STATE OF ALASKA

Department of Health and Social Services

Division of Public Assistance

TRANSMITTAL NUMBER: MC #43

MANUAL: Alaska Temporary Assistance Program

DATE: March 3, 2014

We are making several changes to clarify existing policy as a result of suggestions from the field. We have also made changes to the self-employment annualization table based on changes in the Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG) for Alaska.

Highlights of these policy revisions are described below. If you have any questions please contact the Policy and Program Development Team at 465-3382 or e-mail dpapolicy@alaska.gov.

OVERVIEW OF CHANGES

MS 700-4 A. Verification Requirements

• Adds a note to clarify when a client’s “physical or Mental Inability to Work” needs to be verified.

MS 705-2 A. What is an Acceptable Application Form?

• All references to the GEN50B have been replaced with GEN50C to reflect the updated Application for Services Form - this is the primary manual section but other references have also been changed.

MS 705-3 F. Changes Reported During the Interview

• Clarifies that ATAP benefits cannot be paid on behalf of a child that has not been born, and to use the birthdate when .

• Adds an example where the child is born in-between the application date and the interview date.

MS 705-3 G. Do any Disqualifications or Penalties Apply?

• Clarifies when a previously applied work services or CSSD penalty is continued or ended at the time of application. This was written to align with reapplication processes for when a GEN72 is an acceptable application form and a new Child Support Information form (GEN 53) is not needed.

MS 710-4 Native Family Assistance Programs and Eligibility for ATAP

• Refers to the Native Family Assistance Guide for NFAP's service area and service population.

MS 723-2 Beginning a Penalty

• Adds a note to cross reference with TA MS 705-3 G. when approving a case with a previous work services or CSSD penalty.

723-5 C. Arranging the Home Visit

• Removed the outdated cross reference to Admin Manual Section 105-9 and replaced it with a cross reference to the Work Services Procedure Manual Section 1017.

759-6 E. Budgeting Self-Employment Income

• Updates the annualization chart in subsection 4 to reflect new federal poverty guidelines.

759-7 Income from Subsidized Employment and Employment Based Training

• Adds a new subsection to provide field staff information for processing earned income from OJT's and Job Starts for ATAP cases.

• Provides two examples and a cross reference to the Work Services Procedure Manual.

780-17 Refusal of Payment

• Adds a new paragraph to elaborate on situations when a household may want to enter refused cash status; also references when a household must be put into refused cash status (i.e. when entering a Job Start placement).

790-6 A. New Member Enters the Assistance Unit

• Adds a note about adding a child to a 3rd trimester case and issuing a supplement via a manual budget.

791-3 Adequate Notice

• Adds a new scenario where the client provides a written, signed, and dated request to close their ATAP case and that they understand the consequences of their request.

Addendum 1 Exempt Alaska Native Villages

• Addendum 1 was updated based on current data from the American Community Survey.

Addendum 3 Criteria For AK Native Village Time Limit Exemption

• Adds information about the American Community Survey (ACS) that has replaced the 'long-form' for economic data gathered by the decennial US Census survey.