400-1 Joint Custody and Temporary Absence

Effective Date: March 1, 2026

Previous Policy

 

A.   Joint Custody

 

Physical living arrangements of a child determines in which household the child should be included.  This is true even when a parent claims to have joint custody of the child.   A child residing in the home more than 50% of the time must be included in that household, despite custody agreements or court orders.

1.    Eligibility is not based solely on a court order awarding custody. On a case-by-case basis, consider the actual circumstances about where the child lives.

2.     A child’s physical living arrangement is where the child returns to after a temporary absence or visitation to the other parent.

3.     When living arrangements show the child is living 50% of the time in each parent’s household, include the child in the household of the parent who applies first and is found eligible.

·       If both parents apply on the same day, they may decide together in which household to include the child.

4.    When both parents claim they have physical custody of the child more than 50% of the time, refer for an investigation.  The investigator will make the decision based on the household circumstances.

5.    If there is an actual change of residence of a CHIP recipient (physical custody of a child changed from one parent's CHIP household to another parent's CHIP household), the parents may decide if they want the child to remain on the current CHIP case until the end of the 12-month certification period; or begin a new eligibility determination/enrollment period with the other parent.  When moving the child to a new case, do not overlap CHIP eligibility months.   Open the new CHIP case the month after the other CHIP case closed. See section 804-4.

B.   Temporary Absence

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1. When a child is in the Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS) or Juvenile Justice and Youth Services (JJYS) custody, the child is not considered temporarily absent.
2. An individual is temporarily absent if:
   1. The individual lives away from home because of work, education, medical care, military service, vacation, incarceration or some other temporary purpose (example: volunteer services for a church or the Peace Corps) and
   2. The individual intends to return to the home when the reason for the absence ends.

3. There is no time limit for a temporary absence as long as the family member intends to return to the home.  
   1. If the absent family member changes their intent so that they do not intend to return, they are no longer temporarily absent. They are no longer a member of the  household at the point that their intent changes or if there are factors conflicting with Utah Residency, see 203-1.
   2. If there are factors conflicting with Utah Residency see 203-1.
   3. If a baby born in the hospital remains institutionalized for medical reasons, and disability has been established beginning with the month of birth, the child is considered an institutionalized person, and not temporarily absent. (Refer to Nursing Home Medicaid in Section 327 of the manual for information on institutionalized children.)
4.  Regardless of tax filing status, when a member is an incarcerated individual of a public institution such as a jail or prison, take the client’s statement that the individual is temporarily absent.

• Exception: If the incarcerated individual is a child and the parent’s rights have been terminated, they are not considered temporarily absent.

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