STATE OF ALASKA
Department of Health and Social Services
Division of Public Assistance
TRANSMITTAL NUMBER: 2021-01
MANUAL: Heating Assistance Program
DATE: April 1, 2021
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 policy manuals.
If you have questions, please contact the Policy and Program Development Team at dpapolicy@alaska.gov.
OVERVIEW OF CHANGES
MS 3000-1 RESPONSIBILITIES IN ADMINISTRATION
MS 3000-2 DEFINITIONS
- Added the definition of a "bedroom" to clarify when a room in a residence is considered a bedroom.
- Added the definition of a "signature" to clarify what DPADivision of Public Assistance considers to be an acceptable signature.
- Updated the definition of "Temporary Assistance for Needy Families" to include "cash" as a type of assistance provided by the program and removed reference to diversion payments as this type of payment has been obsolete in the State of Alaska since 2011.
MS 3001-1 APPLICATION FORM AVAILABILITY
- Removed old HAPHeating Assistance Program phone number, clients and vendors can now call any DPADivision of Public Assistance office for HAPHeating Assistance Program assistance.
- Removed disabled LIHEAPLow Income Home Energy Assistance Program specific email address, liheap@alaska.gov and replaced with statewide email address, hss.dpa.offices@alaska.gov.
MS 3001-2 THE APPLICATION FORM
- Replaced "HAP Coordinator" with dpapolicy@alaska.gov throughout the section.
- Inserted new subsection "Taking Application by Phone" and renumbered/relettered subsections accordingly.
MS 3002-1 A TYPES OF HOUSEHOLDS
- Added subsection describing how to handle a situation where the household composition on the HAPHeating Assistance Program application is different than on other open DPADivision of Public Assistance cases.
MS 3003-2 NONCOUNTABLE (EXEMPT) INCOME
- Added subsection title 3003-2 A. NONCOUNTABLE (EXEMPT) INCOME to keep formatting consistent throughout the manual.
- Added children's ATAPAlaska Temporary Assistance Program income as noncountable in a shared custody situation when the parents receiving the ATAPAlaska Temporary Assistance Program payment on behalf of the child(ren) are not in the HAPHeating Assistance Program household.
- Added 2020 Census income as noncountable income.
MS 3008-2 USE OF HAPHeating Assistance Program PAYMENTS
- Replaced "snow machine" with "snowmobile" and "automobile" with "vehicle" throughout the section and added ATVAll Terrain Vehicles to align with DPADivision of Public Assistance manuals.
- Replaced "HAP Coordinator" with dpapolicy@alaska.gov throughout the section.
MS 3008-3 DISTRIBUTION OF GRANT BETWEEN HEATING AND ELECTRICITY
- Added subsection identifying the 75% heat / 25% electric benefit split option.
- Added subsection outlining how the grant can be distributed when an electric account is disconnected and preventing us of the client's primary fuel source.
MS 3008-4 METHODS OF PAYMENT
- Changed the term "oil' to "fuel" to encompass all qualifying fuel types.
- Removed reference to the Direct Pay Log as it has not been used since FY2018.
- Clarified that the processing caseworker must contact dpapolicy@alaska.gov when it appears there are zero heating vendors in a client's area of residence, and await a response before issuing a direct payment to the client.
- Added direct pay as an option for client's who live in their vehicle and require gasoline to heat their home, since the Approved Vendors Listing does not include gasoline vendors.
- Clarified that justification for a direct payment must be written in the client's case note.
- Replaced "HAP Coordinator" with dpapolicy@alaska.gov throughout the section.
MS 3008-5 BAD DEBT
- Added exception allowing outstanding heating fuel and/or electric bills to be paid prior to the end of the season if the benefit is being used to prevent a disconnect of service or to reconnect service to the household.