California Department of Social Services - State Hearings Division
Notes from the Training Bureau - July 3, 1997

This ACL includes draft regulations effective May 1, 1997, which provide that, with certain exceptions, a member of the Assistance Unit (AU) may not be considered temporarily absent from the home if the absence is for more than one month.

Exceptions include children in public hospitals who may be considered temporarily absent for up to two months. A child hospitalized for more than two months may continue to be aided as a temporarily absent child for an indefinite time if the caretaker relative continues to exercise care and control.

Other exceptions include AU members absent from the home more than one month include absence due to employment, educational or vocational training, or because a child is living in a group home due to a crisis situation.

In joint custody cases, a child who alternates living arrangements for more than one calendar month is not considered temporarily absent from the home of the caretaker relative without the child.