§ 167:78 — Definitions

In this subdivision:
I. "Able-bodied" means a parent or specified relative who is under the age of 60 and who is not currently receiving supplemental security income, or social security disability insurance, or veteran's disability benefits of 80 percent or more, or state supplemental assistance (aid to the permanently and totally disabled, aid to the needy, blind, or old age assistance) and who does not have significant long-term employment related barriers.
II. "Applicant" means a person who has filed a written application for assistance.
III. "Caretaker relative" means a specified relative, other than a parent, who provides care and parental control to a dependent child.
IV. "Commissioner" means the commissioner of the department of health and human services.
V. "Department" means the department of health and human services.
VI. "Dependent child" means a child under the age of 18, or under the age of 20 if a full-time student in a secondary school or the equivalent, living in the home of a specified relative.
VII. "Earned income" means income in cash or the equivalent received by a person through the receipt of wages, salary, commissions, or profit from activities in which the person is self-employed or as an employee and before any deductions for taxes, except as provided in paragraph XX.
VIII. "Employment program" means the New Hampshire employment program.
IX. "Employment-related activities" mean activities that are designed to assist participants to enter, re-enter, or remain in the workforce. These activities include the activities described in RSA 167:85, the interim activities described in RSA 167:91, activities described in rules adopted pursuant to RSA 541-A, and, for the purposes of counting towards the federal work participation rate, the activities that meet the federally-defined work activities in The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), as amended by the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA), and federal regulations promulgated thereunder and further defined in rules adopted pursuant to RSA 541-A.
X. "Family assistance program" means the New Hampshire family assistance program.
XI. "Inmate of an institution" means a person who is living in a public or private institution. A person is not considered an inmate if:
(a) The person is in an educational or vocational training institution, for purposes of securing education or vocational training; or
(b) The person is in an institution for a temporary emergency period pending other arrangements appropriate to the person's needs.
XII. "Institution of higher education" means any institution determined by the United States Secretary of Education to meet:
(a) The definition of such term contained in either section 1201(a) or section 481(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) as amended; or
(b) The definitions of "proprietary institution of higher education" or "postsecondary vocational institution," as defined in sections 481(b) and (c) of such act.
XII-a. "Interim activities" mean those employment-related activities intended to address individual or family barriers to employment or to enhance long-term success in the workplace. These activities are not limited to federally countable work activities.
XIII. "Job search" means employment related activities that are outlined in the employment program.
XIV. "Making good progress" or "making satisfactory progress" means:
(a) While in training, that the participant is meeting a consistent standard of progress based upon a written policy developed by the training provider and approved by the commissioner.
(b) In an educational component, that the participant in any educational activity is meeting a consistent standard of progress based upon a written policy developed by the educational institution or program in which the person is enrolled and which is approved by the commissioner and the appropriate local education agency. Such standard includes both a qualitative measure of a participant's progress, such as a grade point average, and a quantitative measure, such as a reasonable time limit by which a student is expected to complete his or her studies.
XV. "Minor child" means a child less than the age of 18, or less than the age of 20 if a full-time student in a secondary school or the equivalent, living in the home of a specified relative.
XVI. "Minor parent" means a parent who is less than the age of 18.
XVII. "Net income" means the total gross income of the assistance group less allowable disregards and deductions.
XVIII. "On-the-job training" means employment-related activities provided to a person, employed by a private or public employer, that provides knowledge or skills essential to the full and adequate performance of that job.
XIX. "Participant" means a person who has been found eligible for assistance.
XX. "Self-employment" means the total profit from a business enterprise, farming, etc., resulting from a comparison of the gross receipts with the business expenses, i.e., expenses directly related to producing the goods or services and without which the goods or services could not be produced. However, items such as depreciation, personal business and entertainment expenses, and personal transportation are not business expenses.
XXI. "Economic independence" or "self-sufficiency" means that a participant household has obtained employment providing sufficient wages and other benefits to provide for the family's basic living needs in a manner compatible with decency and health with minimal or no reliance on any form of public assistance from federal, state, or local governments.
XXII. [Repealed.]
XXIII. "Specified relative" means a father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, brother, sister, stepfather, stepmother, stepbrother, stepsister, uncle, aunt, first cousin, nephew, or niece (including relatives of half-blood, relatives of preceding generations as denoted by the prefixes of grand, great, or great-great, adoptive parents and their relatives to the same degree as blood relatives, and spouses of the above relatives even after the marriage is terminated by death or divorce) or court appointed guardian who provides care and parental control to a dependent child.
XXIII-a. "Sponsor" means a private nonprofit employer, private charitable employer, private or public employer that provides a community or alternate work experience to a participant.
XXIV. "Temporary absence" means any assistance group member who is temporarily away from the home for, but not limited to, the following reasons: school attendance, vacation, illness, or work.

Legislative History

1995, 310:62. 1998, 379:1. 2006, 325:2-6. 2007, 349:3, 4, 19, VI, eff. Sept. 14, 2007. 2023, 219:2, eff. Jan. 1, 2024.