Arizona Residency
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This subject includes information about Arizona residency requirements.
Policy
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Arizona Residency Requirements
Arizona residency is an eligibility requirement for NA and CA.
A participant may be living in Arizona and not meet the Arizona residency requirement. Meeting the Arizona residency requirement includes all of the following:
●When a participant establishes Arizona as their permanent home.
NOTE Participants are not required to live in Arizona for any specific time.
●A participant may meet the Arizona residency requirement when they move to Arizona.
●When temporarily away from Arizona, a participant intends to return.
Once a participant establishes Arizona residency, the participant is a resident until they leave Arizona to establish residency in another state or country.
Arizona residency is not met for temporary purposes, such as any of the following:
●Vacationing
●Visitors
●Students from out of state
Residing in a permanent dwelling or having a fixed address is not required to receive NA or CA benefits. However, the Primary Informant(g) needs to have a mailing address to receive notifications from FAA.
For NA, participants need to meet the Arizona residency requirement on the application date and do not have to intend to remain in Arizona. Examples include any of the following:
●Students returning to Arizona during school break.
●Arizona residents spending a portion of the year living in another state.
For CA, participants need to meet Arizona residency requirements with the intent to remain in Arizona, which includes all of the following:
●The participant considers Arizona their permanent home.
●The participant has established residency in Arizona.
●The participant has abandoned residency(g) in another state or country.
NOTE During the interview, the Primary Informant (PI) needs to state their intent to remain in Arizona for CA eligibility.
●The participant is not receiving CA benefits from another state.
NOTE When a participant is receiving CA benefits in another state, see Duplicate Participation for CA procedures.
The CA dependent child’s Arizona residency is the same as the caretaker relative(g) with whom the child lives permanently.
A CA dependent child retains Arizona residency when the caretaker relative retains Arizona residency. CA dependent children maintain residency when out of the home for any, and not limited to, of the following:
●While attending school
●Participating in Job Corps out of state
Before eligibility can be determined, questionable Arizona residency is resolved on a case-by-case basis.
Homeless and Arizona Residency
Homeless(g) participants can verify Arizona residency with a participant’s statement. See General Delivery for information about using General Delivery and finding a General Delivery service mailing address.
NOTE When a budgetary unit does not have a valid U.S. Postal Service mailing address, FAA asks the participant for detailed directions and descriptions of where they reside.
See Providing Verification for more information about participant statement verification.
Temporarily Out of U.S. Address
An NA or CA participant residing temporarily out of the United States (U.S.) for 30 calendar days(g) or longer is ineligible for benefits. The participant is removed from the benefit determination.
When all participants in the budgetary unit are temporarily residing outside of the U.S., benefits are stopped.
NA Temporarily Out of Arizona
An NA participant may temporarily reside outside Arizona and still be within the U.S. and retain Arizona residency. There is no specific time limit on how long the participant may be out of state and maintain Arizona residency.
When temporarily out of state, to continue meeting Arizona residency and remain eligible, all of the following apply:
●The participant intends to return to Arizona when the reason for their absence ends.
●The participant does not establish residency in another state.
●The participant does not receive benefits from another state.
When the PI states that everyone in the budgetary unit is still an Arizona resident, all of the following information is needed from the participant:
●The reason the budgetary unit is temporarily out of state.
●When the budgetary unit anticipates returning to Arizona.
NOTE When a budgetary unit meets Arizona residency requirements while receiving NA in Arizona, neither a participant nor a budgetary unit is eligible to receive NA benefits in another state.
●When the PI no longer receives mail at the address of record, the PI needs to provide FAA with all of the following information:
An address in Arizona where the PI’s mail is delivered.
NOTE Mail cannot be delivered out of state.
The name of the person who receives the PI’s mail.
NOTE The PI is responsible for reporting an address change to the U.S. Postal Service.
When the budgetary unit no longer meets Arizona residency requirements, NA benefits are stopped for the following month. No notice is required.
CA Temporarily Out of the Home
A CA budgetary unit or a participant may retain Arizona residency and receive CA benefits when temporarily out of state. The CA participant is removed from the CA benefits, or the benefits are stopped following the Notice of Adverse Action(g) when any of the following occurs:
●The budgetary unit or a participant has not returned to Arizona within 30 calendar days.
NOTE A minor child may be temporarily away from home for 180 calendar days at renewal or during the approval period.
●The budgetary unit reports the intent to establish residency outside of the state.
●A participant leaves the budgetary unit to reside elsewhere.
NOTE The participant is removed from the benefits, and eligibility is redetermined for the remaining participants.
A participant receiving CA benefits may meet Arizona residency when temporarily out of the home when one of the following occurs:
●When a new application is submitted for potential eligibility, all of the following conditions apply:
The child or caretaker relative returns to the home within 30 calendar days of the first CA payment date.
The child or caretaker relative is not an inmate in a penal facility.
●At renewal or during the approval period(g), eligibility may exist for a child or caretaker relative in any of the following situations:
The minor child may be temporarily away from home for 180 calendar days. Reasons for the child’s absence may include any of the following:
●Attending school
●Hospitalization
●Placement in a rehabilitation center
NOTE Children are potentially eligible for the months entering or leaving foster care when foster care funds have not been used for the child’s care.
The caretaker relative may be temporarily out of the home as long as the caretaker relative is expected to return. The budgetary unit continues to be eligible when all of the following are met:
●The absence is not more than 30 calendar days.
●The caretaker relative is in a hospital, rehabilitation center, or school.
●The caretaker relative maintains a home for the child.
●The caretaker relative continues exercising responsibility for the care and custody of the child.
Participants are not eligible for CA benefits when staying in a facility that meets all the basic needs(g). A participant is potentially eligible for the month they entered the facility and left the facility.
Procedures
When a participant is receiving CA benefits in another state, see Duplicate Participation for CA procedures.
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Verifying Arizona Residency
Residency must be verified before benefits are approved. Do not require a specific type of verification. Accept any reasonable document.
When using a bill for Arizona residency verification, the bill must include all of the following:
●The name of a participant in the budgetary unit.
●The Arizona residential address of the budgetary unit.
At the interview for CA, document the case file(g) with the participant’s statement of their intent to remain in Arizona.
When the participant does not have a document to verify residency at the interview, use all of the following to attempt and verify residency:
●Complete a collateral contact and document the information received in the case file.
●When the participant is in an FAA office, have the participant sign the Verification of Living Arrangement/Residential Address (FAA-0065A) form. Send the signed FAA-0065A to the landlord or another verification source.
●Use the participant statement verification when not questionable.
Document the actions taken in the case file with attempts to verify residency.
When verifying Arizona residency for homeless(g) participants, complete all of the following:
●Use a participant’s statement to verify residency.
●For participants with a non-traditional residential address, document the case file with the participant's description and location. (See Residential Address on documenting a non-traditional residential address.)
●When a homeless participant cannot provide a mailing address, help participants find an appropriate General Delivery U.S. Postal Service (USPS) office. (See Keying General Delivery Service on ADDR for information about using the Quick Tools on the USPS website.)
The participant may use a P.O. Box or another mailing address different from the residential address. Document why the primary informant(g) uses a different mailing address. (See Mailing Address for procedures when using a mailing address different from the primary informant's (PI) residential address.)
Questionable Arizona Residency
A participant may have just moved to Arizona or provides information that makes Arizona residency questionable(g).
Before determining eligibility, resolve questionable Arizona residency on a case-by-case basis. Questionable information regarding residency includes, and is not limited to, any of the following:
●Driver's license or identification card from another state or country.
●Owning or maintaining a home outside of Arizona.
●The PI's spouse or children are residing in another state or country.
●Maintaining financial accounts in a financial institution outside of Arizona.
●Working in Arizona and cannot verify Arizona residency.
●Filing out-of-state tax returns.
●Information provided during the application or change process is inconsistent with other verification provided by the participant.
(See Example 1)
When Out of the U.S. or Out of the State
Remove the participant from the case when they have been out of the United States (U.S.) for 30 calendar days(g) or longer. When all participants in a budgetary unit temporarily reside out of the U.S., stop benefits allowing for Notice of Adverse Action(g).
When the PI reports that the NA budgetary unit resides temporarily outside of Arizona, redetermine Arizona residency. Unless questionable, use a participant's statement that the budgetary unit intends to return to Arizona.
When the Arizona residency is retained, document the case file with all of the following:
●The reason the budgetary unit is temporarily out of Arizona
●When the budgetary unit anticipates returning to Arizona
Update ADDR with all of the following information:
●An Arizona address where mail is delivered
●The name of the person who receives the PI’s mail
See Keying ATTENTION on ADDR when mail is in the care of someone other than the PI.
When the entire NA budgetary unit moves out of state and are no longer Arizona residents, stop benefits the first month possible after the reported move. No notice is required. (See Change of Address – Moved Out of State for complete policy and procedures.)
Remove a participant from the case or stop benefits when residency is no longer met.
Allow for notice of adverse action (NOAA) before decreasing or stopping CA benefits. Send the appropriate notice. (See Removing a Participant from an Active CA Case or Change of Address – Moved Out of State for complete policy and procedures.)
CA Temporarily Out of the Home
For new and renewal applications and active cases, all of the following verification is required when a participant is temporarily out of the home:
●A participant’s statement from the PI.
●Verification from the place where the participant is temporarily staying.
When the caretaker relative is not eligible because they are in a facility that meets all the basic needs, discuss the possibility of assigning a CA EBT Alternate Card Holder with the caretaker relative. (See CA EBT Alternate Card Holder Emergency Situations for policy and procedures.)
Include the child in the CA benefits for the entire month the child enters and leaves Foster Care(g) when the foster care funds are not used for the child’s care. Contact the Department of Child Safety (DCS) to verify whether funds were used for the child. (See DCS Contact and Verification for contact information.)
When the caretaker or dependent child is out of the home for more than 30 calendar days, remove the participant from the new application.
(See Removing a Participant from a Pending CA Application for complete AZTECS procedures.)
At renewal or a reported change, remove a participant from the CA benefits when any of the following occurs:
●The caretaker relative is out of the home for at least 30 calendar days
●The dependent child has been out of the home for longer than 180 calendar days
(See Removing a Participant from an Active CA Case for the complete AZTECS procedures.)
Verification
System interface and the case file(g) must be reviewed before verification is requested. No additional verification is needed when AZTECS interface or HEAplus hubs have verified Arizona residency.
Current participation in the Arizona Address Confidentiality Program (ACP) is verification for Arizona residency.
Any of the following can be used to verify Arizona residency and needs to be current and include the name of a participant in the case:
●City directory
●Church records
●Current driver's license
●Motor Vehicles Division documents
●Lease agreement
●Ownership of property documentation
●Phone directory
●Rent or mortgage receipt
●School records
●Statement from a non-relative which includes signature and phone number
●Statement from a non-relative employer which includes signature and phone number
●Statement from a non-relative landlord which includes signature and phone number
●Tax office records
●Utility bill
●Utility company records
●A completed Verification of Living Arrangement/Residential Address (FAA-0065A) form
(See Example 1)
At the interview or for a reported change, FAA can use a collateral contact, when available, to verify Arizona residency. (See Providing Verification for more information about how FAA uses collateral contacts.)
When no other form of verification is available, a participant’s statement can be used when not questionable.
FAA requests participants who do not have a valid U.S. Postal mailing address to provide a statement that includes all of the following information:
●A description of the location where the participant resides.
●Directions to the location where the participant resides.
When a CA child or caretaker relative(g) is temporarily out of the home, all of the following verification is needed to determine continued CA eligibility:
●The length of time for the temporary absence.
●The reason for the temporary absence.
●A participant’s statement from the Primary Informant(g) stating the date when the child or caretaker relative is expected to return home.
●Proof of where the child or caretaker relative is staying. Proof can include a statement from, and is not limited to, any of the following:
Hospital
Physician
Rehabilitation center
School
Relatives and friends with whom the participant is visiting
AZTECS Keying Procedures
When to Key the Residency Start Date
Key the date in the AZ RES DATE Field on RESE only when the participant establishes Arizona residency during the month of application.
Denial Closure for Arizona Residency
When a participant is receiving CA benefits in another state, see Duplicate Participation for CA denial and closure procedures.
When a budgetary unit does not meet the Arizona residency requirements, deny or stop benefits, complete all of the following:
●For NA, stop benefits the first month possible after the month the entire budgetary unit moved out of Arizona. (See Removing a participant from an active NA case when a participant no longer meets Arizona residency requirements.)
●For CA, stop benefits allowing for NOAA when the entire budgetary unit moved out of Arizona. (See Removing a participant from an active CA case when a participant no longer meets Arizona residency requirements.)
●Key the RS Denial Closure Reason Code on FSED or AFED in the DENIAL CLOSURE REASON field.
●Send the appropriate notice.
NOTE When denying an initial NA application using the RS Denial Closure Reason Code, send the NA – Ineligible (F210) notice. When stopping NA benefits using the RS Denial Closure Reason Code, no notice is required.
Keying CA Temporarily Out-of-Home Address on TEOA
TEOA is used to key temporary addresses of CA participants living out of the home temporarily and still in Arizona.
On MAST, complete the START and END field with the date the participant’s temporary out of the home started and is expected to end. Key Y in the CHG ADDR field and press ENTER to access TEOA.
Complete all of the following fields on TEOA:
●INSTITUTION NAME
NOTE When the participant is not in an actual institution, describe where they are staying, e.g., grandmother's house.
●LOC CD using one of the following Out of Home Location Codes:
BH – Behavioral Health Facility
BS – Boarding School/Training
CR – Client Rehabilitative Services Facility
OT – Other
VS – Visits
Examples
1) Harry applied for himself, his wife Sally, and their son Tommy.
Harry turns in a signed statement that he, Sally, and Tommy live in Eloy, Arizona. He provides his driver’s license to verify his identity for NA and a bank statement to show the interest amount. Both the driver’s license and bank statement show a Nevada address.
FAA requested that Harry provide additional information to resolve the discrepancy between the Nevada verification and his written statement. Harry provides his lease agreement. The lease agreement verifies that Harry and his family now live in Eloy.
FAA can approve the family’s application for NA because it meets all eligibility factors.
Legal Authorities
7 CFR 273.2(f)(1)(vi)
7 CFR 273.3
7 CFR 273.3(a) and (b)
ARS 46-292
AAC R6-12-205
AAC R6-12-304
last revised 05/06/2024