This would be true even if the absent parent had missed the previous month's payment. If, however, he or she has had a change in circumstances (e.g., employment ended) and does not expect to pay support for some indefinite period of time, he or she would not be considered to be providing support and maintenance.
• (2) If the absent parent does not provide support and maintenance, the child is considered deprived. If the parent does provide support and maintenance, proceed to subsection (g).

(g) Physical care. If the absent parent has daily in-person contact with the child and provides regular support and maintenance, then the worker must determine if the parent participates in the provision of physical care for the child. Although the length of time the parent and child are together is not a factor in determining daily in-person contact, it could be a factor in determining whether the parent provides physical care as described in (1) of this subsection.

• (1) Physical care includes the actual provision of physical care (e.g., feeding, bathing, dressing the child, etc.,) or, as in the case of an older child, the supervision of the child in providing his or her own physical care. It may also include other types of parental supervision such as granting or denying permission for activities, etc.
• (2) It is important to determine if the absent parent provides physical care when the child is in his/her custody or if he or she would be the individual looked to for physical care if the other parent were absent or unable to provide the care. In addition, since physical care is usually provided on an "as needed" basis, it is not expected that the absent parent actually provides some type of physical care each time he or she has contact with the child. The determination regarding physical care should be based on whether the parent does, or would provide care when it is needed.
• (3) If it is determined that the absent parent does not provide physical care, the children are considered deprived and further consideration is not necessary. If it is determined that the absent parent does provide physical care, proceed to subsection (i).

(h) Guidance. Guidance is the providing of advice to the child in such areas as school matters, leisure or sports activities, relationships with other children or adults, etc. Guidance may also include participation in decision-making regarding the child's well-being, discipline, etc. It is not expected that the parent actually provides this type of guidance to a very small child. However, it should be ascertained whether the parent would provide guidance if the child were older. If the absent parent does not provide guidance or it is determined that he or she would not if the child were older, the child is considered deprived. If the parent does provide guidance, proceed to subsection (i).

(i) Continued absence decision.

• (1) The decision as to whether a child is deprived of parental support or care due to his or her parent's continued absence from the home is made in accordance with the assessment procedures in (d) - (h) of this Section.
• (2) After determination of the parent's physical absence from the home, the child is considered deprived if the absent parent does not:
  • (A) have daily in-person contact with the child;
  • (B) provide regular support and maintenance;
  • (C) provide physical care; or
  • (D) provide guidance.
• (3) If all of the four factors in (2) of this subsection exist, the child is not considered deprived due to continued absence.