To be eligible to receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) a person must be making his or her home in Oklahoma. A person whose residence has been established in Oklahoma does not lose residency status when he or she is removed from Oklahoma against his or her will and held in another state, for example, in federal prison, or has been out-of-state to make use of a federal facility, or to attend school.

• (1) A person's statement that he or she is residing in Oklahoma voluntarily and not for a temporary purpose is acceptable if it is consistent with other known facts.  If the statement is inconsistent with other known facts, further substantiation is necessary. • 1
• (2) A person applying for TANF after living in another state at any time must not be certified until the state or states of former residence is contacted to determine how many months, if any, the person has already received TANF and if cash assistance is currently being received from that state.  If so, planning must be done with that state so approval and closure are simultaneously effected in the respective states.  • 2
• (3) Continuous residence is established when the case record and contact with the person show no evidence of absence from Oklahoma.
  • (A) Temporary residence.  For purposes of TANF eligibility, a person is a resident of Oklahoma if he or she is living in Oklahoma voluntarily or has a job commitment or is seeking employment, even though the intent is to stay only temporarily, as long as cash assistance is not being received from another state.  This includes migrant and itinerant workers who are temporarily residing in Oklahoma but maintain a homestead in another state.  A person traveling through the state or visiting relatives in this state is not considered a resident.
  • (B) Out-of-state visits.  A temporary absence from the state with subsequent returns to the state or intent to return when the purposes of the absence have been accomplished does not interrupt Oklahoma residence.  When the purpose is temporary in nature, the person is responsible for information regarding which member(s) of the assistance unit is visiting out-of-state, for what purpose, the plan and date of the departure, and the planned date of return.
    • (i) An absence from the state may not continue beyond three months without a specific and current determination of the circumstances of the absence, whether the purposes of the absence have been accomplished, and the  person's statement as to his or her residence.  • 3  The person is considered as residing in Oklahoma until there is substantial factual evidence he or she has chosen to establish residence in another state.
    • (ii) If the person applies for cash assistance in another state and is determined eligible by that state, the case record must document the facts used to establish that the effective date of closure in Oklahoma corresponds with the effective date of certification in the other state, thus ensuring there is no interruption in the assistance payment.