WAC 388-484-0010   How does the five-year (sixty-month) time limit for TANF, SFA and GA-S cash assistance apply to American Indians or Alaskan Natives living in Indian country?  (1) If you are American Indian or Alaskan Native, time limits on temporary assistance for needy families (TANF), state family assistance (SFA) and general assistance for pregnant women (from May 1, 1999 to July 31, 1999) do not count under certain circumstances.

     If you are an American Indian or Alaskan Native parent or other relative as defined by WAC 388-454-0010, months of cash assistance do not count against the sixty-month lifetime limit if you live in Indian country or an Alaskan Native village where at least fifty percent of Indian adults are not employed.

     (2) Do time limits on cash assistance apply if I am not an American Indian or Alaskan Native but I am the parent or other relative of an American Indian or Alaskan Native child?

     If you are a non-American Indian or non-Alaskan Native parent or other relative, as defined by WAC 388-454-0010, of an American Indian or Alaskan Native child or children living in a qualifying area of Indian country, your months on assistance will count against your lifetime limit. You may, however, receive more than sixty months of assistance under hardship criteria to be developed by the department.

     (3) Where must I live to qualify for the Indian country exemption to time limits?

     To qualify for this exemption to TANF time limits, you must live in "Indian country." The department uses the "Indian country" definition in federal law at 18 U.S.C. 1151. Indian country is defined as reservations, dependent Indian communities, and allotments. Dependent Indian communities must be set aside by the federal government for the use of Indians and be under federal superintendence. Near reservation areas (areas or communities adjacent or contiguous to reservations) are not considered Indian country for purposes of this exemption.

     (4) Can I live on the reservation or Indian country belonging to a tribe other than my own to qualify for this time limit exemption?

     Yes. You do not need to be an American Indian or Alaskan Native of the same tribe as the reservation or other area of Indian country on which you reside.

     (5) How does the department determine if at least fifty percent of adults living in Indian country are not employed?

     The department uses the most current biennial Indian Service Population and Labor Force Estimates Report published by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), or any successor report, as the default data source to determine if the not employed rates for areas of Indian country are at least fifty percent.

     (6) What if a tribe disagrees with the not employed rate published in the BIA Indian Service Population and Labor Force Estimates Report?

     A tribe may provide alternative data, based on similar periods to the Indian Service Population and Labor Force Estimates Report, to demonstrate that the not employed rate is at least fifty percent.



[Statutory Authority: RCW 74.04.005, 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.057, 74.08.090, 74.08A.010, and 42 U.S.C. 608 (a)(7). 01-04-016, § 388-484-0010, filed 1/26/01, effective 2/1/01.]