M E M O R A N D U M

TO: EES Program Administrators
FROM: Jaime Rogers
DATE: 04/29/13
SUBJECT: Implementation Instructions - KEESM Revision #58

This memo provides implementation instructions and information for the following May 1, 2013 policy changes in the Kansas Economic and Employment Services Manual (KEESM).

1. All Programs
   
   
   1. Intermittent Income and Deductions – See Summary of Change I, A, 2, and KEESM 7121.
      
      Policy is being revised in the method of budgeting Indian royalty payments from tribal profits, i.e. casino payments. Effective immediately, all new applications, reviews and IR’s will begin budgeting Indian royalty payments annually, using the most recent IRS 1099, or the same information from a reliable source, from the prior year’s income.
      
      Examples:
      
      
      1. Client applies for TANF, Food Assistance and Child Care on 4/25/13. The client is employed and receives Indian casino royalty payments every quarter. The most recent payment was received in March and the next payment will be received in June. Since the last payment was received prior to the application month it will not be counted until the July budget. Using the most recent IRS 1099, divide the total income reported by 12 months to determine the countable monthly income. This amount will be used until the annual review. If at the time of the IR the amount is reported as having changed by $50 or more, then the provisions of KEESM 9122.6(1)(c)(v) are to be followed.
         
         
      2. An IR is received on December 20th and the household reports a change in the royalty income. This client receives an Indian royalty payment monthly. A telephone call to the tribal office verifies the most recent IRS 1099 income. Since this amount decreased by more than $50 a month, the amount is divided by 12 and the income will be budgeted monthly for the remainder of the certification period. Even though a new IRS 1099 will be received in January of the following year, the new IRS 1099 will not be used until the review or a new application is filed.
         
         
   2. ND on the UNIN screen – See Summary of Change, Appendix, A.
      
      Effective with this revision the use of ND on the UNIN screen is no longer valid. Staff will be provided a list of cases currently using the ND code and are to substitute the code UE on the UNIN screen. Use of the ND code incorrectly budgets earnings without using disregards for cash assistance, which does not follow KEESM policy. Policy allows earnings disregards for unreported earnings for cash assistance. When determining overpayment computations, use of XF on EAIN and UE on UNIN correctly counts income as per policy. Updates to KAECSES substituting UE for ND are to be completed prior to rollover, which is May 24th. Appendix Form B-7, Overpayment Checklist, is being revised to conform to this change. Please destroy all current copies of form B-7.
      
      
2. Cash, Child Care, Food Assistance, and GA
   
   

   VA Aid and Attendance – See Summary of Change II, A, 1, and KEESM 6410(66(Formerly 65))(a).
   
   With this revision, VA Aid and Attendance payments are no longer exempt for cash, child care, GA, and food assistance. This policy change will mostly affect food assistance cases, but is being implemented for the other programs for consistency. The income remains exempt for Medical programs.
   
   The change is to be implemented with all applications and reviews processed on or after May 1, 2013. For ongoing cash and food assistance cases, the change will be applied for July 1, 2013 with the changes to the income code on KAECSES. The table change (to count instead of exempt the income) will be made on 4/29/13 with an effective date of May 1, 2013. This means the change for ongoing cases will be processed with rollover in May to affect July benefits. The mass change notice with rollover in May will be modified to note the change in treatment of VA aid and attendance income.
   
   Note: If staff change ongoing cash or food assistance cases with VA AA income after the table change on 4/29/13, for the May or June benefit month, the change in the treatment of the income will occur when the case is reauthorized (May and/or June benefits could be affected. All cases with VA AA income will be affected for July with rollover.) The income will become countable for the benefit month processed. If this occurs, a note about the change in treatment of the VA aid and attendance income needs to be added to the change in benefits notice to explain the change in benefits.
   
   For child care, KsCares does not have a specific code for VA Aid and Attendance payments, so EES workers will need to review all cases coded as having Veterans Benefits (VB) and/or Veterans Educational Income (VE) as they are reviewing cases for the child care work requirement during May and June. If any of those cases have Aid and Attendance payments, the amount of those payments must be added to the amount coded as VB, and the family share deduction must be recalculated. If there is a difference in the family share, the adjustment must be made beginning with benefits for the month of July.
   
   For food assistance it is important to note that a veteran getting aid and attendance would be considered disabled, as such, would be entitled to deduct medical expenses in excess of $35 per month. This includes for maintaining an attendant, homemaker, home health aide, housekeeper or adult care services due to age, infirmity or illness. This should be investigated with any Veteran getting aid and attendance benefits.

3. Child Care – See Summary of Change IV, A, 1, and KEESM 2835
   
   28 Hour Employment Requirement for Non-TANF Child Care Recipients
   
   Effective May 1, 2013, it will be required that all adults included on a child care case be employed a minimum of 28 hours per week (average) to qualify for child care assistance. For cases with two adults included, both adults must meet this requirement in order to qualify. The work requirement for post-secondary students, however, will remain at 20 hours per week.
   
   
   1. Applications:
      
      For applications received prior to May 1, if families meet other eligibility requirements but adults are employed at least 20 but not 28 hours per week and are not post-secondary students, the application will be approved and plans written through the month of April, and the case will be closed April 30th. The initial approval notice will indicate both the approval through April and the closure effective April 30th
      
      Example: Application for child care received April 10th from a mother with 3 children. The mother works 25 hours per week. If otherwise eligible, the application will be approved and plans written for April only. Both the initial approval notice to the mother and the eligibility notice to the provider will indicate that eligibility is for April only. The mother’s notice will indicate that there is no eligibility after April due to not meeting the 28 hours per week employment requirement.
      
      As a part of this change, self-employed individuals must be working at least 28 hours per week and making a net income from self-employment equal to or greater than the federal minimum wage times the number of hours worked. Newly self-employed individuals may have child care approved if their net income from self-employment is less than the federal minimum wage. However, desk reviews of those cases will be conducted after six months of self-employment. After that time, if the self-employed individual’s income from self-employment is not equal to at least the federal minimum wage per hour, child care plans will be terminated. Total hours of employment from all employment sources must equal at least 28.
      
      Example: An application for child care is received from a father with one child. He is self- employed and has been for about two years, working an average of 28 hours per week. Dad meets the 28 hour work requirement, but staff will need to determine if his net income equals at least the federal minimum wage per hour. If Dad’s net self-employment income is equal to or greater than the federal minimum wage per hour, child care may be approved for this case. If Dad’s net self-employment income is less than the federal minimum wage per hour, he is not eligible to receive child care assistance.
      
      
   2. Former TANF
      
      TANF recipients who lose eligibility for TANF due to employment are not subject to the 28 hour per week requirement for two months following the loss of TANF eligibility. However, if not employed at least 28 hours per week, the child care plan will be written only for those two months. If the parent is employed 28 hours or more per week at the end of those two months, they may reapply for child care assistance.
      
      Example: A TANF case receiving Work Incentive payments is also receiving child care assistance. The mother is employed 20 hours per week. This case will remain a JO child care case, as Work Incentive payments are TANF. The 28 hour work requirement would not apply since it is still an open TANF case. The TANF case closes effective May 31, 2013. Mother requests child care. EM CC would be opened for this family for the next two months only (June and July) if the mother isn’t meeting the 28 hour employment requirement.
      
      
   3. Post-Secondary Students
      
      The 28 hour per week work requirement does not apply to post-secondary students. The employment requirement for post-secondary students remains at 20 hours per week. Nothing is changing in the way eligibility is determined for post-secondary students.
      
      Example: An application for child care assistance is received for a mom and her two children. Mom is requesting child care for the hours she is attending technical school, as well as her work hours. She is participating 10 hours per week in work study and has a job at the local convenience store working 10 hours per week. With the combination of her work study and her job at the convenience store, Mom meets the 20 hour per week employment requirement, and if otherwise eligible, she can be approved for child care assistance.
      
      In the same situation, during the summer months, Mom only works at her convenience store job, working 10 hours per week. There is no work study available during the summer. If she will be returning to school in the fall and participating in the work study program, Mom will remain eligible for child care for the summer months. Students who are meeting the 20 hour work requirement with a combination of work study and regular employment hours while school is in session will maintain their status during periods when school is not in session and no work study is available.
      
      
   4. Ongoing
      
      For ongoing child care cases, this policy will be implemented during the months of May and June, with all cases reviewed by the 10 day adverse action date in June. Central office will provide printouts of all open EM cases to assist with implementation of this change. These listings will be provided as soon as possible after May 1, 2013. If any adult included on a case is not employed at least 28 hours per week, or is not a post-secondary student employed at least 20 hours per week at the time the case is reviewed, the case must be closed giving timely and adequate notice, and notice C509 must be sent to the parent/caretaker. The notice will explain the new requirement and will tell them who we have determined does not meet that new requirement. They will be advised that if their circumstances have changed and all the adults on the case are now employed at least 28 hours per week, they may reapply for child care assistance and provide verification of their increased employment. It is not necessary to re-prove employment hours for adults who already meet the 28 hour per week requirement.
      
      Example: An ongoing case is open for a mom with two children. Mom is employed 25 hours per week and is not a post-secondary student. The case is reviewed on May 5, 2013, and the new 28 hour per week work requirement is not being met. The case will be closed effective May 31, 2013. If that same case were being reviewed on May 21, 2013, it would be closed effective June 30, 2013 to allow for timely and adequate notice.
      
      If the review of that same case showed that Mom was working 30 hours per week, no action would be necessary, as the information in the case file indicates that the 28 hour work requirement is being met. It would not be necessary to re-verify employment information.
      
      
4. Employment Services
   
   
   1. Child-Under Exemption (CU/EX) – See Summary of Change V, A, 1, and KEESM 3220
      
      The Child under exemption from work programs will be reduced from 6 months to 2 months as of May 1, 2013. On August 1, 2013 the KAECSES system will deauthorize all TANF programs and create an alert when the youngest child is three months old or older and there is a CU reason code on JOPR. The system will automatically delete the alert when the CU coding is changed. After August 1, 2013, AFPD will not allow the TANF program to be authorized if JOPR contains the CU coding for a child over three months of age. The system will not allow authorization of the TANF program when there is a household type other than 1P with a CU reason code on JOPR.
      
      A mass mailing will be sent prior to the August 1 deauthorization date, informing the clients in CU/EX their exemption will end and their work program case managers will contact them to set an appointment. Reports will be generated for workers to use to identify and contact clients on their case load who need to be engaged in work program activities. For new CU/EX cases KSCARES should be opened (or remain opened) and clients placed in the PHC component for 2 months. The description line on COUP will be noted as “2 mo.CU”.
      
      In addition, a client assigned to the AOD activity for substance use disorders will not be eligible for a child-under exemption and will be expected to continue their recovery program once the baby is born.
      
      There are no changes being made to the teen parent without a high school diploma or GED cases.
      
      
   2. Zero Hour Components – See Summary of Change V, A, 2, and KEESM 3300 and 3330
      
      All individuals placed in a zero hour component must also be participating in a countable activity with the exception of PHC or MHC components. PHC and MHC components are reserved for CU/EX, Need for Care exempt and individuals who have medical documentation they are either permanently unable to work and are applying for Social Security benefits or temporarily unable to work. If the parent is Need for Care exempt, please place in PHC and note the description line on COUP that it is a need for care exemption.
      
      Zero hour components such as DES, RES, AOD, ASE, HST, EHS, CFS, and WIA should have their countable activities noted. (See Examples)
      
      Single parent families may not be placed in PRC. Two parent families using PRC may only do so when the active parent is meeting participation. If the active parent is not meeting participation, then the parent in PRC must be assigned to additional activities.
      
      Examples:
      
      
      1. AOD: After completing the SASSI screen, Sally was assigned to SRCC for treatment of a substance use disorder. SRCC took over the intense case management and helped Sally get to out-patient counseling and 12 step meetings. The counseling and support meetings count as Job Readiness activities, therefore the worker places Sally in AOD and JSR on SESP/COUP adding any brief notes on COUP that may be necessary. If the case is pulled for the federal participation sample, the worker will use the monthly reports from SRCC to verify the hours of participation they report for JSR on the ACHR screen. AOD would be coded ZH on ACHR for the sample month.
         
         
      2. ASE: Terry and her 3 children have been approved for TANF and Terry is assigned to orientation and assessment. The DCF office only has orientation once a month and there is a two week lapse before Terry can attend. Terry says she baby sits for her sister in the evening 5 to 6 nights a week for about 4 hours each night. Terry’s sister pays her $2.00/hour. The worker tells Terry to document her hours and earnings then have her sister sign off on the documentation. The worker puts Terry into the ASE component for no more than 3 months. On COUP the worker puts a brief note with the date Terry is to attend the Orientation. The worker also puts Terry in EMP and on the description line in COUP, they note Terry is working for her sister. When the case is pulled for the federal participation sample, the worker posts the hours documented on EMP ACHR and ZH on ASE ACHR for the sample month.
         
         
      3. CFS: John and Mary receive TANF and are working with PPS to keep their family together. John has been court ordered to anger management classes for 8 weeks and Mary is working on an associate’s degree in computer programming. Both John and Mary are placed in PPS on SESP. John is also placed in JSR and COUP is noted that he is in anger management classes. Mary is placed in JST on SESP with a note on COUP that she is working towards her degree. When the case is pulled for the federal participation sample, both John and Mary will need to provide documentation of their hours of participation. Johns JSR will count as the Primary component and Mary’s JST will count as the secondary component hours. The documented hours will be posted on the appropriate ACHR.
         
         
      4. RES: Nabil and Sari are refugees. They have been approved for TANF. They are working with Catholic Charities. The worker will put them into the RES component on SESP. The worker knows that Catholic Charities requires Nabil and Sari to look for work and take classes for English and other soft skills. After speaking with the Catholic Charities case manager, Nabil is also placed in EMP as he has a P/T job for 30 hours a week and Sari is placed in ERE for her English classes. When the case is pulled for the federal participation sample, Nabil’s EMP hours count as the Primary hours and Saris ERE hours count as the secondary participation. All hours are posted on the appropriate ACHR screen.
         
         
      5. MHC/PHC: Stan and Nora have received TANF for 6 months. Stan had a Dr's. Statement saying he was limited to how much he could work so he was put into PHC and referred to Voc Rehab. He is coded PHC and DES on SESP with a note on the PHC COUP Dr's. Statement(s) is on file. Nora has well documented mental/emotional challenges and it was determined she needed to apply for Social Security benefits. Nora has applied and provided her worker with documentation that she is actively pursuing SSI/SSDI benefits. Nora was placed in MHC on SESP. A note is put on COUP that she has applied for SSI/SSDI and a Dr. Statement(s) is on file. At 6 months, both Stan and Nora are called in for a review. It is discovered that Stan’s condition has improved and with VR’s help he is in vocational education. The PHC component is closed and the worker opens a VOC component for Stan. Now Stan is in DES and VOC. Nora’s condition has not changed and she will remain in MHC.