STATE OF ALASKA

Department of Health 

Division of Public Assistance

TRANSMITTAL NUMBER: 2022-03

MANUAL: Heating Assistance Program

DATE: December 1, 2022

Several sections of the Heating Assistance Program Policy Manual have been revised in order to incorporate new policy, clarify existing policy, and align policies within our division's policy manuals.

If you have questions, please contact the Policy & Program Development Team at hss.dpa.policy@alaska.gov.

OVERVIEW OF CHANGES

ENTIRE MANUAL

• Changed all references from DHSSDepartment of Health and Social Services to DOHDepartment of Health, including any email addresses and websites.

MS 3000-2        DEFINITIONS

• Added link to Home Heating Costs definition, directing caseworkers to MSManual Section 3001-4C.
• Added the term "Certificate of Medical Necessity (CMN)" and included HAPHeating Assistance Program's definition, to align with the HAPHeating Assistance Program State Plan.
• Updated the definition for "Crisis" to align with the HAPHeating Assistance Program State Plan.
• Updated the definition for "Home Heating Costs" to align with the HAPHeating Assistance Program State Plan.
• Updated the definition for "Life Threatening Crisis" to align with the HAPHeating Assistance Program State Plan.
• Added the term "Medically Necessary" and included HAPHeating Assistance Program's definition, to align with the HAPHeating Assistance Program State Plan.
• Added link to Expedite definition, directing caseworkers to MSManual Section 3005.

MS 3001-2G     TRIBAL APPLICATIONS

• Added note clarifying clients who meet the criteria to be served by a tribal organization do not gain eligibility to be served by DPADivision of Public Assistance due to the start or end dates of a tribal organization's LIHEAPLow Income Home Energy Assistance Program season.

MS 3001-4H      INFORMATION FROM DATA SYSTEMS AND EIS INTERFACES

• Clarified IEVSInstant Eligibility Verification System is used to check PFDPermanent Fund Dividend and Quarterly Wage.
• Added SVES to Interface table and explained it is used to verify date of death and SSASocial Security Administration and SSISupplemental Security Income Payments.
• Clarified IEVS is used to check qualified alien status of household members who are not U.S. Citizens.
• Removed reference to NFIN, the acronym for the database NSTARNorthern Support through Automated Resources, as this is a system DPADivision of Public Assistance no longer uses.

MS 3001-5H      REASONS FOR DENYING THE APPLICATION

• Removed reference to obsolete eligibility codes.
• Updated list of denial reasons to match the denial reasons listed in ECOSEnergy Community Online System.

MS 3002-1A      TYPES OF HOUSEHOLDS

• Added note clarifying clients who meet the criteria to be served by a tribal organization do not gain eligibility to be served by DPADivision of Public Assistance due to the start or end dates of a tribal organization's LIHEAPLow Income Home Energy Assistance Program season.
• Corrected formula for Housing Percent Share from total "cost points" to "grant amount."

MS 3003-4E      SELF-EMPLOYMENT ANNUALIZATION STANDARDS

• Revised the self-employment annualization standards that changed effective October 1, 2022 (this was missed in the 09/22 manual change.)
• Clarified how to apply the annualization standard and provided examples.

MS 3004-4          FUEL TYPE

• Added gasoline as a fuel type and added a note clarifying when gasoline is an allowable fuel type.

MS 3004-5          GRANT COMPUTATION

• Added instruction to use the community fuel points for oil when clients primary fuel type is gasoline.
• Updated FFYFederal Fiscal Year 2022 to FFYFederal Fiscal Year 2023.

MS 3005-1          EXPEDITED APPLICATIONS

• Updated expedited service to include households with an elderly or disabled individual and children under 6 years of age, to align with the HAPHeating Assistance Program State Plan.

MS 3005-1A       EXPEDITE CRITERIA

• Added "Crisis" and "Life Threatening Crisis" as expedite criteria to align with the HAPHeating Assistance Program State Plan.
• Removed income test criteria to align with the HAPHeating Assistance Program State Plan.

MS 3007-1         SUBSIDIZED HEAT

• Replaced reference to Section 8 (Choice) voucher and AHFCAlaska Housing Finance Corporation with the geric term "subsidized housing" as to not exclude any subsidized housing entities.

MS 3008-3         DISTRIBUTION OF GRANT

• Added note explaining the HAPHeating Assistance Program grant can only be split between the primary heat source and electric. Additional/back-up heat sources are not eligible to receive a portion of the grant.

MS 3008-6A      THE GRANT TRANSFER PROCESS

• Added subsection titled "The Grant Transfer Process." Content outlines the caseworker, Policy and Program Development, and Administrative steps required to complete a grant transfer that adheres to policy requirements for HAPHeating Assistance Program.

MS 3010            PERFORMANCE MEASURES

• Changed section title from "Reserved" to "Performance Measures."
• Added introduction to HAPHeating Assistance Program Performance Measures to alleviate staff confusion regarding program requirements to collect information.

Addendum A    HAP COMMUNITY LISTING

• Added all military bases in Alaska to community listing.

Addendum B    HAP TRIBAL PROVIDERS

• Updated tribal provider contact information.

Addendum F    HOUSING AUTHORITY CONTACT INFORMATION

• Updated housing authority contact information.