MEMORANDUM

DATE:            September 1, 2001

TO:                 All Alaska Temporary Assistance Manual Holders

FROM:           The Policy and Program Development Team

                         Ellie Fitzjarrald, Chief

SUBJECT:    Temporary Assistance Manual Change #4

                         "ProBudgeting 2001"

Here it is - ProBudgeting and the demise of the MRFMonthly Report Form !  This has been on our agenda for a long time and now it is a reality.

We are pleased to present you with the Temporary Assistance policy for prospective budgeting and change reporting.  In addition, this manual change implements a number of other Temporary Assistance policy enhancements that promote self-sufficiency, reduce program complexity, and streamline processes.  You will also notice we are using common language across programs whenever possible.

Many staff contributed time and energy to this project.  Thanks to each of you who have helped us make this possible.

If you have any questions, please contact any member of the Policy and Program Development Team at 465-3347 or email us at dpapolicy@health.state.ak.us.  As part of our continuous improvement effort, we are also interested in getting feedback from you about these new policies or needed clarifications.

EFFECTIVE DATES

New Policy.  The new policies for estimating income and change reporting are effective with applications received on or after August 1, 2001.  All other new policies are effective October 1, 2001.

Previously Implemented Policy.  This manual change also incorporates two other policy changes previously implemented by broadcast: the Child Support Deduction and the Exemption from the Two-parent Seasonal Benefit Reduction when a parent cares for a child with a disability.

OVERVIEW OF CHANGES

The major areas of change in Temporary Assistance policy are:

Change Reporting and Reviews

Instead of gathering information about a family's circumstances every month through the MRFMonthly Report Form , we will gather information about changes when they happen.  This shifts our customer service from a paper-based system to a more personal, interactive way of doing business.

We have also significantly reduced the number of things the family must report.  In the past, households were responsible for reporting virtually every change in their circumstances, no regardless of how small the change.  Now, the family is responsible for reporting changes in only seven specific situations.  Families may choose to report changes outside the specified areas, and if they do we will act on those reports.

In addition to reporting changes, we will also require a periodic eligibility review. Each family's eligibility will be reviewed at least once a year, with most families being reviewed every 6 months.  The reviews gather current information about the family's situation, and provide regular updates for the estimates of income and expenses used to calculate benefits.

Interviews

As part of the focus on reducing paperwork and other administrative burdens on both working families and our agency, and to improve program access for low-income working families, both the Temporary Assistance and the Food Stamp Programs have adopted a policy that only requires an interview once every 12 months.  Temporary Assistance policy also gives staff the flexibility to complete interviews without requiring the client to come to our office or to interview with a fee agent.

Prospective Budgeting and Estimating Income

Although we have always estimated income to determine prospective eligibility, we will now also use this method for benefit calculation.  The foundation for estimating income is to gather information about the source, amount, and frequency of payment for all income, and to calculate an anticipated amount to be received from the information available.  This manual change offers guidance on ways to estimate income in different situations.

Policy Alignments

Along with prospective budgeting and change reporting, we are aligning many Temporary Assistance policies with Food Stamps, and most of these policies were also adopted for Family Medicaid.  In some cases the alignment is not a "perfect fit" because the programs serve different populations and are intended to meet different needs.  However, these changes represent a ”r;first step” toward improvement, and we look forward to making further changes in the future.

The alignments include:
 

• Resource limits
   

• Property for sale
   

• Exclusion for charitable contributions
   

• Earned income of dependent children
   

• Non-recurring lump sum income
   

• Self-employment: crew members, verification, and settling up
   

• Shelter expenses

The detailed changes to Temporary Assistance policies are listed below.  Because of the extensive nature of these revisions, several chapters are reorganized.

705-6 When a New Application is Required

Recipients can request the addition of a new member as they would for any other change, and a new member can be added without a "written request".

710-1 General Factors of Eligibility

Monthly reporting is no longer a factor of eligibility.

711-4  Who May Not Be Included in the Assistance Unit

Removes the reference to excess averaging because that policy no longer exists.

723-5 D. Beginning a Job Quit Penalty

Adds new policy for beginning a job quit penalty when an individual quits a job between the date the application is received and the date it is processed.

751-1 Temporary Assistance Resource Limit

Increases the resource limit to $2,000, or $3,000 if the assistance unit includes an individual who is 60 or older.

751-2 Availability of a Resource

Removes policy regarding property for sale.

751-7 When Resource Values Are Measured

Resources are now measured on the date of the interview for applicants and on the first day of the month for recipients.

752-1 Determining Value of Countable Resources

Refers to the new resource limits of $2,000 or $3,000 if the assistance unit includes an individual who is 60 or older.

753-7 Property for Sale

Property that is actively offered for sale is now an exempt resource.  The requirement to sign a repayment agreement and nine-month time limit are eliminated.

754-1 Real Property for Sale (now Reserved)

Removes policy regarding property for sale.

754-2 Non-recurring Lump Sum Payments

Lump sum payments are treated as a resource in the month of receipt.  Excess averaging policy is eliminated.

Chapter 756, Financial Need: Income

Chapter 756 is reorganized, and all references to retrospective budgeting are removed.  New policy that is added to this chapter is detailed in the following entries.

756-1 Estimating Income.  

Provides policy for estimating income prospectively, using conversion factors to arrive at an estimate of the income the family will receive during the benefit month.

756-5 Special Income Provisions

This new section includes existing policy on Garnishments and Recoupments and Income from Outside the Economic Unit and adds clarification of Income Received for Non-household Members.

757-11 Discontinuous Income (now Reserved)

This policy is removed; discontinuous income exclusions do not apply under prospective budgeting.

757-19 Lump sum Payments

New policy exempts lump sum payments as income.

758-1 Certain Child Support Income

Moves policy for distinguishing between a child support payments and sporadic gifts to this section.

758-4 Charitable Contributions (new manual section title)

Adds new policy exempting charitable contributions from private, non-profit organizations, up to $300 per quarter. Removes policy regarding gifts; gifts are no longer exempt as income, and count in the estimate of income if they can be reasonably anticipated.

759-4 Workforce Investment Act ( WIA ) Payments

Name change only. The Job Training Partnership Act ( JTPA ) was replaced by the Workforce Investment Act ( WIA ).  We are working on updating the manual to correct these references. The policy on what income to count or disregard has not changed.

759-5 Earned Income of a Dependent Child

Exempts the earned income of a dependent child who is enrolled in school at least half-time.

759-6 Earnings From Self-Employment

• Removes specific references to crewmembers; these individuals will be treated as self-employed if they meet the definition at 759-6 A. 1. and as employees if they do not.

• The manual section on verification of self-employment income and costs of doing business is revised to adopt language identical to the same policy in the Food Stamp manual. No policy change.

• Removes policy for retrospective redeterminations of seasonal self-employment income (”settling up”).

760-1 Child Support Deduction

Adds policy for allowing child support payments by a member of the assistance unit as a deduction from earned or unearned income.  This policy was implemented February 1, 2001.

760-2 Work Incentive Deductions

All references to "timely report of earnings" have been changed to refer to timely report of changes in employment status.

761 Excess Averaging

Excess averaging policy is deleted; non-recurring lump sum payments are now exempt as income and counted as a resource in the month of receipt.

775-8 Child's Earned Income Disregards

This section is removed.

Note:

Chapter 775 is reorganized, and much of the language is updated. No policy in this chapter is changed except section 775-8.

Chapter 780 Payments

Chapter 780 is updated to remove all references to retrospective payment calculations, and the chapter is reorganized.  Policy changes are detailed in the following entries.

780-2, Special Rules in Determining Payments

Adds policy for child support deductions, and exemption from the two-parent seasonal benefit reduction for parents of disabled children who require 24-hour care. The policy for child support deductions was implemented on February 1, 2001; the exemption from the two-parent seasonal reduction was implemented July 1, 2001.

780-3, Calculating the Payment Amount

Adds a note explaining policy for applying a financial penalty in the payment calculation.

780-11, Delivery of Payment

Clarifies that electronic benefit transfer and direct deposit are used to pay benefits.

780-16 Suspending Payments

Outlines new policy for prospective suspensions.

780-18 Shelter Expenses

Updates heating and non-heating utility standards, allows proration of heating and non-heating utility standards, and limits the use of actual utility costs.

Chapter 790 Case Maintenance

Detailed policy on change reporting, periodic interviews, and the new interview requirements is located in Chapter 790.  This chapter was extensively re-written. We removed policy about monthly reports and the case maintenance procedures that duplicated information found in Chapter 107 of the Administrative Procedures Manual.  New policies are detailed in the following entries.

790-1, Change Reporting Requirements

Adds new policy outlining the changes a family is responsible for reporting.

790-2, Acting on Changes

Provides policy on timeframes for acting on reports of change, when changes are effective, and how to process specific changes in a family's circumstances.

790-4, Effect of Changes on Other Programs

Provides policy for handling changes that affect programs besides Temporary Assistance, or that affect a Family Self-Sufficiency Plan.

790-5, Periodic Reviews

Provides policy for conducting periodic reviews of eligibility, including the length of review periods, review notices, interviews as part of the review, and processing of late review forms.

791-2 Adequate Notice

Adequate and timely notice requirements remain the same; removes the monthly reporting language.

Note:

Chapter 791 is reorganized, and much of the language is updated.  No policy in this chapter is changed except removing references to monthly reports.

792-3 When Corrective Payments Are Not Done

Adds new policy regarding corrective payments.  Claim determination or recoupment is not done for agency-caused overpayments totaling less than $100.  Supplemental benefits are not issued if the underpayment is caused by the client's failure, without good cause, to timely report a change.

Note:

This policy was added as a new section; subsequent sections of chapter 792 are renumbered.  Also, all other marked changes in this chapter are language changes only.

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