Medicaid Policy
Medicaid Policy
Who is a Parent
Parents are either legal parents or step-parents.
A legal parent includes:
A biological parent. This includes a birth mother or a father whose paternity of a child has been established according to state law.
An individual who has relinquished their parental rights is no longer the legal parent of the child.
A man is presumed to be the father of a child in the following situations, even if the marriage is later declared invalid:
He is married to the birth mother at the time of birth.
His ex-wife gives birth to the child within 300 days from the termination of their marriage.
Individuals adjudicated by a court to be a child's parent.
An individual who has legally adopted a child (adoption has been finalized).
An individual confirmed to be the intended parent by the court under a gestational agreement.
An individual who affirms to be the intended parent under an assisted reproduction agreement.
Such an agreement is a written consent to assisted reproduction by a married women that is signed by the women and her husband.
A step-parent is the spouse of a legal parent whose parental relationship to the child is only through the marriage.
How to Establish Parental Relationship
Accept the client's statement for parental relationship to the child unless the agency has conflicting information.
If there is a reason to doubt the client's statement, request the individual provide on of the documents found in Table VIII.