408-6 ABD - Joint Custody and Temporary Absence

Effective Date: June 1, 2025

Previous Policy

A. Joint Custody Situations

Physical living arrangements of a child determine in which household a child should be included. This is true even when a parent claims to have joint custody of the child. Count a child residing in a parent's home more than 50% of the time in that household, despite custody agreements or court orders.

1. Do not base household composition solely on a court order awarding custody. Consider the actual circumstances of where the child lives on a case-by-case basis.

2. A child’s physical living arrangement is where the child returns to after a temporary absence or visitation to the other parent.

3. When living arrangements show the child is living 50% of the time in each parent’s household, count the child in the household of the parent who applies first and is found eligible.

· If both parents apply on the same day, they may decide together in which household to count the child. Document their agreement.

· If parents dispute which household they want the child to be a part of, verify where the child is living if it is undetermined request an investigation.

4. If there is an actual change of residence of a Medicaid recipient (child begins living in the other parent's household more than 50% of the time), remove the child from the open Medicaid case using 10-10-10 rules. If the other parent has an open medical assistance case, refer to 815-4 about adding a new household member to re-determine the child's eligibility.

B. Temporary Absence for ABD Medicaid

1. General Rule

A person is temporarily absent when the person leaves the primary residence but intends to, and does return in the same month or the following month. Usually the person must have lived in the home at least one month before the absence begins. However, sometimes a permanent residence is the place where one or more household members live and to which the individual intends to return.

If a individual is homeless, see 215-2.

2. Intent

a. If the individual or family member returns by the end of the month after the absence began, do not develop intent. The absence was temporary because the person returned within the time limit.

b. If you learn someone has left the home before the end of the second month, ask the individual if the person intends to return by the end of the month after the absence began. Accept the client's statement.

c. If the individual says the absence is temporary, the person is still a resident of the household until the end of the month after the month the absence began. If the person has not returned by then, the absence is not temporary and the person is no longer part of the household. (See 3, 4 and 5 below for exceptions.)

d. If the individual says the absence is not temporary, stop counting the person in the household effective the month after the absence began. (See 3. below if the absent family member is a child away at school.)

e. If the individual enters a medical facility, see 6 below.

3. Child away at school

a. A child away at school (educational or vocational training facility) is temporarily absent from the parent's home if they return some weekends, holidays, or vacations, and they are subject to parental control. In this case, the child is temporarily absent regardless of the duration of the absence. The child is still part of the parent's household. To determine how this impacts income deeming, see 410-3.

b. A child away at school who is not subject to parental control is not a resident of the parent's household. If the child is the eligible individual, determine where the child lives based on the type and location of his or her actual physical residence. If the child is an ineligible child, remove the child from the household. (See 410-3)

c. The temporary absence ends when the child returns home.

d. The temporarily absent child stops being a part of the household when the child no longer intends to return home, or no longer meets the definition of a child. (See 408-2 if a non-disabled student is no longer a student.)

4. Child in non-medical facility

A child living at a non-medical facility that is not the Utah State Hospital and is not for education or vocational training is not temporarily absent if the child will not return by the end of the month after the absence begins. The child is a resident of the facility. The child becomes a resident of the facility at the beginning of the month after entering the facility when the stay will not end by the end of the second month. (See 410-3 for deeming policy)

5. Absence for military service

An ineligible spouse or parent who is absent due solely to active duty in the Armed Forces is temporarily absent if they intend to return to the home. The ineligible spouse or parent is still a resident of the household. Accept the client's statement or a statement from the ineligible spouse or parent.

6. Absence for medical treatment

The individual is temporarily absent if the individual returns before the end of the month in which the absence began. See 410-3 for deeming policy. See 415-10 to decide what amount of in-kind shelter to count, if applicable. See 215-2 for additional information on when individuals enter a medical institution.