113-2          METHOD OF QUALITY ASSESSMENT REVIEW

HSS's Eligibility Information System ( EIS Eligibility Information System ) is the information technologies platform supporting the delivery of Food Stamps and Medicaid benefits.  Monthly, EIS Eligibility Information System  randomly selects open, closed, denied, and suspended Food Stamp and Medicaid cases for QA Quality Assurance review.

For Child Care Assistance, sample cases from several programs are combined to create an all-encompassing "universe" for analysis.  PASS I program cases are provided through EIS Eligibility Information System .  PASS II & III are mined from ICCIS Integrated Child Care Information System , while Office of Children's Services cases are recorded in the ORCA Online Resources of the Children of Alaska system.  Monthly, all cases from these three systems are combined and sampled through SPSS Statistical Package for the Social Sciences syntax, by federally-approved methods.

The QA Quality Assurance Field Manager assigns reviews to each reviewer.  When the QA Quality Assurance Reviewer requests a case file, the field, regional, or local office must send the case file to QA Quality Assurance within three working days.   QA Quality Assurance may need to keep the file for up to seven working days before returning it .

The case record is the QA Quality Assurance Reviewer's primary source of information regarding the eligibility determination and case management activities.  The QA Quality Assurance reviewer obtains information from recipient case files, EIS Eligibility Information System , ICCIS Integrated Child Care Information System , ORCA Online Resources of the Children of Alaska ,  and other interagency databases.   QA Quality Assurance Reviewers also make independent collateral contacts to determine if the information used in the eligibility process is accurate.  It is permissible for the QA Quality Assurance Reviewer to contact the caseworker or case manager for clarification and understanding of the case record documentation.

Reviewers use the Alaska Temporary Assistance, Alaska Food Stamp,Child Care, and Medicaid program policies in effect at the time of the eligibility decision to determine if the caseworker appropriately applied the policies to factors of eligibility, work activities, benefit amounts or authorized payments of childcare.  The Reviewer also uses state statutes and federal regulations to ensure the manuals accurately reflect laws.

The Federal Quality Control FNS Food and Nutrition Service Handbook 310 provides guidance on how to conduct the review, verify and document information, and determine errors for the Food Stamp Program.  Generally, the same standards apply to the Alaska Temporary Assistance, Adult Public Assistance and Medicaid review processes.

Alaska's Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) is monitored by the federal Child Care Bureau, which requires each state to submit yearly the Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) report on the state's program.  In addition to numerous policy, program, and market rate survey requirements, Alaska fulfills the quality assessment component through the QA Quality Assurance review process.  Furthermore, CCAP Child Care Assistance Program is responsible for compliance with Alaska Administrative Code Title 7, AAC Chapter 41, and Alaska statute #AS4725.001 through .095.