Montana Code Annotated
Part 2. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) -- General Provisions
53-4-201. Definitions

53-4-201. Definitions. As used in part 6 and this part, the following definitions apply:
(1) "Approved educational program" means:
(a) a program in a unit of the Montana university system, as provided in 20-25-201, a community college, a tribal college, or any other accredited college in Montana in which an individual is enrolled in pursuit of an associate's or baccalaureate degree; or
(b) an accredited high school or training program approved by the department by rule.
(2) "Assessment" means the process of evaluating a recipient's skills, education, job readiness, and barriers to employment. The term may include further in-depth examination to identify and access services and resources to assist the recipient in eliminating barriers to employment if barriers are identified during the initial assessment.
(3) "Cash assistance" means the programs designed to provide families with monthly cash grants and opportunities leading to self-support and funded, in part, with temporary assistance for needy families block grant funds as provided in 45 CFR 260.31(a).
(4) "Department" means the department of public health and human services provided for in 2-15-2201.
(5) (a) "Dependent child", for public assistance purposes, means:
(i) a child under 18 years of age; or
(ii) a person under 19 years of age who is a student, as defined by the department by rule.
(b) The person described in subsection (5)(a)(i) or (5)(a)(ii) must be living with a specified caretaker relative, as defined by the department by rule.
(6) "Family" means a group of people who live with a dependent child, each of whom is related to the dependent child by blood, marriage, or adoption or by law, such as:
(a) a parent, including a natural or adoptive parent, a stepparent, or a person considered by law to be a parent in the case of a child conceived by artificial insemination; or
(b) a sibling.
(7) "Federal poverty level" means the measure of indigence established annually by the U.S. office of management and budget.
(8) "Individual responsibility plan" means a plan developed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 608(b) that outlines the employment goals and service needs of a person receiving cash assistance or nonfinancial assistance and required to participate in employment and training activities.
(9) "Nonfinancial assistance" means the programs funded, in part, with temporary assistance for needy families, as provided in 45 CFR 260.31(b).
(10) "Public assistance" or "assistance" means a type of monetary or other assistance furnished under this title to a person by a state or county agency, regardless of the original source of the assistance.
(11) "Specified caretaker relative" means a person within a degree of kinship to the dependent child, as specified by department rule, who lives with the child and exercises care and control over the child.
(12) "State plan" means the policies and procedures governing the programs funded by temporary assistance for needy families as prepared by the department and certified by the federal agency that provides funding for the programs.
(13) "Temporary assistance for needy families" means the federal block grant established pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 601, et seq.
History: (1)En. Subd. (a), Sec. 1, Part 4, Ch. 82, L. 1937; amd. Sec. 17, Ch. 129, L. 1939; amd. Sec. 7, Ch. 213, L. 1943; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 71, L. 1957; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 255, L. 1965; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 373, L. 1971; amd. Sec. 30, Ch. 121, L. 1974; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 309, L. 1974; amd. Sec. 33, Ch. 37, L. 1977; Sec. 71-501, R.C.M. 1947; (2)En. Subd. (b), Sec. 1, Part 4, Ch. 82, L. 1937; amd. Sec. 21, Ch. 199, L. 1951; amd. Sec. 5, Ch. 71, L. 1957; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 292, L. 1971; Sec. 71-502, R.C.M. 1947; (3), (4)En. 71-201.1 by Sec. 19, Ch. 121, L. 1974; Sec. 71-201.1, R.C.M. 1947; R.C.M. 1947, 71-201.1, 71-501(1), 71-502; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 2, Sp. L. 1981; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 53, L. 1985; amd. Sec. 155, Ch. 370, L. 1987; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 266, L. 1989; amd. Sec. 17, Ch. 491, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 429, Ch. 546, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 17, Ch. 486, L. 1997; amd. Sec. 18, Ch. 465, L. 2001; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 184, L. 2005; amd. Sec. 14, Ch. 41, L. 2019.