TA Work Requirement: Teen Parent User Guide

Temporary Assistance:

Each applicant/recipient of Temporary Assistance who is at least age 18 (and teen parents under age 18) must participate in work activities, unless determined to be exempt or excluded.

Family Support Division refers teen parents to the Missouri Work Assistance (MWA) program. A teen parent is an individual receiving Temporary Assistance who is under age 18 (including the month the individual turns 18) and is the custodial caretaker of a child. The month after they turn 18, they are no longer considered a teen parent.

Note: There is no minimum age limit for teen parents.

The teen’s months of receipt of Temporary Assistance do not count toward their forty-five (45) month lifetime limit while they are attending high school or another educational activity.

Allowable educational activities include:

  • High School
  • GED classes
  • Job Corps
  • Home schooling from an accredited home school program (when the teen parent is the student, not the teacher)
  • Alternative secondary schools

Planning to return to school in the fall does not meet the work requirement during the summer months. If not enrolled in summer school, teen parents need to participate in another activity. MWA case managers will assist teen parents in finding a countable work activity during the summer months for those teen parents not enrolled in summer school.

 

If it is determined the teen parent is not willing or is unable to attend any educational activity, and is age 16 or over, the teen parent must participate in other activities, such as unsubsidized or subsidized employment.

Entries on COMPACT for Teen Parents:

  1. From COMPACT (FM8B), type an A in the Command line
  2. Complete the required fields:
    1. Work Req Ind
      • Enter T – Teen Parent In School if the teen parent is participating in an allowable educational activity

      • Enter F – Teen Parent Not in School if the teen parent is NOT participating in an allowable educational activity

    1. Orientation/PRP field – prompt out (=F4), and select the appropriate code for the participant.
      1. BC Both Orientation and PRP Complete
      2. BI Both Orientation and PRP Incomplete
      3. OC Orientation Complete
      4. OI Orientation Incomplete
      5. PI PRP Incomplete

        1. Press CTRL

  1. Press CTRL to save your entries
  2. Press F18=COMMENT and explain the work requirement code, if the code is not obvious.

08/2020