PI Deemed core hours 5-30-07

Temporary Assistance for
Needy Families
Program Instruction
No. TANF-ACF-PI-2006-05 (Amended)

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Administration for Children and Families
Office of Family Assistance
Washington, DC 20447

Date: June xx, 2007

TO:

State agencies administering the Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF) Program and other interested parties

SUBJECT:

Reporting the Number of “Deemed Core Hours” on the TANF Data
Report

REFERENCES:

45 CFR §§ 261.31 and 261.32

PURPOSE:

To instruct States on how to report the number of “deemed core hours” for
the overall and the two-parent work participation rates. This replaces an
earlier version of this program instruction, issued on September 28, 2006.

BACKGROUND:
The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 reauthorized the TANF program and required the Secretary
to issue rules to ensure a more uniform and consistent measurement of the work participation
rates. Under §§ 261.31 and 261.32 of the TANF interim final rule, published on June 29, 2006,
if a work-eligible individual participates in work experience or a community service program for
the maximum number of hours per week that a State may require under the applicable Federal or
State minimum wage law but falls short of the hours needed to meet the “core” hours
requirement, we will “deem” the individual to have participated in the remaining core hours
needed. For purposes of this instruction, we refer to these remaining hours as “deemed core
hours.” This policy is limited to States that combine the value of TANF and food stamp benefit
amounts when calculating the maximum hours of participation permitted based on the applicable
minimum wage. A State can include the value of the food stamp allotment by adopting the miniSimplified Food Stamp Program (mini-SFSP) option.
ACTION:
States must determine and report the deemed core hours for a family in accordance with the
instructions below. A State may only report deemed core hours for work experience or
community service program positions that create an employer-employee relationship. States
may not deem hours of participation in work experience or community service programs that are
not subject to the FLSA or State minimum wage requirements.
To determine the number of deemed core hours for the overall work participation rate, a State
must:

1. Determine the maximum allowable number of hours of participation for a month in work
experience or community service programs by adding the monthly TANF and food stamp
benefits for a family and dividing the result by the higher of the Federal or State
minimum wage.
2. Determine the maximum average weekly number of hours of participation in work
experience or community service programs by dividing the monthly maximum by the
number of weeks in the month. A State must use the same method for determining the
number of weeks in the month for this purpose as it uses to calculate the average number
of hours of participation per week in work activities.
3. Determine the number of deemed core hours by subtracting maximum allowable average
weekly number of hours of participation in work experience or community service
programs from 20 (the core hours work activity requirement).
4. Report deemed core hours only for those work-eligible individuals who actually
participate the maximum number of hours allowed for the month in work experience or
community service programs.

In determining the amount of TANF assistance in step one of the FLSA calculation, States
should calculate the amount of assistance net of any child support collected used to reimburse
the State. Under the community work experience programs provisions of the former JOBS
program, the portion of child support collection, if any, used to reimburse the amount of AFDC
was explicitly excluded by law. Section 482(f)(1)(B)(i) of the Social Security Act outlining the
minimum wage formula specified that “…(and the portion of a recipient’s aid for which the
State is reimbursed by a child support collection shall not be taken into account in determining
the number of hours that such individual may be required to work).”
To determine the number of deemed core hours for the two-parent work participation rate, a
State must follow the same general approach as described for the overall rate. Steps 1 and 2
above are the same for a family in the two-parent rate and the overall rate. In step 3, the State
must subtract the maximum allowable average weekly number of hours of participation in work
experience or community service programs from 30 (the core hours work activity requirement
for a two-parent family) or from 50 (the core hours work activity requirement for a two-parent
family receiving federally subsidized child care) rather than from 20. In step 4, both of the
work-eligible parents in the family may contribute to the hours of participation in work
experience or community service programs to reach the maximum permitted under FLSA.
Reporting Deemed Core on the TANF Data Report
For the overall work participation rate, States must report deemed core hours of TANF workeligible individuals in the TANF Data Report – Section One, Data Element #62, “Additional
Work Activities Permitted Under Waiver Demonstration.”

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For the two-parent work participation rate, States must report deemed core hours of TANF workeligible individuals in the TANF Data Report – Section One, Data Element #64, “Required
Hours of Work Under Waiver Demonstration.”
We are using these waiver-related data elements because we failed to add specific data elements
to collect deemed hours when we revised the TANF Data Report in conjunction with the
publication of the interim final rule. With one exception, States are no longer using these data
elements for waiver-related information and they will serve as a temporary place to report
deemed core hours pending revisions to the TANF Data Report.
Separate State Programs
The TANF rules permit deeming only when the State combines the TANF and food stamps
benefits. Under the law, a Simplified Food Stamp Program (or mini-SFSP) cannot be used with
a separate State program (SSP). That means that it is not possible to count the value of food
stamps with the SSP assistance grant to determine the maximum allowable number of hours of
participation for a month in work experience or community service programs. Therefore, a State
cannot report deemed core hours for a work-eligible individual if the family does not receive
TANF assistance. While a State cannot deem core hours for a family receiving SSP assistance,
we remind States that the minimum wage requirements of the FLSA apply in SSP activities as
they do in TANF activities. Any additional hours beyond the maximum allowed by the FLSA
that a SSP family needs to count toward the participation rates must come from other activities.
EFFECTIVE DATE:

October 1, 2006.

INQUIRIES:

Inquiries should be directed to the appropriate Administration for
Children and Families (ACF) Regional Administrator.

Sidonie Squier
Director
Office of Family Assistance

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