The needs and income of the following persons (unless a mandatory exclusion) may be included if it benefits the family:
Biological and adoptive siblings of the dependent child, who are themselves dependent children. This includes half-brothers and half-sisters.Non-sibling dependent children in the home.Children under the age of 19 receiving SSI. Include an SSI child’s needs and income, other than SSI, in the assistance group to determine his/her MAF eligibility. When the only MAF eligible child receives SSI, eligibility for the eligible caretaker and/or second parent may still exist even if the SSI child is excluded.A DEPENDENT child receiving foster care maintenance payment or adoption subsidy under Title IV-E, Title XIX-FFP or HDN funding.A needy non-parent caretaker relative (NPCR).A needy legal GUARDIAN caretaker.A stepparent may be included to determine eligibility of other assistance group members. A stepparent is not eligible for coverage unless he/she is a needy NPCR and there is not a biological or adoptive parent in the home.
The needs and income of an optional member who has failed to apply for or supply a social security number may be included to determine the eligibility of other family members. On IMU5 show the individual who did not comply with SSN requirement as sanctioned (loc “S”) with a reason code of “N”.
Optional persons may be included or excluded whichever is most beneficial to all persons applying. Exclude any optional child whose inclusion would result in ineligibility of the assistance group. Approve the remaining family members for MAF and EXPLORE ELIGIBILITY FOR THE EXCLUDED CHILD(REN) UNDER THE MC+ FOR CHILDREN PROGRAM.
A caretaker may change a decision regarding optional inclusion of dependent children at any time.
NOTE: A caretaker may choose to include optional persons in the MAF assistance group even though they were excluded from the Temporary Assistance cash assistance group.