{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-56-56-230.52","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 56, § 56-230.52","heading":"Minimum mandatory requirements for Temporary Assistance","body":"for Needy Families (TANF) program - Information management -\n\nImplementation guidelines - List of recipients - Grant diversion\n\nprogram and emergency assistance services authorized.\n\nA. Except for specific exceptions, conditions or restrictions\n\nauthorized by the Statewide Temporary Assistance Responsibility\n\nSystem (STARS) and rules promulgated by the Commission for Human\n\nServices pursuant thereto, the following are the minimum mandatory\n\nrequirements for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)\n\nprogram:\n\n1. A recipient shall be eligible to receive assistance pursuant\n\nto the TANF program only for a lifetime total of five (5) years,\n\nsubject to the exemptions allowed by federal law. Child-only cases\n\nare not subject to the five-year limitation;\n\n2. Single parents receiving temporary assistance pursuant to\n\nthe TANF program shall participate in work activities for a minimum\n\nof twenty (20) hours per week during the month. Two-parent families\n\nreceiving temporary assistance pursuant to the TANF program shall\n\nparticipate in work activities for a minimum of thirty-five (35)\n\nhours per week during the month;\n\n3. A recipient must be engaged in one or more of the work\n\nactivities set out in paragraph 4 of this subsection as soon as\n\nrequired by the Department of Human Services pursuant to the TANF\n\nprogram, but not later than twenty-four (24) months after\n\ncertification of the application for assistance, unless the person\n\nis exempt from work requirements under rules promulgated by the\n\nDepartment pursuant to the STARS;\n\n4. The Department shall develop and describe categories of\n\napproved work activities for the TANF program recipients in\n\naccordance with this paragraph. Work activities that qualify in\n\nmeeting the requirements include, but are not limited to:\n\na. (1) unsubsidized employment which is full-time\n\nemployment or part-time employment that is not\n\ndirectly supplemented by federal or state funds,\n\n(2) subsidized private sector employment which is\n\nemployment in a private for-profit enterprise or\n\na private not-for-profit enterprise that is\n\ndirectly supplemented by federal or state funds.\n\nPrior to receiving any subsidy or incentive, the\n\nemployer shall enter into a written contract with\n\nthe Department, and\n\n(3) subsidized public sector employment which is\n\nemployment by an agency of a federal, state, or\n\nlocal governmental entity which is directly\n\nsupplemented by federal or state funds. Prior to\n\nreceiving any subsidy or incentive, the employer\n\nshall enter into a written contract with the\n\nDepartment.\n\nSubsidized hourly employment or unsubsidized hourly\n\nemployment pursuant to this subparagraph shall only be\n\napproved by the Department as work activity if such\n\nemployment is subject to:\n\n(a) the federal minimum wage requirements\n\npursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act of\n\n1938, as amended,\n\n(b) the federal Social Security tax and Medicare\n\ntax, and\nzed hourly employment or unsubsidized hourly\n\nemployment pursuant to this subparagraph shall only be\n\napproved by the Department as work activity if such\n\nemployment is subject to:\n\n(a) the federal minimum wage requirements\n\npursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act of\n\n1938, as amended,\n\n(b) the federal Social Security tax and Medicare\n\ntax, and\n\n(c) regulations promulgated pursuant to the\n\nfederal Occupational Safety and Health Act\n\nof 1970 and rules promulgated by the State\n\nDepartment of Labor pursuant thereto,\n\nb. a program of work experience,\n\nc. on-the-job training,\n\nd. assisted job search which may include supervised or\n\nunsupervised job-seeking activities,\n\ne. job readiness assistance which may include, but is not\n\nlimited to:\n\n(1) orientation in the work environment and basic\n\njob-seeking and job retention skills,\n\n(2) instruction in completing an application for\n\nemployment and writing a resume,\n\n(3) instruction in conducting oneself during a job\n\ninterview, including appropriate dress, and\n\n(4) substance abuse treatment and mental health\n\ncounseling,\n\nf. job skills training which is directly related to\n\nemployment in a specific occupation for which there is\n\na written commitment by an employer to offer\n\nemployment to a recipient who successfully completes\n\nthe training. Job skills training includes, but is\n\nnot limited to, customized training designed to meet\n\nthe needs of a specific employer or a specific\n\nindustry,\n\ng. community service programs which are job-training\n\nactivities provided in areas where sufficient public\n\nor private sector employment is not available. Such\n\nactivities are linked to both education or training\n\nand activities that substantially enhance a\n\nrecipient’s employability,\n\nh. literacy and adult basic education programs,\n\ni. vocational-educational programs, not to exceed twelve\n\n(12) months for any individual, which are directed\n\ntoward vocational-educational training and education\n\ndirectly related to employment,\n\nj. education programs which are directly related to\n\nspecific employment opportunities, if a recipient has\n\nnot received a high school diploma or General\n\nEquivalency Degree, and\n\nk. child care for other STARS recipients. The recipient\n\nmust meet training and licensing requirements for\n\nchild care providers as required by the Oklahoma Child\n\nCare Facilities Licensing Act;\n\n5. Single, custodial parents with a child up to one (1) year of\n\nage may be exempt from work activities for a lifetime total\n\nexemption of twelve (12) months;\n\n6. In order to receive assistance, unmarried teen parents of a\n\nminor child at least twelve (12) weeks of age must participate in\n\neducational activities or work activities approved by the state;\n\n7. For single-parent families, except for teen parents,\n\neducational activities, other than vocational-technical training, do\n\nnot count toward meeting the required twenty (20) hours of work\n\nactivity. For two-parent families, educational activities, except\n\nvocational-technical training, do not count toward meeting the\n\nrequired thirty-five (35) hours of work activity;\n\n8. A teen parent must live at home or in an approved, adult-\n\nsupervised setting as specified in Section 230.55 of this title to\n\nreceive TANF assistance;\n\n9. An applicant or recipient with an unborn child and who does\n\nnot have children living in the home qualifies for TANF to the same\n\nextent as a parent with minor children living in the home;\n\n10. A recipient must comply with immunization requirements\n\nestablished pursuant to the TANF program;\n\n11. The following recipient resources are exempt from resource\n\ndetermination criteria:\n\na. an automobile with an equity allowance of not more\n\nthan Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) pursuant to\n\nSection 230.53 of this title,\n\nb. individual development accounts established pursuant\n\nto the Family Savings Initiative Act, or individual\nization requirements\n\nestablished pursuant to the TANF program;\n\n11. The following recipient resources are exempt from resource\n\ndetermination criteria:\n\na. an automobile with an equity allowance of not more\n\nthan Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) pursuant to\n\nSection 230.53 of this title,\n\nb. individual development accounts established pursuant\n\nto the Family Savings Initiative Act, or individual\n\ndevelopment accounts established prior to November 1,\n\n1998, pursuant to the provisions of Section 230.54 of\n\nthis title in an amount not to exceed Two Thousand\n\nDollars ($2,000.00),\n\nc. the equity value of funeral arrangements owned by a\n\nrecipient that does not exceed the limitation\n\nspecified by Section 165 of this title, and\n\nd. earned income disregards not to exceed One Hundred\n\nTwenty Dollars ($120.00) and one-half (1/2) of the\n\nremainder of the earned income;\n\n12. An applicant who applies and is otherwise eligible to\n\nreceive TANF benefits but who has resided in this state less than\n\ntwelve (12) months shall be subject to Section 230.57 of this title;\n\n13. The recipient shall enter into a personal responsibility\n\nagreement with the Department for receipt of assistance pursuant to\n\nSection 230.65 of this title;\n\n14. The Department shall, beginning November 1, 2023, screen\n\nall adult TANF recipients as part of the required TANF employability\n\nplan to determine if they are engaged in the illegal use of a\n\ncontrolled substance or substances. If the Department has made a\n\ndetermination that the recipient is engaged in the illegal use of a\n\ncontrolled substance or substances, the recipient’s TANF\n\nemployability plan will include substance abuse treatment and/or\n\nmental health counseling as a part of the assigned work activities\n\nas set out in paragraph 4 of this subsection. The Department of\n\nHuman Services shall adopt rules to implement the requirements of\n\nthis paragraph consistent with the following:\n\na. the Department shall create a controlled substance\n\nscreening process to be administered during the\n\nassessment process that determines the TANF\n\nemployability plan. The process shall, at a minimum,\n\ninclude a Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory\n\n(SASSI) or other similar screening methods. If\n\nnecessary to establish a reasonable expectation of\n\ncertainty, the Department is authorized to use further\n\nscreening methods, which may include, but are not\n\nlimited to, a clinical interview and consideration of\n\nthe Department’s history with the applicant. If the\n\nDepartment has reasonable cause to believe that the\n\nrecipient is engaged in the illegal use of a\n\ncontrolled substance or substances, the Department is\n\nauthorized, though not required, to request\n\nadministration of a chemical drug test. The cost of\n\nall such initial screenings shall not be borne by the\n\nrecipient,\n\nb. if at any time during the controlled substance\n\nscreening process, the recipient refuses to\n\nparticipate without good cause, that refusal shall\n\nlead to a closure of TANF benefits;\n\n15. a. As a condition of participating in the STARS, all\n\nrecipients are deemed to have given authorization for\n\nthe release of any and all information necessary to\n\nallow all state and federal agencies to meet the\n\nprogram needs of the recipient.\n\nb. The recipient shall be provided a release form to sign\n\nin order to obtain the required information. Failure\n\nto sign the release form may result in case closure;\n\nand\n\n16. The recipient shall comply with all other conditions and\n\nrequirements of the STARS, and rules of the Commission promulgated\n\npursuant thereto.\n\nB. 1. Agencies of this state involved in providing services to\n\nrecipients pursuant to the STARS shall exchange information as\n\nnecessary for each agency to accomplish objectives and fulfill\n\nobligations created or imposed by the STARS and rules promulgated\n\npursuant thereto.\nthe STARS, and rules of the Commission promulgated\n\npursuant thereto.\n\nB. 1. Agencies of this state involved in providing services to\n\nrecipients pursuant to the STARS shall exchange information as\n\nnecessary for each agency to accomplish objectives and fulfill\n\nobligations created or imposed by the STARS and rules promulgated\n\npursuant thereto.\n\n2. Information received pursuant to the STARS shall be\n\nmaintained by the applicable agency and, except as otherwise\n\nprovided by this subsection, shall be disclosed only in accordance\n\nwith any confidentiality provisions applicable to the agency\n\noriginating the information.\n\n3. The various agencies of the state shall execute operating\n\nagreements to facilitate information exchanges pursuant to the\n\nSTARS.\n\nC. In implementing the TANF program, the Department shall:\n\n1. Provide assistance to aliens pursuant to Section 230.73 of\n\nthis title;\n\n2. Provide for the closure of the TANF case when the adult\n\nrecipient refuses to cooperate with agreed upon work activities or\n\nother case requirements pursuant to the TANF program;\n\n3. Provide for the sanctioning of parents who do not require\n\ntheir minor children to attend school; and\n\n4. Deny temporary assistance to fugitive felons.\n\nD. In order to ensure that the needy citizens of this state are\n\nreceiving necessary benefits, the Department shall maintain a\n\nlisting of all recipients receiving public assistance. The listing\n\nshall reflect each recipient’s income, social security number, and\n\nthe programs in which the recipient is participating including, but\n\nnot limited to, TANF, food stamps, child care, and medical\n\nassistance.\n\nE. The Department is hereby authorized to establish a grant\n\ndiversion program and emergency assistance services.","path":["OK Code","Title 56"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os56.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"f7a615c5aa5cec9302fb7ad3d77de29face08a5877cdf264b507b046daf7291d","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-56-56-230.51","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-56-56-230.53"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}