1016              Quarterly Case Review Staffing

Case review staffings will be held every quarter for Families First and every 6 months or bi-annually for Work First Work Services clients until further notice. For both Families First and Work First, if a client is experiencing significant changes in their plan then a staffing should be done immediately and due diligence should be well documented. There will be no annual or benchmark staffings. Quarterly staffings are done based on the number of TANF Temporary Assistance for Needy Families months used (not date of application or time since last staffing).

All client cases will be staffed every 3 months.

1. 1. 1. Reinforcing the 60-Month Life-time Limit

It is important that case managers have ongoing communication with families about the 60-month lifetime limit on assistance. With knowledge of this, clients should make informed choices about whether or not to receive assistance.  It is expected that case managers will discuss where clients are in terms of their months used at each staffing.

To help the client make decisions about their case, the case manager must inform them of the following:

1. 1. 1. 1. The number of TANF months used and the number of months left at application, during eligibility review, or whenever a family asks.

         2. When corrections or adjustments are made to the number of months used.

         3. That their eligibility for other programs, such as Food Stamps, Medicaid and Adult Public Assistance, is not time limited and may continue once Temporary Assistance ends.

The decisions that the client makes based on the information they have received regarding the number of TANF Temporary Assistance for Needy Families months they have used will be a central consideration in the development of their FSSP Family Self Sufficiency Plan.

Note:

Some clients may want to reserve months for the future, and use options such as Refused Cash (ATAP Manual Section 780-17) 

1. 1. 2. Informing the Client About Quarterly Staffings

During the initial meeting with the client all parts of quarterly staffings (parts a, b, & c) will be reviewed. All clients will be encouraged to identify and invite individuals who they would like to have included in the staffing.  The first quarterly may be combined with the initial meeting.

At the Quarterly Staffing, cumulative information from the previous 3 quarterly staffings are presented and considered, as well as information from the Family Progress Report Form (WS100a and WS100b)

1. 1. 3. Required 58th Month Staffing

At the 58th month a staffing must be held. If the family would like an extension to the 60-month life-time limit, an Extension Review Staffing is held at which an evaluation of eligibility and recommendation regarding continued benefits will be made. If the client does not want an extension, an Exit Staffing must be held.   Final decisions on extensions are made by eligibility please refer to (ATAP Manual Section 701-3 A.)  for policy on extension criteria.

1. 1. 4. Documentation of Staffings

Documentation of all staffings will be clear, complete and concise. The hard file will include the client self-assessment, case manager assessment and Quarterly Summary and Recommendations (forms WS100a and WS100b). CLNO Client Notess will reflect a clear, detailed and accurate synopsis of all important elements of each staffing, including forms detailed above.

Staffing documentation is one of the sources for support of a decision to allow an extension to the time limit. It is also the primary source of information for a fair hearing on the extension decision if one is held.