STATE OF ALASKA
Department of Health
Division of Public Assistance
TRANSMITTAL NUMBER: MC #73
MANUAL: Alaska Temporary Assistance Program
DATE: December 1, 2022
Social Security announced a 8.7% COLACost of Living Allowance increase effective January 1, 2023. We have updated the Alaska Temporary Assistance Program (ATAP) income eligibility and shelter allowance standards to reflect the annual COLACost of Living Allowance adjustments in Social Security benefits. The new standards are effective beginning with the benefit month of January 2023. The Eligibility Information System (EIS) will automatically apply these new standards when determining eligibility and benefit amounts beginning January 2023.
Highlights of all the policy revisions are described below. If you have any questions, please contact the Policy & Program Development Team at hss.dpa.policy@alaska.gov.
OVERVIEW OF CHANGES
ENTIRE MANUAL
- Changed all references from DHSSDepartment of Health and Social Services (State) to DOHDepartment of Health.
MS 705-3 E SCHEDULING INTERVIEWS
- Clarified the 2nd bullet in this section for further understanding.
- Removed reference to Appointment Plus, as it is a system DPADivision of Public Assistance no longer uses.
- Removed reference to "request for service."
MS 705-4 B INFORMATION FROM DATA SYSTEMS AND EIS INTERFACES
- Clarified IEVSInstant Eligibility Verification System is used to check PFDPermanent Fund Dividend and Quarterly Wage.
- Removed reference to NFIN, the acronym for the database NSTARNorthern Support through Automated Resources, as this is a system DPADivision of Public Assistance no longer uses.
MS 713-5 A LEGAL, NON-QUALIFIED ALIENS
- Renamed section from "Permanently Residing Under Color of Law" (PRUCOL) to "Legal, Non-Qualified Aliens."
- Added a note clarifying that an individual with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is a legal, non-qualified alien.
MS 713-5 B NON-IMMIGRANTS
- Changed reference to USCISU.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services documentation from paragraph format to list format.
MS 713-6 C PROOF OF QUALIFIED ALIEN STATUS
- Removed link to NCOSC website that no longer provides the information needed in this section. Updated to USCISU.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website.
MS 780-1 G RATABLE REDUCTION
- Updated the ratable reduction to reflect the 2023 Social Security COLACost of Living Allowance increase.
MS 780-3 CALCULATING THE PAYMENT AMOUNT
- Updated the standards to reflect the 2023 Social Security COLA increase, along with examples A, B, and C to reflect the updated need standards.
MS 792-3 OVERPAYMENTS
- Changed the Time Limit Change Request process from submitting a request through the System Operations homepage to submitting the request to the System Operations email box. This change is due to the decommissioning of the Systems Operations homepage.
Addendum 2 TATemporary Assistance INCOME AND PAYMENT STANDARDS
- Updated the monetary amount referenced when determining deemed income of stepparents, to the current pregnant woman need standard.
- Updated the income eligibility standards and maximum shelter allowances for 2023.