756-5          AVAILABILITY OF INCOME

Availability is measured first in terms of the dependent children, secondly in terms of the caretaker relative. Availability may be actual or assumed. Conditions of assumed availability are:

• Any money, except for TATemporary Assistance, APAAdult Public Assistance, or SSISupplemental Security Income income, received by a natural or adoptive parent who resides with their child is assumed to be totally available to the child;
• Income of a dependent child is available to the assistance unit, if the child is included in the assistance unit or is part of the mandatory filing unit;
• Money received by a legally married person is assumed to be totally available to the person's spouse if the couple is living together;
• Deposits made in joint ("or) accounts, owned by a member of the assistance unit and any person outside the economic unit, are considered available income in the month of receipt. Ownership is determined in accordance with ATAPAlaska Temporary Assistance Program MS 752-2 and 752-8;
• Payments made to a third party on behalf of a member of the economic unit are considered to be income to the unit member if that member is able, without penalty, to redirect payments directly to themselves;
• Portions of any earned or unearned income of a legally married stepparent are assumed to be available to meet the needs of the spouse and stepchild(ren), if the stepparent resides with the applying household. This is true as long as a stepparent does not receive SSISupplemental Security Income, APAAdult Public Assistance, or TATemporary Assistance income (see ATAPAlaska Temporary Assistance Program MS 770-8);
• Portions of any earned or unearned income of a minor parent's parent are assumed to be available to meet the needs of the minor parent if the minor parent resides with his or her parents (see ATAPAlaska Temporary Assistance Program MS 770-8); and
• Portions of the income of sponsor(s) and Form I-874 signatories of certain legal aliens are assumed available to meet the needs of the alien (see ATAPAlaska Temporary Assistance Program MS 770-8).