WAC 388-454-0010 Do I have to be related to a child in order to get TANF or SFA for the child?

To get TANF or SFA, a child must live with a parent, other relative, court-ordered guardian, court-ordered custodian, or other adult acting in loco parentis.

1. We consider the following people as parents for TANF and SFA: 

   1. The child's natural or adoptive parent; or

   2. A stepparent who is legally obligated to support the child.

2. We consider a man as a child's natural father if the relationship is:

   1. Made under a judgment or order under RCW 26.26.130 that set the relationship between the parent and child; or

   2. Presumed under the Uniform Parentage Act (chapter 26.26 RCW).

3. When a child lives with a relative, the relative must be one of the following relationships to the child in order for that child to be eligible for TANF or SFA:

   1. The following blood relatives (including relatives of half blood) or their spouses: Siblings, first cousins (including first cousins once removed), nephews and nieces, and persons of earlier generations (including aunts, uncles and grandparents) as shown by the prefixes of great, great-great, or great-great-great;

   2. A natural parent whose parental rights were terminated by a court order;

   3. A stepparent who no longer has to support the child because:

      1. The child's natural or adoptive parent died; or

      2. Divorce or dissolution ended the marriage between the stepparent and the child's natural or adoptive parent.

   4. A step sibling even if the marriage between the step sibling's parent and the child's natural or adoptive parent ended by death, divorce or dissolution.