(a)(1) Subject to the exceptions in this section, no State may use any of its Federal TANF funds to provide assistance (as defined in § 260.31 of this chapter) to a family that includes an adult head-of-household or a spouse of the head-of-household who has received Federal assistance for a total of five years (i.e., 60 cumulative months, whether or not consecutive).

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(2) The provision in paragraph (a)(1) of this section also applies to a family that includes a pregnant minor head-of-household, minor parent head-of-household, or spouse of such a head-of-household who has received Federal assistance for a total of five years.

(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs (a)(1) and (a)(2) of this section, a State may provide assistance under WtW, pursuant to section 403(a)(5) of the Act, to a family that is ineligible for TANF solely because it has reached the five-year time limit.

(b)(1) States must not count toward the five-year limit:

(i) Any month of receipt of assistance by an individual who is not the head-of-household or married to the head-of-household;

(ii) Any month of receipt of assistance by an adult while living in Indian country (as defined in Section 1151 of Title 18, United States Code) or a Native Alaskan Village where at least 50 percent of the adults were not employed; and

(iii) Any month for which an individual receives only noncash assistance provided under WtW, pursuant to section 403(a)(5) of the Act.

(2) Only months of assistance that are paid for with Federal TANF funds (in whole or in part) count towards the five-year time limit.

(c) States have the option to extend assistance paid for by Federal TANF funds beyond the five-year limit for up to 20 percent of the average monthly number of families receiving assistance during the fiscal year or the immediately preceding fiscal year, whichever the State elects. States are permitted to extend assistance to families only on the basis of:

(1) Hardship, as defined by the State; or

(2) The fact that the family includes someone who has been battered, or subject to extreme cruelty based on the fact that the individual has been subjected to:

(i) Physical acts that resulted in, or threatened to result in, physical injury to the individual;

(ii) Sexual abuse;

(iii) Sexual activity involving a dependent child;

(iv) Being forced as the caretaker relative of a dependent child to engage in nonconsensual sexual acts or activities;

(v) Threats of, or attempts at, physical or sexual abuse;

(vi) Mental abuse; or

(vii) Neglect or deprivation of medical care.

(d) If a State opts to extend assistance to part of its caseload as permitted under paragraph (c) of this section, it would grant such an extension to a specific family once a head-of-household or spouse of a head-of-household in the family has received 60 cumulative months of assistance.

(e) To determine whether a State has failed to comply with the five-year limit on Federal assistance established in paragraph (c) of this section for a fiscal year, we would divide the average monthly number of families with a head-of-household or a spouse of a head-of-household who has received assistance for more than 60 cumulative months by the average monthly number of all families that received assistance during that fiscal year or during the immediately preceding fiscal year.

(f) If the five-year limit is inconsistent with a State’s waiver granted under section 1115 of the Act, we will determine State compliance with the Federal time limit in accordance with the provisions of subpart C of part 260.