(a) The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) may exempt a recipient and continue TANF cash assistance after a time limit expires if HHSC determines:
  (1) the recipient cooperated with all applicable Choices requirements during the time the recipient was subject to the time limit (as explained in §372.1154(g) of this chapter (relating to Cooperating with Personal Responsibility Agreement Requirements)); and
  (2) the recipient meets one of the following hardship criteria:
    (A) severe personal hardship, for such reasons as:
      (i) a terminal or permanent disabling illness or injury;
      (ii) temporary incapacity due to illness or injury; or
      (iii) the need to provide 30 or more days of care to a close family member (does not have to be a household member) who is disabled due to a temporary, permanent, or terminal illness or injury; or
    (B) local economic hardship, for reasons such as:
      (i) the recipient lives in a county with an unemployment rate of more than 10% (this is also known as a county hardship); or
      (ii) the recipient completed an independent job search, including contacting at least 40 potential employers within 30 days, but failed to find employment earning at least the amount of the TANF cash assistance plus any applicable work-expense disregard (this is also known as an employment hardship).
(b) A recipient HHSC exempted from a time limit due to the employment hardship explained in subsection (a)(2)(B)(ii) of this section must search for work by contacting at least 40 potential employers each month of the exemption period. If HHSC determines the recipient has not met this requirement, the recipient loses the employment hardship exemption and may not receive another employment hardship exemption during the five-year period of ineligibility.

Source Note: The provisions of this §372.452 adopted to be effective September 1, 2009, 34 TexReg 5361