SB 286

General Assembly  Raised Bill No. 286
  February Session, 2026  LCO No. 1460
 Referred to Committee on AGING
 Introduced by:
   (AGE)
 AN ACT INCREASING FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR
 GRANDPARENTS AND OTHER NONPARENT RELATIVES RAISING
 CERTAIN CHILDREN.
 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
 Assembly convened:
1Section 1. Subsection (a) of section 17b-112 of the 2026 supplement to
2     the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu
3     thereof (Effective July 1, 2026):
4(a) (1) The Department of Social Services shall administer a
5    temporary family assistance program under which cash assistance shall
6    be provided to eligible families in accordance with the temporary
7    assistance for needy families program, established pursuant to the
8    Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of
9    1996. The Commissioner of Social Services may operate portions of the
10    temporary family assistance program as a solely state-funded program,
11    separate from the federal temporary assistance for needy families
12    program, if the commissioner determines that doing so will enable the
13    state to avoid fiscal penalties under the temporary assistance for needy
14    families program. Families receiving assistance under the solely state-
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15 funded portion of the temporary family assistance program shall be
16 subject to the same conditions of eligibility as those receiving assistance
17 under the federal temporary assistance for needy families program.
18 Under the temporary family assistance program, benefits shall be
19 provided to a family for not longer than thirty-six months, except as
20 provided in subsections (b) and (c) of this section. For the purpose of
21 calculating said thirty-six-month time limit, months of assistance
22 received on and after January 1, 1996, pursuant to time limits under the
23 aid to families with dependent children program, shall be included. For
24 purposes of this section, "family" means one or more individuals who
25 apply for or receive assistance together under the temporary family
26 assistance program. If the commissioner determines that federal law
27 allows individuals not otherwise in an eligible covered group for the
28 temporary family assistance program to become covered, such family
29 may also, at the discretion of the commissioner, be composed of [(1)] (A)
30 a pregnant woman, or [(2)] (B) a parent, both parents or other caretaker
31 relative and at least one child who is under the age of eighteen, or who
32 is under the age of nineteen and a full-time student in a secondary
33 school or its equivalent. A caretaker relative shall be related to the child
34 or children by blood, marriage or adoption or shall be the legal guardian
35 of such a child or pursuing legal proceedings necessary to achieve
36 guardianship. If the commissioner elects to allow state eligibility
37 consistent with any change in federal law, the commissioner may
38 administratively transfer any qualifying family cases under the cash
39 assistance portion of the state-administered general assistance program
40 to the temporary family assistance program without regard to usual
41 eligibility and enrollment procedures. If such families become an
42 ineligible coverage group under the federal law, the commissioner shall
43 administratively transfer such families back to the cash assistance
44 portion of the state-administered general assistance program without
45 regard to usual eligibility and enrollment procedures to the degree that
46 such families are eligible for the state program.
47    (2) To the extent permissible under federal law, the payment
48 standard for a family that receives benefits under the temporary family
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49 assistance program, and in which the head of the household is a
50 nonparent caretaker relative and the legal guardian of a child, shall be
51 equal to the prevailing monthly foster care rate per child, based on the
52 child's age and medical condition, paid by the Department of Children
53 and Families.
  This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
  sections:
  Section 1      July 1, 2026  17b-112(a)
 AGE  Joint Favorable
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