SECTION 340:10-7-1. Residence

  To be eligible to receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), a person must be making his or her home in Oklahoma. Once established,a person does not lose Oklahoma residency status when he or she is removed from Oklahoma against his or her will and held in another state, for example, in federal prison or goes out-of-state to look for a job or to attend school.

(1)   A person's statement that he or she is an Oklahoma resident and is not residing in Oklahoma for a temporary purpose is sufficient when consistent with other known facts. When the statement is inconsistent with other known facts, further substantiation is necessary.

(2)   When a person lived in another state or states at any time that he or she lives in another state before applying for TANF in Oklahoma, the worker must contact the other state(s) to determine how many months, if any, the person received TANF and if cash assistance is currently open.

(A)   When TANF is open in the other state, the closure date is coordinated between states to ensure the applicant does not receive TANF cash assistance in Oklahoma and the other state for the same month.

(B)   When the person already received 60 months of TANF cash assistance TANF is not approved in Oklahoma unless a hardship extension is approved, per Oklahoma Administrative Code (OAC) 340:10-3-56(a)(2)(E).

(3)   Continuous residence is established when the case record and contact with the person show no evidence of absence from Oklahoma.

(A)   Temporary residence. For purposes of TANF eligibility, a person is considered a resident of Oklahoma when he or she plans to reside in Oklahoma temporarily because of a job commitment or to seek employment, as long as the person does not receive cash assistance from another state. This includes migrant and itinerant workers who maintain a homestead in another state. A person traveling through the state or visiting relatives in this state is not considered a resident.

(B)   Out-of-state visits. When a member of the TANF assistance unit temporarily leaves the state for a purpose described in OAC 340:10-3-56(b) and intends to return to Oklahoma when the purpose of the absence is accomplished, it does not interrupt Oklahoma residence. The recipient is responsible for informing the worker which member(s) of the assistance unit plans to visit out-of-state, for what purpose, and the planned departure and return dates.

(i)   When a person included in a TANF assistance unit is temporarily absent from the state, he or she may continue to be included in the assistance unit for at least three months unless circumstances unrelated to the temporary absence occur, the purpose of the absence is accomplished, or a longer period of absence is permitted, per OAC 340:10-3-56(b). The person is considered an Oklahoma resident until there is substantial factual evidence he or she chooses to establish residence in another state.

(ii)   When the TANF Work participant is the person that temporarily leaves the state and does not participate in TANF Work activities during the absence, he or she may be sanctioned, per OAC 340:10-2-2 unless a good cause reason exists.

(iii)   When the person applies for cash assistance in another state and is determined eligible by that state, the closure effective date in Oklahoma is coordinated with the effective date of certification in the other state, to ensure there is no interruption in the assistance payment or duplication of benefits.

[Source: Amended at 11 Ok Reg 1023, eff 1-1-94 (preemptive); Amended at 17 Ok Reg 444, eff 11-1-99 (emergency); Amended at 17 Ok Reg 2075, eff 7-1-00; Amended at 26 Ok Reg 1223, eff 6-1-09; Amended at 28 Ok Reg 781, eff 6-1-11; Amended at 37 Ok Reg 1776, eff 9-15-20]