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Opinion of the Court
(1993).4 See Beaton, supra, at 704. Respondents rely principally on these three regulations in their submission here.
As we examine the regulations, we keep in mind that in AFDC cases, "the starting point of the . . . analysis must be a recognition that . . . federal law gives each State great latitude in dispensing its available funds." Dandridge, supra, at 478. Accord, Shea, 416 U. S., at 253 (States "are given broad discretion in determining both the standard of need and the level of benefits"). In light of this cardinal
4 Section 233.20(a)(2)(viii) provides: "[T]he money amount of any need item included in the standard will not be prorated or otherwise reduced solely because of the presence in the household of a non-legally responsible individual; and the [state] agency will not assume any contribution from such individual for the support of the assistance unit . . . ."
Section 233.20(a)(3)(ii) provides in part: "[I]n determining need and the amount of the assistance payment, . . . : . . . . . "(D) Income . . . and resources available for current use shall be considered. To the extent not inconsistent with any other provision of this chapter, income and resources are considered available both when actually available and when the applicant or recipient has a legal interest in a liquidated sum and has the legal ability to make such sum available for support and maintenance."
Section 233.90(a)(1) provides: "The determination whether a child has been deprived of parental support or care by reason of the death, continued absence from the home, or physical or mental incapacity of a parent, or (if the State plan includes such cases) the unemployment of his or her parent who is the principal earner will be made only in relation to the child's natural or adoptive parent, or in relation to the child's stepparent who is married, under State law, to the child's natural or [adoptive] parent and is legally obligated to support the child under State law of general applicability which requires stepparents to support stepchildren to the same extent that natural or adoptive parents are required to support their children. Under this requirement, the inclusion in the family, or the presence in the home, of a 'substitute parent' or 'man-in-the-house' or any individual other than one described in this paragraph is not an acceptable basis for a finding of ineligibility or for assuming the availability of income by the State . . . ."
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