Absence Reasons that DO NOT Establish Deprivation 400-19-45-70-15

(Revised 6/1/10 ML #3218)

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A child is not considered deprived when a parent is temporarily living apart from the child(ren) due to:

1. Employment;
2.  Education;
3.  Training;
4.  Medical Care;
5. Intermittent Imprisonment (less than 30 continuous days);
6. Joint or Shared Parentage (See Section 400-19-45-70-25, Joint or Shared Parentage); or
7. Uniformed Service

A parent whose absence is caused solely by reason of performing active duty in uniformed service is not considered absent from the home unless there is evidence that continued absence would have existed irrespective of the parent's serving in uniformed service. Acceptable verification that such an absence exists includes proof of legal separation, desertion, or divorce, either finalized or in-progress. If there has been no legal action, there should be some indication of how the "absence" requirement was met.  

 

“Intermittent imprisonments”, such as probation or house arrest, are sentencing alternatives available to North Dakota State Courts. If the individual is sentenced to probation, the court can impose conditions including curfew, home confinement, and house arrest. Thus, someone serving a criminal sentence may be living in their own home, but is:

• Required to return to custody on weekends,
• Required to remain at home between certain hours of the day as imposed by the court (curfew),
•  Required to remain in the home all or nearly all times (home confinement or house arrest).

 

Under "intermittent imprisonment" the offender is typically released to go to work (day release) and is permitted to serve the sentence on weekends. In the following circumstances, deprivation does not exist:

• If an offender is serving a sentence on weekends only, even if the total day’s served exceeds 30 days.
• If an offender is sentenced to house arrest and resides in the home while serving a court-imposed sentence, the offender is considered part of the household.
• If an offender spends the day in jail and the nights at home, the offender is considered part of the TANF household.