Q & A: Noncustodial Parent Reporting

Noncustodial Parent Reporting:

Q1: We understand that the State may include or exclude noncustodial parents from disaggregated reporting on an individual case basis. Is this true? Can States choose to include participating noncustodial parents as part of a TANF case and exclude non-participating noncustodial parents?

A1: No. Your understanding is incorrect. States must report information on noncustodial parents if the noncustodial parent (1) is receiving assistance as defined in §260.31; (2) is participating in work activities as defined in section 407(d) of the Act; or (3) has been designated by the State as a member of a family receiving assistance. If the noncustodial parent is the only member of the family receiving assistance, the State must report the disaggregated and aggregated information on the entire family. If the noncustodial parent is only participating in work activities that do not constitute assistance (as defined in §260.31of the CFR) and the other members of the family are not receiving assistance, the State must report only the aggregated information on the noncustodial parent.

Q2: If a noncustodial parent of a TANF family is a custodial parent of another TANF case, do we report the parent only in the case in which (s)he is a custodial parent or do we also report him/her in the case for which he/she is a noncustodial parent? How is this reporting going to impact Section III?

A2: If a noncustodial parent for a given TANF case is also custodial parent of another TANF case, the State must report the individual with one of the two cases (but not with both cases.) The preferred approach is to report the individual with the case for which (s)he is the custodial parent. If the State reports the NCP in this way, the State would not include this individual in data element #15 (Total Number of Noncustodial Parents Participating in Work Activities) in section three of the TDR.

Q3:When a State reports on a noncustodial parent, some data elements may be absent because there are no legal requirements for the noncustodial parents to provide such data. Is there a penalty for missing data related to the noncustodial parent?

A3: Yes. There is a reporting penalty associated with failing to report data specified in the section 411 (a) data reporting requirements for noncustodial parents.

Q4: How is a noncustodial parent, who participates in work activities under the State’s TANF program and receives only non-assistance, reported, when his/her related TANF eligible family is not receiving assistance?

A4: In this situation, the noncustodial parent is reported only in section three of the TANF Data Report.

Q5: Can we be more specific about which of the following should be included in the TANF Data Report — Section Three:

(a) Any noncustodial parent participating in work activities, regardless of whether or not their children are receiving TANF benefits. (Under this most expansive scenario, New York State could have well over a million noncustodial parents)

(b) Noncustodial parents who are participating in work activities - the second most expansive interpretation of this definition would include employed noncustodial parents of all TANF cases (regardless of whether they are no-parent, one-parent or two-parent cases). (For New York State, this could be over 250,000);OR

(c) Noncustodial parents who are participating in work activities, can be identified as being associated in a noncustodial status with a TANF case, but are not included as a member of the case in question;

(d) Noncustodial parents, who are participating in work activities, can be identified as being associated in a noncustodial status with a TANF case and are included as a member of the case in question.

A5: The statute indicates that the State must report on the number of noncustodial parents participating in work activities as defined in section 407(d). This includes all noncustodial parents served by the State’s TANF program.

Q6: May a State provide benefits to noncustodial parents (NCPs) who live in another State?

A6: No. Under the definition of "noncustodial parents" in the TANF final rules (see amended definition at 64 FR 40290-40292),noncustodial parents must be residents of the State. As we had indicated in the preamble published April 12 (64 FR 17752), we viewed noncustodial parents living outside the State to be beyond the scope of the State's TANF program.

If a State has one or more border cities and wants to assist noncustodial parents living across the State line, we would suggest that it explore the use of Welfare-to-Work funds or the development of reciprocal arrangements with the bordering State(s) for that purpose.

Q7: May a State elect to provide “assistance” to a non-custodial parent (NCP) and count that parent’s hours of participation in work activities toward the work participation rate for the family? Would this family be considered a two-parent family? If so, what coding must a State use to report the family?

A7: Yes, a State may provide “assistance,” as defined at 45 CFR 260.31(a), to a NCP and may report for work participation rate purposes any hours in the countable activities described in the Federal regulations at 45 CFR 261.30. A State could also provide “non-assistance” to the NCP (i.e., allowable benefits or services that are outside the definition of assistance). If the State provided only non-assistance benefits to the NCP, then hours of work would not count toward the rate because the NCP would not be a work-eligible individual, as defined at 45 CFR 261.2(n).

The preamble to the original TANF rule (64 Fed. Reg. 17774, dated April 12, 1999) noted, “A State may, but is not required to, treat a family in which a noncustodial parent receives TANF assistance as a two-parent family.” This is still true under current rules. Accordingly, a State should make its definition of a two-parent family for work participation purposes clear in its TANF State plan or other State policy documents. The minimum two-parent definition for work participation purposes is specified at 45 CFR 261.24(c).

If the State does not consider such a family to be a two-parent family for work participation purposes, it should code the Type-of-Family (TANF Data Report-Section one, item 12) with a “1” (1=Family included only in overall work participation rate (i.e., family includes one or more work-eligible individuals but does not meet definition of a two-parent family). If the State does consider such a family to be a two-parent family, it should code the Type-of-Family with a “2” (2=Two-Parent Family included in both the overall and the two-parent work participation rates (i.e., family includes two work-eligible parents and meets the definition of a two-parent family.)