1322 Verification Provisions - Verification is the use of documentary evidence, collateral contacts, or home visits to establish the accuracy of statements on the application.
1322.1 Mandatory
Verification That Affects Eligibility for Program Benefits -
The worker shall verify the following information prior to approval for
clients initially applying:
NOTE: The intent of these verification requirements is to prevent payment errors. It is not the intent to be punitive to clients. Staff should work with and assist clients in obtaining the necessary verification. If the client refuses to provide the necessary verification, assistance may be denied. However, if the client tries to, but cannot obtain the necessary verification, and the employer will not provide the necessary verification, the agency shall not deny assistance. Rather the interim report/application/review/change shall be processed using all available verification. The case file must be documented to support the action(s) taken.
Identity for persons claiming to be non-citizens is accomplished
through documentation provided under the requirements of KEESM
2146. All documents used to verify
identity must be retained in the case file indefinitely per KEESM
1711 (9). For persons exempt
from the requirement due to SSI or Medicare status, verification
of such status is required.
The Reasonable Opportunity to Provide Documentation requirements
of 2145.4 are also applicable
to requests for identity verification.
Acceptable documents and the hierarchical protocol for obtaining
acceptable documents are described in Appendix
Item A-12 and as follows:
Primary
Document - a document that verifies both identity
and citizenship (as described in 2145.2)
and is further defined in Appendix
Item A-12. The availability of a Primary Document shall be
explored prior to using another identity document. A person
born outside of the U.S. who is now a U.S. citizen, but was
not a citizen at birth, must submit a Primary Document.
Secondary
Identity Document - a document that verifies identity
only. The statement of the applicant/recipient that a Primary
Document is not available is sufficient to seek a Secondary
Document. However, if a primary document is not used, two
different documents must be used to establish citizenship
and identity.
Additional
Documents for Children Under Age 16 - Where Primary
or Secondary documents are not available to verify identity,
special documents may be used for children under 16.
Declaration of Identity - As a final option, a written declaration may be used to establish identity for children under age 16 or disabled adults if no other documentation is available. If a declaration is used to establish citizenship it cannot be used for identity verification. Appendix Item P-7, Declaration of Identity for children and Appendix Item P-9, Declaration of Identity for Disabled Adults, may be used for this purpose. The EES Program Administrator/ KanCare Clearinghouse manager must be approve the declaration. The person making the declaration must :
be a United States citizen,
sign the declaration under penalty of perjury in the presence of a witness, and
for children, must be the parent, legal guardian, or caretaker relative of the child;
for disabled adults, must be the director or administrator of a residential care facility where the individual resides.
The signature of the parent, legal guardian, or caretaker relative made under penalty of perjury in the presence of a witness. When a declaration is used to establish identity, the original must be retained in the case file indefinitely.
Any document which reasonably establishes identity shall be accepted and no requirement for a specific type of document, such as a birth certificate, will be imposed. If no such document is available, a collateral contact shall be made and documented in the case file.
Multiple Documents – When none of the above items of identity are available, a client may submit three or more of the following documents as verification of identity:Multiple documents can only be used for identity if a second or third level of citizenship has been provided.• employer identification cards
• high school or college diplomas, including GED
• marriage certificates
• divorce decrees
• property deeds/titles
The agency will need to follow-up and if the child is not enrolled at the start of the school year, or first available time for orientation, the TANF case is ineligible and the case is to be closed, allowing for timely and adequate notice.
1322.2 Mandatory Verification
That Affects the Amount of Program Benefits - The following information
shall be verified prior to a determination of the benefit amount for households
initially applying. Failure to provide verification of these items is
not grounds for denial, rather the application would be processed without
allowing a deduction for the claimed expense.
Utility
Expenses (Food Assistance Only) - The household's utility
expense shall be verified if the household is not entitled to the
SUA or LUA and must claim the cost of one (or more) expenses per (7226.3 (4)).
If the household's only expense is a telephone, verification is only
required if questionable. See 1322.3
(4) for verification of entitlement to the utility standards.
Medical
Expenses - Medical expense allowed in the medical assistance
programs or incurred by food assistance persons who are elderly or
disabled (refer to definitions in the Appendix).
The amount of any medical expenses shall be verified prior to initial
approval.
Legal
Obligation and Actual Child Support Payments (Food Assistance Only)
- The worker shall verify the household's legal obligation
to pay child support, the amount of the obligation (if not averaging
payments per 7225), and the monthly
amount of child support the household actually pays. The household
is responsible for providing verification of the legal obligation,
the obligated amount, and the amount paid. Also see 7225.
The agency shall accept documents that verify the household's legal
obligation to pay child support, such as a court or administrative
order, divorce decree, legally enforceable separation agreement or
documentation of the court order from KAECSES-CSS screens. (CSS always
obtains a hard copy of the order prior to entering it on the system.
To be acceptable, the order must be active, i.e., there is no end
date reflected on the system.) The KPC system can also be used as
verification there is a court order and the monthly amount of child
support actually being paid. It cannot be used as verification of
the amount of the obligation, so if payments are just starting and
the deduction needs to be prospectively budgeted, the household will
have to provide proof of the amount of the obligation.
Acceptable documentation verifying a household's actual payment of
child support includes, but is not limited to, court receipts, wage
withholding statements, verification of withholding from unemployment
compensation, and the State CSS agency if the payments are being made
to CSS . Also acceptable are statements from the custodial parent
regarding direct payments or third party payments the noncustodial
parent pays or expects to pay on behalf of the custodial parent. KPC
is also acceptable for verifying the household’s actual payments.
Documents that are accepted as verification of the
household's legal obligation to pay child support shall NOT be accepted
as verification of the household's actual monthly child support payments.
Households that fail or refuse to obtain necessary
verification of their legal obligation or of their child support payments
shall have their eligibility and benefit level determined without
consideration of a child support deduction.
BARI
and BASI (Food Assistance and TANF Only) - The checking of
BARI and BASI is required at the time of application, review and at
the time of IR processing to determine if any adult household members
have failed to report current earned income or the receipt of unemployment
compensation.
1322.3 Verification of
Questionable Information - The worker shall verify all other
factors of eligibility prior to approval only if they are questionable
and affect the household's eligibility or benefit level. To be considered
questionable, the information on the application must be inconsistent
with other information on the application or previous applications or
inconsistent with information received by the agency. When determining
if information is questionable, the decision shall be based on each household's
individual circumstances. Also see 1310
and 1320.
Household Composition - If questionable, the worker shall verify any factors affecting the composition of a household.
1322.4 Special Verification Provisions (Medical Assistance) - The following special provisions apply to the Medical Assistance programs. See also 7123(2) (Reasonable Compatibility) and 7123(3) (Budgeting Method).