CA Student Criteria
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An 18-year-old who meets the full-time student criteria and the Date of Graduation requirement is considered a dependent child for CA.
Policy
The CA student and their caretaker relative(g) are potentially eligible for CA. The full-time student, who is expected to graduate from high school before their 19th birthday, remains potentially eligible for CA as a dependent child when deprived of parental care or support.
Full-time Students
An 18-year-old is considered a dependent child for CA when they meet all of the following criteria:
●They are a full-time student.
●They are expected to complete their course of study before or during the month they turn 19. (See Date of Graduation)
To be considered a full-time student they must be attending either high school, or the equivalent level of a trade or technical school. Consider all of the following:
●Full-time high school attendance is defined by the school the student is attending.
●Full-time trade or technical school attendance is defined as one of the following:
30 hours per week including shop practice
25 hours per week without shop practice
A dependent child who is otherwise eligible may attend school or participate in JOB Corps out of state and remain eligible for CA when the caretaker relative with whom the child lived in Arizona, retains Arizona residency.
Date of Graduation
The 18-year-old student's CA eligibility ends the first day of the month following the month student status ends.
The date of graduation is defined as the date of the last scheduled class. This is not the date of the graduation ceremony. The student is considered enrolled and attending full time during vacations and semester breaks when the student meets all of the following criteria:
●Intends to return to school full time following the end of summer vacation or a semester break
●Has not graduated or dropped out of school
●Has not been suspended or expelled
A dependent child who receives SSI and is a student, allows the caretaker relative to remain eligible for CA until the child reaches the age of 19.
Procedures
Verify all of the following student eligibility criteria:
●The date of birth of the 18-year-old (See Date of Birth Verification)
●Full-time student status as defined by the school
●Date of completion of the course of study
Do not count any earned income of a dependent child who meets the CA Student Criteria.
Verification
System interfaces 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 any of the nonfinancial or financial eligibility factors.
When school attendance is questionable, verify school attendance using any of the following procedures:
●Request verification from the PI(g)
●Make a collateral contact to the school
●Send an Authority to Release Student Information (FAA-0060A) form to the school
The participant has the primary responsibility for providing verification. (See Participant Responsibilities – Providing Verification for additional policy.)
Sources of verification for full-time student status and date of completion include, and are not limited to, all of the following:
●Collateral contact with the school
●Verification of School Attendance form (FAA-0075A)
●Participant's statement, when documented or collateral contact verification is not available (See Verification process)
Any of the following sources can be requested and used to verify school attendance:
●Correspondence from the school
●Registration form
●School records or the school’s official statement
●Home teaching affidavit filed with the county
●Current report card
●Scholarship boards/records
●Participant's statement (allowed as a last resort)
AZTECS Procedures
Date of Graduation
The 18-year-old student's CA eligibility ends the first day of the month following the month student status ends. Key the date of the completion of the course of study in the GRAD DATE field on SSDO. This date is defined as the date of the last scheduled class. Do not key the date of the graduation ceremony.
Legal Authorities
AAC R6-12-306
AAC R6-12-309
AAC R6-12-310
45 CFR 206.10(a)(1)(vii)
45 CFR 233.10(b)(2)(ii)(a)
last revised 09/26/2022