Caretaker Relatives 510-05-35-15

(Revised 1/1/13 ML #3358)

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(N.D.A.C. Section 75-02-02.1-08.1)

 

  1. Caretaker relatives may be eligible for Medicaid when they have a deprived child living with them. Caretaker relatives who are not a natural or adoptive parent, however, can only be eligible if the child is actually "living" with them, and is not just temporarily absent from the parental home, and if the caretaker relative is married and not residing with their spouse or is an unmarried individual. The following individuals may be considered a caretaker relative:
  1. A natural or adoptive parent;
  2. A grandparent (including a great, great-great, or great-great-great- grandparent);
  3. A sibling (if age sixteen or older);
  4. An aunt or uncle (including a great or great-great aunt or great or great-great uncle);
  5. A niece or nephew (including a great or great-great niece or great or great-great nephew);
  6. A first cousin (an aunt or uncle’s child) or first cousin once removed (an aunt or uncle’s grandchild);
  7. A second cousin (a great aunt or great uncle’s child);
  8. A stepparent (if natural or adoptive parent is not in the home);
  9. A stepbrother or stepsister; or
  10. A spouse of any of the above individuals even after the marriage is terminated by death or divorce.

 

  1. A caretaker relative may only be eligible for Medicaid when:
  1. A child who is eligible for Medicaid is included in the Medicaid unit; or
  2. When a caretaker relative requests Medical coverage and is otherwise eligible for Medicaid for a month in which all the children in the unit are covered under Healthy Steps, the caretaker relative may be eligible for Medicaid coverage for that month, coverage for future months requires at least one eligible child included in the Medicaid case.

 

  1. A child is considered to be living with a caretaker relative when away at school or when otherwise temporarily absent from the home. A child is not considered to be living with a caretaker relative when either the child or the caretaker is residing in a nursing care facility, an intermediate care facility for the mentally retarded, or a specialized facility on other than a temporary basis.

 

  1. A child may not be considered to be living with more than one caretaker relative in more than one Medicaid unit for the same time period.

 

  1. When the only child in common in a Medicaid unit is unborn and there is deprivation of unemployment/underemployment, incapacity, or disability, the prospective parents must be married, and in the same Medicaid unit, in order for the father to be eligible as a caretaker relative.

 

  1. Termination of parental rights removes all relationships and responsibilities between the parent and the child(ren). The parent becomes a "legal stranger" to the child(ren). However, for Medicaid purposes, the blood relatives of a parent whose parental rights have been terminated continue to be treated as relatives of the child(ren).

 

  1. A child other than a natural or adoptive child cannot create eligibility for a caretaker when a natural or adoptive child under age 21, or 18 if blind or disabled, resides in the home of the caretaker.