STATE OF ALASKA

Department of Health and Social Services

Division of Public Assistance

TRANSMITTAL NUMBER: MC #59

MANUAL: Alaska Temporary Assistance Program

DATE: July 2, 2018

We are making several changes to incorporate new policy, clarify existing policy, and align policies within our program manuals. The Work Services sections of the manual that are not necessary to determine eligibility have been relocated to the Work Services Procedure Manual (WSPM).

Other changes are either technical in nature or clarifications that are the result of policy questions or suggestions from the field.

Highlights of these policy revisions are described below. If you have any questions, please contact the Policy and Program Development Team at dpapolicy@alaska.gov.

OVERVIEW OF CHANGES

MS 700-1      INTRODUCTION TO TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE

• Deleted the second reference to JOBSJobs Opportunities and Basic Skills in the first paragraph for better sentence structure.

MS 701-1      WHAT IS THE 60-MONTH TIME LIMIT

• Changed the subsection title from "The 60-Month Time Limit" to "What is the 60-Month Time Limit" to align with the Table of Contents.

MS 701-1 A      INFORMING FAMILIES ABOUT THE 60 MONTH TIME LIMIT

• Changed terminology from "case review staffings" to "Family Progress Reviews" to align with the new Work Services Family Review process.

MS 701-3      DETERMINING EXEMPTIONS AND ALLOWING EXTENSIONS TO THE 60-MONTH TIME LIMIT

• Changed terminology from "staffings" to "Family Progress Reviews" to align with the new Work Services Family Review process.

MS 701-3 A      MAKING THE EXTENSION DECISION

• Changed terminology from "staffings" to "Family Progress Reviews" to align with the new Work Services Family Review process.
• Clarified that this section guidance only applies to the extension staffing.

MS 701-3 C      LENGTH OF EXTENSION

• Changed terminology from "staffing team" to "Extension Review Staffing Team" to align with the new Work Services Family Review process.

MS 701-3 E      CONTINUING THE EXTENSION

• Changed terminology from "staffings" to "Family Progress Reviews" to align with the new Work Services Family Review process.

MS 701-5      COMPLIANCE WITH FAMILY SELF-SUFFICIENCY PLAN WHILE ON EXTENSION

• Changed terminology from "staffings" to "Family Progress Reviews" to align with the new Work Services Family Review process.
• Changed terminology from "eligibility worker" to "caseworker" for consistency in language throughout the ATAPAlaska Temporary Assistance Program manual.

MS 701-6      FAMILY PROGRESS REVIEWS

• Changed title of section from "Case Review Staffing" to "Family Progress Reviews."
• Removed case management information from this section and added hyperlink to the WSPMWork Services Procedure Manual where this information is now located.

MS 701-7      EXTENSION PROCEDURES

• Rephrased extension procedures to align with the new Work Services Family Review process.
• Changed section title from "Extension Staffing Procedures" to "Extension Procedures" to align with the new Family Progress Review to process.
• Removed staffing language to align with the new Family Progress Review process.
• Renumbered section.

MS 701-7 A      EXTENSION RESPONSIBILITIES

• Changed title from "Extension Review Staffing Responsibilities" to "Extension Responsibilities" to align with the new Family Progress Review process.
• Deleted redundant information and added hyperlinks to ATAPAlaska Temporary Assistance Program MS 701-3 and ATAPAlaska Temporary Assistance Program MS 701-4.
• Renumbered section.

MS 701-7 B      CASEWORKER RESPONSIBILITIES

• Renumbered section.

MS 701-7 C and 701-7 D      CASE REVIEW STAFFING PROCEDURES

• Deleted subsections as case management information has been relocated to the WSPMWork Services Procedure Manual.

MS 701-8      WHEN A FAMILY WITH MORE THAN 57 MONTHS DOES NOT WANT AN EXTENSION

• Added form numbers and hyperlinks to eForms to clarity.
• Added a hyperlink to Admin MS 109-10 regarding case note requirements.
• Renumbered section.

MS 701-9      WHEN A FAMILY APPLIES FOR ASSISTANCE AND HAS ALREADY USED 57 OR MORE MONTHS OF ASSISTANCE

• Capitalized the section title for manual consistency.
• Revised section language to align the extension criteria and benefit issuance with the benefit months used and the new Family Progress Review process.
• Added a hyperlink to WSPMWork Services Procedure Manual 1008 for Family Progress Review information.
• Renumbered section.

MS 705-3 A      WHEN IS AN INTERVIEW REQUIRED?

• Clarified that an interview does not need to be completed if a household submits their recertification after the end of the certification period but within the following month and is not due for their annual interview.

MS 705-5 C      PENDING THE APPLICATION

• Clarified that an interview does not need to be completed if a household submits their recertification after the end of the certification period but within the following month and is not due for their annual interview.

MS 719-1      SELF-SUFFICIENCY PLANNING REQUIREMENT

• Clarified who is considered an adult in a minor parent household.
• Restructured section for better understanding.

MS 719-3      THE FAMILY SELF-SUFFICIENCY PLAN

• Changed section title from "Elements of the Family Self-Sufficiency Plan" to "The Family Self-Sufficiency Plan."
• Removed case management information from this section and added a link to the WSPMWork Services Procedure Manual where this information is now located.

MS 719-4      SIGNATURES

• Deleted section as case management information has been relocated to the WSPM.

MS 719-5      PARTNER AGENCY PLANS

• Deleted section as case management information has been relocated to the WSPM.

MS 720-3      DETERMINATION OF INCAPACITY FOR A TWO-PARENT FAMILY

• Changed section title from "Determination of Incapacity" to "Determination of Incapacity for a Two-Parent Family" to clarify that this guidance is only for Two-Parent families.

MS 723-4 B      FSSPFamily Self-Sufficiency Plan, WORK, AND CHILD SUPPORT PENALTIES

• Removed case management information from this section and added hyperlink to the WSPMWork Services Procedure Manual where this information is now located.

MS 723-5 thru 723-5 G      HOME VISITS

• Delete section and all subsections of 723-5 as case management information has been relocated to the WSPMWork Services Procedure Manual.

MS 723-5      OTHER PENALTY INFORMATION

• Renumbered section.

MS 723-6      RESERVED

• Renumbered section.

MS 723-7      EISEligibility Information System INFORMATION

• Renumbered section.

MS 730-1      CATEGORIES OF COUNTABLE WORK ACTIVITIES

• Removed case management information from this section and added hyperlink to the WSPMWork Services Procedure Manual where this information is now located.

MS 730-3 thru 730-3 B      PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND PARTICIPATION TARGETS

• Deleted section and subsections as case management information has been relocated to the WSPMWork Services Procedure Manual.

MS 730-4      HOURS OF PARTICIPATION

• Deleted section as case management information has been relocated to the WSPMWork Services Procedure Manual.

MS 730-5 thru 730-5 C      COUNTABLE TIME PER WORK ACTIVITY

• Deleted section and subsections as case management information has been relocated to the WSPMWork Services Procedure Manual.

MS 731      WORK: ASSESSMENT AND ASSIGNMENT

• Deleted subsection title "Assessment" and made content part of the introduction under TATemporary Assistance MS 731-1 titled "Work: Assessment and Assignment" for better organization of the section.
• Moved language from the first paragraph of subsection 731-7 to 731-1 for better clarity and flow of guidance.
• Clarified assessment responsibilities for the case manager and added hyperlink to WSPMWork Services Procedure Manual 1001.
• Renumbered section.

MS 731-1      ASSESSMENT

• Moved section 731-1 to 731.

MS 731-1      INITIAL ASSESSMENT

• Updated subsection to clarify that the initial assessment information is collected by the case manager.
• Listed the information screened for when completing the Employment Planning Information (EPI) form during assessment.
• Renumbered section.

MS 731-1 B thru 731-1 D      NEED FOR ADDITIONAL ASSESSMENT

• Deleted subsections as case management information has been relocated to the WSPMWork Services Procedure Manual.

MS 731-2      NOTIFICATION AND SCREENING

• Clarified that screening for domestic violence (DV) begins with the caseworker at time of interview for eligibility determination and is overseen by the case manager through case management.
• Renumbered section.

MS 731-3      SUBSTANCE ABUSE

• Deleted subsection as case management information has been relocated to the WSPMWork Services Procedure Manual.

MS 731-4      CRIMINAL RECORD

• Deleted subsection as case management information has been relocated to the WSPM.

MS 731-5      PHYSICAL OR MENTAL ILLNESS

• Deleted subsection as case management information has been relocated to the WSPM.

MS 731-6      LABOR MARKET INFORMATION (LMI)

• Deleted subsection as case management information has been relocated to the WSPMWork Services Procedure Manual.

MS 731-7      ASSIGNMENT TO WORK ACTIVITIES

• Moved the first paragraph of subsection of TATemporary Assistance MS 731-7 to 731 and edited language for better guidance clarity.
• Deleted remainder of subsection as case management information has been relocated to the WSPMWork Services Procedure Manual.

MS 732 thru 732-4      FAMILIES FIRST

• Deleted section and subsections as Families First will no longer exist in SFY19.

MS 734 thru 734-10      WORK: VOCATIONAL TRAINING AND EDUCATION

• Deleted section and subsections as Families First will no longer exist in SFY19.

MS 737 thru 737-3     WORK: ATTENDANCE AND PERFORMANCE

• Deleted sections and subsections as Families First will no longer exist in SFY19.

MS 739      WORK: SUPPORTIVE SERVICE PAYMENTS

• Rephrased supportive service payments procedures to align with the new Work Services Family Review process and added link to WSPMWork Services Procedure Manual.

MS 739-1 thru 739-15      WORK: SUPPORTIVE SERVICE PAYMENTS

• Deleted subsections as Families First will no longer exist in SFY19.

MS 740-1 thru 740-1 B      EXTENDED CASE MANAGEMENT AND SUPPORTIVE SERVICES

• Deleted subsections as case management information has been relocated to the WSPMWork Services Procedure Manual.

MS 770-3      MINOR PARENTS

• Changed terminology from "Minor Parent Contractor" to "Case Manager" for consistency.

MS 790-8      PERIODIC REVIEWS

• Clarified that the caseworker determines the review period and if an interview should be completed more frequently than every 12 months.

MS 790-8 C      INTERVIEWS

• Clarified that an interview is required at least once very 12 months.

MS 790-8 D      LATE SUBMISSION OF REVIEW FORM

• Clarified that an interview does not need to be completed if a household submits their recertification after the end of the certification period but within the following month is not due for their annual interview.
• Changed terminology from 1603 to GEN 50C Appendix D for clarity.