STATE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL
REHABILITATION SERVICES
Integrated Services Delivery
Docking State Office Building
Room 681 - West
Topeka, Kansas 66612 TO: Area Directors
Economic and Employment Support Chiefs
Economic and Employment Support Staff
Social Service Chiefs
Other Staff
Re: Summary of Changes for Kansas Economic and
Employment Support Manual (KEESM) Revision No. 7 effective October 1, 2001
PURPOSE, BACKGROUND and REASON FOR CHANGE
The purpose of this document is to transmit Revision No. 7
of the Kansas Economic and Employment and Support Manual effective October 1, 2001.
This revision implements the elimination of monthly
reporting and retrospective budgeting for non-TAF related food stamp programs that are
currently subject to monthly reporting. Instead, these households will be subject to
change reporting and prospective budgeting. Households will be required to report certain
changes within 10 days, the same as households currently exempt from monthly reporting.
This change is based on the recommendation of the EES Rethinking Workgroup, the Policy
Development Team, and the EES Chiefs as amended by SRS Leadership. The EES Rethinking
Workgroup was formed to look at the potential of reducing nonessential work for staff in
light of shrinking resources as well as reduce barriers to participation and add value to
the customer. The goal was to look at changes which would streamline the eligibility
process and improve work efficiency. Monthly reporting and retrospective budgeting is not
being eliminated for TAF programs and their related food stamp programs at this time, due
to budget concerns with the cost of eliminating monthly reporting for TAF programs.
This revision also implements numerous changes in the Food
Stamp Program as mandated or allowed by Federal regulations published November 21, 2000.
Specifically, these regulations allow the State to implement less restrictive face-to-face
interview requirements which have been adopted for food stamps and the cash programs.
These changes will allow for less face-to-face interviews in favor of a phone interview,
and should free staff time for other essential activities. These regulations also require
a major change in the determination of who is considered an ABAWD. Effective with this
revision, an individual is exempt from the restrictive ABAWD provisions if they live in a
household where a member is under the age of 18, even if the person under the age of 18 is
not receiving food stamps. Another major change from these regulations requires the State
agency to count only a pro-rata share of the income of ineligible aliens and ineligible
ABAWDS. These persons will therefore be considered as excluded individuals as opposed to
the current policy of treating them as disqualified individuals Detailed instructions on
implementing these changes, as well as the elimination of monthly reporting for non-TAF
food stamp programs will be outlined in the Implementation Memo. Also included in this
revision are the annual Federally mandated increases in the Food Stamp Program's maximum
benefits, maximum excess shelter deduction, and gross and net income limits effective
October 2001. Due to the high cost of gas service this past year, the Standard Utility
Allowance (SUA) is also being increased to more accurately reflect the actual cost of
utilities in Kansas. The new amount for the SUA is $215. These changes were implemented
for all affected cases via a mass change with rollover in August 2001.
A change is being made to the alien eligibility criteria to
ensure that alien trafficking victims are afforded the access to benefits comparable to
the access that is available to refugees as mandated by the law. An estimated 700,000
persons, primarily women and children, are trafficked worldwide each year. Approximately
50,000 women and children are trafficked annually into the United States along with an
unknown number of men. Traffickers force their victims into the international sex trade,
prostitution, slavery and forced labor through coercion, threats of physical violence,
psychological abuse, torture and imprisonment. To deter these crimes, Congress passed and
the President signed into law the Trafficking Victims Protection Act in October 2000. The
law aims to combat trafficking through increased law enforcement, to ensure effective
punishment of traffickers, to protect victims and to provide Federal and State assistance
to victims.
Included in this manual revision are changes to the work
program component structure which are being made in response to a work group
recommendation. The work group, comprised of line workers and central office staff,
reviewed the work program components and recommended changes that they feel better
describe the activities of our current client population and are more user friendly.
The change to remove the prohibition of approving college
courses directed toward a baccalaureate degree for TAF clients is being made to
acknowledge that these decisions are best made at the local level on a case by case basis.
This change allows the field the flexibility to make these decisions.
Under the authority provided in the Breast and Cervical
Cancer Prevention and Treatment Act of 2000, Kansas will begin providing medical coverage
to women who are diagnosed with either breast or cervical cancer based on the Center for
Disease Control's screening guidelines. A new medical coverage group will be
available for this purpose effective October 1, 2001.
Based on establishment of a blended managed care plan for
both Medicaid and HealthWave eligible children, enrollment in the HealthWave managed care
plan will now occur the day after the day action is taken to approve coverage. This
eliminates the previous enrollment delay which often occurred 30 or more days following
approval.
This revision also contains various child care program
policy changes and clarifications. Policy has been written to allow a child to be eligible
for the entire month of the child's 13th birthday. It will not be expected that child care
plans be terminated on the day of the child's 13th birthday. The child care program
currently does not have a waiting list for services, but updates have been made to this
section in order to keep current with policy. Effective with this revision, policy
allowing for a child care plan to be established for up to 12 months will be implemented.
Workers will be allowed the flexibility to establish child care plans which correspond
with the review period. Child care change reporting criteria has also been aligned with
other program policies. A notice outlining these responsibilities will be available on
KsCares and should be sent when approving child care cases. Modifications to the child
care program reflect a continued effort to establish policies that allow easier
administration of the program and also allow for customer friendly practices.
The CCDF Grants section has also been removed from the
manual as this program is now administered at the Central Office level by Children and
Family Policy. A handbook will be developed for use by EES staff directly involved in this
program.
This revision also incorporates other changes.
clarifications and corrections as noted below.
CHANGES AND REQUIRED ACTIONS
- KEESM 1116 - Adult Protective Services - This
section has been added to the manual to indicate that Adult Protective Services policies
are contained in the KEESM.
- KEESM 1412.1 - Face-to-Face Interview - This
section has been modified to provide that when a face-to-face interview is conducted, it
can be held in the SRS office, or other mutually acceptable location. Prior policy
indicated that the interview had to be held in the SRS office or other certification site.
- KEESM 1412.4 - Waiver of the Face-to-Face Interview
- This section has been modified to ease policies for wavier of the face-to-face
interview. With this revision, the face-to-face interview can be waived automatically for
households in which all members are elderly and disabled and have no earned income. The
interview can also be waived on a case-by-case basis because of household hardship
situations. A phone interview shall be conducted in lieu of the face-to-face interview.
The case file must be documented to show when a face-to-face was waived due to hardship,
and in both situations, a face-to-face interview must be granted to any household which
requests one.
- KEESM 1431 - Timely and Adequate Notice and KEESM
1432 - Adequate Notice Only - Cross references have been corrected in these
sections.
- KEESM 1619 - Fair Hearings Concerning Spousal
Impoverishment Policies - This section has been revised to incorporate new
instructions for the hearing officer regarding the potential income value of the
additional resources provided the community spouse. The officer must take into account not
only the income generating value of the additional resources but also the current
allocation as well. In addition, the officer must require they be invested so that income
is maximized.
- KEESM 1712 - Disposition of Child Care Provider Files
- This section has been revised to reflect the removal of CCDF Grant policy and
procedure from the KEESM.
- KEESM 1727 - Child Care Grants - This section
has been added to provide general information regarding the Child Care Grant program. This
was previously referenced in KEESM 10400. The Child Care Subsidy Program and Child Care
Grants are both funded through the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF). Child Care
Grants are administered at the Central Office level by the Child Care and Early Childhood
Development unit within Children and Family Policy.
- KEESM 2165 - Failure to Cooperate - This
section has been modified to remove a statement regarding the application of a CSE
noncooperation penalty for TransMed eligibles. Effective July 1, 2001, cooperation with
CSE is no longer an eligibility requirement for TransMed. This section now states that CSE
penalties are only applicable to MA CM.
- KEESM 2244 - Extension of Time Limits for Domestic
Violence Victims - Clarification has been added to this section regarding
individuals who have exhausted the 60 month limit and are subsequently identified as
victims of domestic violence/sexual assault.
- KEESM 2410 - General Requirements (Refugee Cash
Assistance) - Information regarding what a trafficking victim is and guidance to
the eligibility of such victims has been added to the manual. In addition, due to a
technical omission, KEESM 2410 had not included reference to certain INS codes that
reflect the eligibility of Amerasians for refugee benefits. If an individual presents INS
documentation with the codes AM1, AM2, AM3, AM6, AM7, or AM8, the individual is eligible
for refugee benefits. This addition does not reflect a change in program policy but
instead corrects an omission that should have been included to coincide with Federal
program policy. The Immigrant Status/Program Qualification chart (#1) in the
Appendix has been corrected to reflect this information.
- KEESM 2521 - Persons Exempt from the ABAWD Provision
- Item (1) of this section has been clarified to indicate that persons age 18 and
still receiving TAF are exempt from the ABAWD provisions. Item (3) has been revised to
indicate that an individual is exempt from the ABAWD provisions if the individual is a
parent (natural, adoptive or step) of a household member under the age of 18 (or 18 and
receiving TAF) OR is living in a household where any member is under the age of 18 (or 18
and receiving TAF). This provision applies even if the household member under the age of
18 is not receiving food stamps. This is a major change in the ABAWD provisions and will
allow more persons to qualify for food stamps without the ABAWD time restrictions when any
member of the household they are living in is under the age of 18 (or 18 and still
receiving TAF).
- KEESM 2526 - Treatment of Income and Resources -
This section has been revised to indicate that individuals found ineligible due to the
ABAWD provisions shall be considered as excluded individuals and a pro-rata share of their
income will be counted to the remaining family members. Prior policy counted all of their
income as available to the remaining family members. Also see item 28 of this
letter.
- KEESM 2691 - Emergency Service Coverage for Aliens
- This section is being modified to reflect a change in processing for women applying
for coverage of recent birth expenses. Claims processing edits have been changed by the
Medicaid fiscal agent to allow payment of routine labor and delivery services for SOBRA
eligibles. Because of this, the requirement to obtain an MS-2156 for persons applying for
payment of routine labor and delivery expenses has been eliminated for this population
only. In no other instance shall coverage be authorized without an approved MS-2156, as
only routine labor and delivery services are the only services which the MMIS will pay.
The formal implementation date of this policy will be communicated separately.
- KEESM 2693 - Persons with Breast and Cervical Cancer
- This new section and four new subsections have been created to establish a new
categorically needy eligibility group. Coverage will be available beginning October 1,
2001. Eligibility under this group cannot be established prior to October 1, 2001.
Federal provisions specifically allow eligibility under
this group only for those screened in need of treatment for breast or cervical cancer
through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Breast and
Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program. No other persons with breast or cervical cancer
are eligible under this category. In Kansas, the FREE to Know program operated by the
Kansas Department of Health and Environment, provides the approved breast and cervical
cancer screening for entrance into this new Medicaid group. The FREE to Know program
provides screening services to women between ages 40-65 with incomes below 250% of the
federal poverty limit in 2001. Six regional outreach nurses with the FREE to Know program
will provide the necessary case management services to obtain Medicaid coverage under this
group while additional localized providers will offer screening services. The case manager
will be responsible for certifying the need for treatment and communicating this to the
eligibility worker through the Intake and Visit Summary.
A new application form, the ES-3100.7, Application for
Medical Coverage, Persons with Breast and Cervical Cancer, has been developed for this
program. In instances where a diagnosis of breast or cervical cancer is made and the
person is found in need of treatment, the case manager shall assist the individual in
completing the application. Both the application and the Intake and Visit Summary shall be
sent to SRS.
Eligibility determinations for this group will be handled
centrally by the HealthWave Clearinghouse. There are no financial criteria for this
program. In addition to general eligibility criteria the person must be uninsured and
under age 65. Annual reviews must be completed and eligibility continues during the course
of treatment. The case manager is required to report when the course of treatment has
ended. Eligibility is processed under the MS program with a special medical indicator
(PICK code) of BC. Persons are eligible for the full Medicaid benefits, not just services
related to treatment of the cancer.
- KEESM 2781 - Continuous Eligibility Period, KEESM
2783.2(2) - Adding a Child to a New Plan, and KEESM 2791- Effective Date of
Coverage - These sections are being modified to reflect a change in the effective
date of HealthWave enrollment. Beginning with all applications processed on or after
October 1, 2001, enrollment into the appropriate health plan (or managed care
organization) shall occur the day after the day action is taken to approve coverage. This
is true for applications processed after the first medical card run as well as those
processed earlier in the month. For example, if action is taken to approve HealthWave
coverage on October 26 the child has coverage beginning October 27, which is the day the
child is enrolled into the managed care plan. Managed care materials will be sent to the
client soon after that date regarding provider selections.
This also impacts the month in which continuous eligibility
begins for HealthWave eligible children. Continuous eligibility shall now begin the month
following the month in which action is taken to approve coverage. This is true regardless
of whether coverage existed for a portion of the month of approval. In the example above,
coverage is effective October 27 and the continuous eligibility period begins November 1.
- KEESM 2810 - General Requirements - This
section has been clarified to indicate that a child may be considered eligible for child
care through the entire month of the child's 13th birthday. For ease of administration,
plans may end on the last day of the month of the child's 13th birthday unless any of the
special provisions are applicable.
- KEESM 2840 - Establishing a Waiting List - This
section has been updated to incorporate and reflect new policies and/or changes in
policies within the Child Care Program over the past several months.
- KEESM 2912 - Health Insurance Premium Payment System
(HIPPS) - This section and subsections have been modified to reflect a change in
the referral process. Several clarifying statements were added and other changes have also
been made in the material for clarity. This change was previously communicated as part of
the Family Medical centralization initiative.
- KEESM 3113 - Component Assignment for Federal Work
Participation Purposes (TAF) - This section has been modified to reflect the
updated component information in KEESM 3300. This section has also been clarified to
indicate that the assignment of 30 hours per week, 20 hours of which is in a primary
component, is the Federal participation requirement.
- KEESM 3120 - Initial Interview - This section
has been updated to remove obsolete component terminology.
- KEESM 3140 - Assessment - Information in the
Assessment Protocol section related to the Assessment Guide has been corrected.
- KEESM 3300 - Work Program Components - This
section is being re-formatted, re-numbered, and contains several changes. Components are
now listed in sections by the Federal component designation that is used for Federal
reporting purposes.
The Apprenticeship component is being removed. If a TAF
client begins an apprenticeship, the employment component should be utilized.
The following components are being added: Physical Health
Care, Post Secondary Education, Employment Related Workshops, and Children and Family
Services. Participation in Early HeadStart, HeadStart, and Road to Success (LD Phase IV
pilot) are all considered participation in the Employment Related Workshops component.
Clarification has been added to the Employment Assessment
Process (EAP) regarding when it is appropriate to count 30 hours of participation per
week.
- KEESM 3320 - Education/Job Skills Training/Post
Secondary Education/ Vocational Education Authorization and Progress Review Guidelines
- Post Secondary Education has been added to the title of this section.
- KEESM 3321 - Education Authorization and Progress
Review Guidelines - This section has been expanded to include information about
Post Secondary Education.
- KEESM 3322 - Job Skills Training/Post Secondary
Education/Vocational Education Authorization Guidelines - The title of this
section has been expanded to include Post Secondary Education. The manual material has
been expanded to allow for approval of college courses directed toward an associate or
baccalaureate degree on a case by case basis if approved by the EES Chief. This section
has also been modified to remove an example of non-approvable college courses that is no
longer applicable.
- KEESM 3411 - Support Services Specific to TAF Work
Program Participation - Clarification has been added to this section that
transportation is available to TAF applicants who obtain employment while in applicant
status.
- KEESM 3411.1 - Transportation - Clarification
has been added to this section that transportation is available in the month of
application and month following the month of application for those TAF applicants who
obtain employment while in applicant status.
- KEESM 4212.2 - Excluded Household Members and
KEESM 4212.3 - Disqualified Household Members - These sections have been
modified to provide that ABAWDs and ineligible aliens are to be considered as excluded
household members. Previous policy considered them as disqualified household members. With
this change, a pro-rata share of income is counted to the remaining household members
instead of counting all income of the ineligible ABAWD or ineligible alien.
- KEESM 6315 - Training Allowances and Payments -
This section is being clarified. Wages earned through a job tryout arranged through a CDC
or through an industrial evaluation arranged through KETCH are considered earned income.
Stipends to Native Americans which are intended to cover living expenses are also
considered earned income.
- KEESM 6320 - Contract Labor - This new section
has been created to reflect a change in the treatment of income received from some
contractual employment relationships. For applications processed on or after October 1,
2001 some contracted labor shall be budgeted as self-employment income. The income would
be subject to the 25% deduction for income producing costs, or actual income producing
costs if the client chooses. For households subject to monthly reporting, prospective
budgeting shall be used.
- KEESM 6410 - Income Exempt as Income Only and Income
Exempt as Income and a Resource - Changes are being made to the following items in
this section:
Item (28) - Interest and Dividends,
has been clarified to state that accumulated and retained interest is a countable resource
the month after the month of receipt.
Item (33) - Loans, has been clarified
to state that payments from reverse mortgages are treated as loans and are exempt as
income. Retained payments are countable as a resource the month following the month of
receipt.
Item (40) - Rehabilitation Services Payments,
this section has been clarified to indicate that it applies to all programs. It has also
been expanded to indicate that Maintenance Payments from Rehabilitation Services are
exempt as they are considered to be payments in excess of normal living expenses. A cross
reference to 6315 has also been added.
Item (54) - Susan Walker v Bayer, has
been clarified to state that interest earned on retained funds is countable as income and
as a resource in the following months.
- KEESM 7132 - Self-Employment Income - A new
item (5), Unearned Income, has been added to this section to clarify
treatment of unearned self-employment income received on a basis other than monthly as
intermittent income. Income received prior to the first eligibility base period is not
countable. For example, a client applying in July receives biannual rental payments for a
pasture in April and October. The income meets the definition of self-employment per
6313(1), but is unearned because the client does not actively participate in the
management of the property. Although the income is treated as self-employment income, it
is not budgeted until November.
- KEESM 7226 - Shelter Costs - This section has
been revised to provide that the excess shelter deduction effective October 1, 2001 is
$354. This amount was implemented via a mass change in August 2001.
- KEESM 7226.3 - Utilities - Item (3) of this
section has been revised to provide for an increase in the Standard Utility Allowance to
$215. This increase is due to the increased cost of gas service. This change was
implemented for all affected FS programs via a mass change in August 2001.
- KEESM 7340 - Eligibility Period for Child Care
Assistance - This section has been changed to indicate that child care plans
should not be written for longer than twelve months rather than six months.
- KEESM 7610 - Duration of Child Care Plans -
This section has been changed to indicate that child care plans should not be written for
longer than twelve months rather than six months.
- KEESM 8114 - CARE Assessment Process and Eligibility
for Payment - This section has been modified to reflect procedures originally
communicated on June 15, 2001 which became effective July 1, 2001 to obtain necessary
level of care (LOC) information. EES will no longer contact the AAA for this information.
- KEESM 8144.2 and 8244.2 Spousal Impoverishment
Provisions - These sections have been changed to correct a cross reference.
- KEESM 9000 - Reporting Changes - This section
has been revised and reformatted. Item (1)(a) of this section, Households Required to
Monthly Report, provides only recipients of TAF will be required, as a condition of
continued eligibility, to complete and return a monthly report form each month. Exceptions
to this rule continue to apply if all adult members of the TAF household are elderly or
disabled, or the TAF household consists of children with non-parental caretakers whose
needs are excluded from the cash assistance plan. These households are subject to the 10
day reporting requirements of KEESM 9310. Item(1)(b) provides that the only food stamp
households that are required to monthly report are those in which the FS program PI is
receiving TAF, is the PI for the TAF program, and is subject to monthly reporting for TAF
with one exception. If all members of the FS household are migrant or seasonal
farmworkers, or are homeless, the FS program cannot be subject to monthly reporting by
federal food stamp law and regulations, even though the household is subject to monthly
reporting for TAF.
Item (2) of this section, Households Exempt from Monthly
Reporting, provides that all other food stamp households, as well as GA, RE, medical and
child care programs are exempt from monthly reporting and subject to the change reporting
requirements outlined in KEESM 9310.
This change will take effect on applications processed on or after
October 1, 2001. Current recipients households who will no longer be required to monthly
report based on this change will be converted to change reporting and prospective
budgeting over a 3 month period from October through December.
Detailed instructions for implementing this policy change
will be included in the Implementation Memo.
- KEESM 9310 - Responsibility after Approval for
Non-Monthly Reporting Households - This section explains the reporting
requirements for all households exempt from monthly reporting. These households, including
child care households, are required to report certain changes in circumstances within 10
days of the date the change becomes known to the household. Instead of explaining these
reporting requirements in a narrative format, a chart outlining the specific reporting
requirements for each program of assistance has been included. Most of these changes were
described in prior manual material as applying to non-monthly reporting households, but
several reporting requirements, particularly those applying to the medical programs are
being clearly stated in the manual for the first time. Also as noted above, Child Care has
adopted the requirement that households are required to report when the amount of earned
income being counted increases or decreases by more than $100 per month, and when the
amount of unearned income being counted increases or decreases by more than $25 per month.
- KEESM 9312 - Action Affecting a Child Care Family
Share Amount and/or Authorized Hours - This section has been modified to provide
that in addition to changes in income, changes in household size that are reported that
will increase the family share 2 levels or more, shall be recalculated with the change
effective the month following the month of report, allowing for timely notice
requirements.
- KEESM 10400 - Child Care Grants - This section
of the manual has been removed as this program is administered at the Central Office level
by Children and Family Policy.
- KEESM 11126.1 - Methods of Collecting Payments -
Item (4)(a) of this section which describes benefit reduction for food stamp fraud claims
has been amended to provide that food stamp benefits shall be reduced by the greater of
20% of the household's monthly entitlement or $20 per month, instead of the greater of 20%
of the household's entitlement or $10 per month. Further details about implementing this
policy on active cases will be provided in the Implementation Memo.
FORMS SECTION
- The Adult Abuse, Neglect or Exploitation Investigation
Report, ES-1004, has been revised to capture the county of residence of the adult.
- The Notice of Agency Decision, ES-1008, has
also been revised to capture the county of residence of the adult.
- The Grant Transaction Report, CC-1637, and Request
for Advance of Grant Funds, CC-1638, have been obsoleted and removed with this
revision. The Child Care Forms Explanations item has been corrected as a
result.
- The Job Corps Referral form is being removed
with this revision. This form is currently the first form in the Employment Preparation
portion of the Forms Section. This form is no longer used.
- A new application for food stamp benefits, Welcome to
the Kansas Food Assistance Program, the ES-3100.6, has been included in
this revision. This is a shortened and simplified application to be used by those
individuals wishing to apply only for food stamps. It is intended to provide greater
access to and participation in the program and will be available through a number of
access points in the community. Also, the program is being referred to as the Food
Assistance Program to provide a more marketable title.
- A new application for medical coverage, the ES-3100.7-
Application for Medical Coverage; Breast and Cervical Cancer, has been added. This
application has been created specifically for persons applying for coverage under this new
eligibility category. For initial applications, the form must be accompanied by the FREE
to Know program's Intake and Visit Summary.
- The Determination Worksheet for Pickle Eligibles,
ES-3104.6, has been revised to incorporate changes in ratios based upon the adjustment
in the 2000 SSA COLA because of an error in the consumer price index.
- The Assessment Protocol, ES-4307.1, is being
removed from the KEESM. This form should have been removed in KEESM Revision 4 when the
information on the protocol was added to the Assessment Guide, ES-4307, and also
incorporated into 3140 of the manual.
MISCELLANEOUS FORMS
- The Health Insurance Premium Payment Information Form,
MS-2504
- has been modified to accommodate the new HIPPS referral process. Staff are no longer
required to submit a form for every employed person.
- The HIPPS Change Report Form, MS-2504.1- is a
new form and has been added to support the new HIPPS process. It is to be used to report
changes in circumstances for current HIPPS participants.
APPENDIX
- An item has been added to the Immigrant Status/Program
Qualification Chart (Item 1), to describe the eligibility for victims of
severe forms of trafficking as described in item 10 in Changes and Required Actions. Due
to a page numbering error, the entire item has been reprinted.
- With the annual adjustments to the Food Stamp Program's
maximum excess shelter deduction, standard utility allowance, and gross and net income
limits, the Food Stamp Program Standards chart (Item 49) and the Food
Stamp Program Benefit Tables chart (Item 50) are being revised effective October
1, 2001.
- An technical error was corrected on Table 1, TAF/GA
Nonshared Living Arrangements, (Item 51).
- The Components to Meet Work Requirements/Participation
(Item 58) has been updated to reflect the change in the work program components.
- The Food Stamp Vehicle Policy Chart (Item 63) is
being removed from the manual. This chart should have been removed when the vehicle
changes were made in KEEEM Revision No. 6.
- A technical correction was made to the definition of
"Disabled" in the Definitions of Common Terms (Item 78).
EFFECTIVE DATE
All policies in this revision are effective
October 1, 2001 and shall be applied to all applications processed on or after that date.
These changes shall also be applied to ongoing cases as stated in the Implementation Memo
accompanying this revision.
EFFECT ON LOCAL STAFF
The change to eliminate monthly reporting
and retrospective budgeting for many food stamp cases will have a substantial impact on
staff initially as cases are converted to change reporting and prospective budgeting.
After the initial conversion, it is expected that these changes, as well as other changes
in the revision, will free staff from nonessential work and allow staff to focus efforts
in other more critical areas.
COORDINATION EFFORTS
The material in this letter and manual
revision have been coordinated with the Kansas Department on Aging, Rehabilitation
Services staff, the Work Program Component Work Group, the Policy Development Team, the
Implementation Planning Team, the EES Chiefs, the EES Rethinking Workgroup, Health Care
Policy, Children and Family Policy and with staff in the Economic and Employment Support
Section.
Sincerely,
Sandra C. Hazlett, Director
Economic and Employment Support
SCH:PJ:jmm
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