STATE
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL
REHABILITATION
SERVICES
Integrated
Services Delivery
Docking
State Office Building
Room
681 - West
Topeka,
Kansas 66612
Final
- July 1, 2004
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. 19 effective July 1,
2004
PURPOSE,
BACKGROUND, and REASON FOR
CHANGE
The
purpose of this document is to transmit
Revision No. 19 of the Kansas Economic
and Employment Support Manual effective
July 1, 2004.
This revision implements a major change in the
treatment of able bodied adults without dependents
(ABAWDs). Effective with this revision, residents of specific counties will be exempt from the
ABAWD provisions because the county has been
designated a Labor Surplus Area (LSA) by the
Department of Labor, or the county has had
for a 24 month period, an unemployment rate
20 percent above the national average. A labor
surplus area is defined as an area where there
are not a sufficient number of jobs to provide
employment for all individuals. This is the
first year the State of Kansas has requested
approval from the United States Department
of Agriculture to exempt certain counties
due to their status as a labor surplus area
or a county with an unemployment rate greater
than 20 percent of the national average. (In
FY 2002, 44 states had ABAWD waivers, while
only 6 states in the nation did not.) These
waivers are allowed under the Personal Responsibility
and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA)
of 1996.
Effective July 1, 2004 through April 30, 2005
residents of the counties listed in item IV.A. below will
not be subject to the ABAWD provisions
of 2520. Persons who would otherwise be considered
an ABAWD, if not for the waiver, can participate
in the food stamp program with no time limit.
The State is implementing this change due to
the economy and the challenges that low-skilled
workers may face in finding and keeping permanent
employment, especially in the cited counties
where there are more job seekers than vacant
jobs and unemployment is high. Food stamps
are a crucial part of the safety net for low
income persons. In addition, since food stamp
benefits are federally funded, they bring
outside funds into the state economy at a
time when they are most needed.
A new Medicare Prescription program is being
implemented due to the creation of this program
by an act of Congress. In addition, changes
in burial trusts are being made as a result
of legislation passed by the Kansas Legislature
earlier this year.
Effective July 1, 2004, hardship criteria will
be implemented in the General Assistance program
to provide for continuation of cash and medical
benefits beyond the 24 month time limit for
certain individuals.
- ALL PROGRAMS
- CHANGES
Systematic Alien
Verification for Entitlements
(SAVE) - Changes
to the SAVE system were
implemented in April, 2004.
Section 2146.4 is
being updated to reflect
the changes in the SAVE
system (going from a telephone/hard
copy system to a web browser
system) which were previously
transmitted to the field
on April 26, 2004. That
memo and the web instructions
can be found on the EESNet
under “Miscellaneous
Memos”. In addition, Appendix Item
#9, Systematic Alien Verification
for Entitlements (SAVE)
User Manual is
also being updated.
- CLARIFICATIONS
- Right to Examine
Case File - Incorrect
wording (from section
1211.3) was accidentally
inserted
into this section in 2003. The correct wording
is being reinstated with this revision in
section 1211.13.
- Who May File
- A
cross reference in
section 1411.3(4)
is being corrected
from section
2315 to section 2314. This error has been
in the manual for some time and was just recently
discovered.
- Self-Employment
- Section 6313 is
being modified to
correct a numbering
problem in the first
paragraph.
- Contract
Labor - Clarification
is being added to 6320 regarding
Out of Home Relative
child care providers
(situations where
the child is being
cared for in the relative’s
home, and SRS is paying
the provider for services).
Out of Home Relative
child care providers
are considered contract
labor. However, In-Home
child care providers
are not considered
contract labor. Clarification
is being added to
explain that with
In-Home child care
arrangements, the
SRS parent is considered
the employer of the
child care provider
coming into the child’s
own home to give care.
See 10022 (1)
for further information
on In-Home child care.
- CASH ASSISTANCE
- CHANGES
Hardship
Criteria for
General Assistance
- Sections 2318 and 2319 are
being added
to provide for
hardship criteria
in the GA program
which allows for
participation
beyond the
24 month lifetime
limit in certain
circumstances.
The criteria includes
continuation
of assistance
for persons with
pending social
security applications,
for person 60 and
over, for persons
overcoming the
effects of domestic
abuse, for persons who have participated
in GARN and
those found
to have functional
limitations.
It also includes
provisions for terminating
assistance beyond
24 months in the
event a person
no longer meets
one of the hardship
criteria. Further
instructions will
be issued in the
Implementation
Memo
regarding application
of the hardship
criteria to both new and
existing cases.
- CLARIFICATIONS
None
- CHILD CARE ASSISTANCE
- CHANGES
Kansas Early
Head Start (KEHS)
- This
revision allows
for implementation,
as needed, of
KEHS
grantees to utilize Child Care Subsidy in
certain situations. General language is being
added to sections 1728 and 10021.1(8).
Since KEHS programs are only available in
certain
communities and not statewide, any policy
changes will be implemented through a Policy
Memo and the specific location of the KEHS
grantee will be made clear.
- CLARIFICATIONS
- Clarification
is being added to 2835 IE
ET
(Income Eligible
Education and
Training) Child Care to provide a cross-reference
to 4420. This provides clarification that when a minor teen
parent needs child
care to finish high
school or obtain their GED, the minor's caretaker is designated
the PI for the case and only the PI, minor teen parent and
the teen's children
are
included. Only the non-exempt income of the minor mother
and child is considered. Clarification has also been added
reminding staff that
IE ET child care
is used for non-TAF teen parents.
- A link in Section 10000 regarding
Child Care Provider
licensing requirements
is being updated.
- FOOD ASSISTANCE
- CHANGES
Able Bodied
Adults Without
Dependents - As
stated in the Background of this letter, effective
July 1, 2004 residents in the following counties
are not subject to the ABAWD provisions of
2520. Residents of these counties who would
normally be allowed to participate for only
three months out of a 36 month period, can
participate without time limits. Basically,
section 2520 does not apply in the following
counties in Kansas.
| Allen |
Jefferson |
| Anderson |
Kearney |
| Atchison |
Labette |
| Bourbon |
Leavenworth |
| Brown |
Linn |
| Cherokee |
Montgomery |
| Coffey |
Neosho |
| Doniphan |
Shawnee |
| Finney |
Sumner |
| Geary |
Woodson |
| Jackson |
Wyandotte |
Section 2520 is being
modified to indicate that
the policies contained
therein do not apply in the counties
listed above. Implementation issues
and
other operational and procedural issues with this policy change will
be addressed in the Implementation Memo.
- CLARIFICATIONS
Two cross-references are
being corrected in Section 3230.
- MEDICAL ASSISTANCE
- CHANGES
- Increase
in Allowable
Irrevocable Burial
Plan Limit - As per House Bill 2718, which
amended K.S.A. 16-303, the allowable limit
for the service portion of an irrevocable
burial plans is increasing from $3500 to $5000.
The new limit is applicable to any irrevocable
agreements established on or after 07-01-04.
For existing agreements, additional monies
may be added to the agreement as to bring
the total base amount deposited into the account
up to $5000.00. Any accumulated interest would
not be considered toward the maximum limit.
All plans must continue to clearly delineate
the items and services purchased as part of
the total plan.
For example, in 1999 an individual established
an irrevocable funeral plan for $3500. The
plan has since accumulated interest of $250
and is now valued at $3750. The family of
the individual wants to add additional money
to bring it up to the full limit. Because
interest is not considered, an additional
$1500 may be deposited.
A further change involved burial spaces held
in an irrevocable plan. Plans for burial spaces
no longer have to be broken into a separate
plan to be considered exempt. Allowable burial
spaces (e.g., casket, vault, headstone, urn,
grave marker) may be included in the same
plan as the basic irrevocable portion for
services. The value of such spaces would not
be included in determination toward the $5000
limit. These items and their value must be
clearly identifiable.
KEESM 5430, items
(1) and (8) are being
updated with this
information.
- HealthWave
XXI Children
Entering a State
Hospital - Children
currently receiving
coverage
under HealthWave XXI (21) will no longer be
immediately closed upon entrance into state
mental health hospital. The HealthWave 21
mental health contractor is responsible to
provide continuing care through the month
of entrance into hospital through the end
of the following month. However, HealthWave
21 coverage cannot be provided beyond this
date and Medicaid coverage must be determined.
It is not necessary to update the KAECSES LOTC screen for days during this
time period, as the contractor is responsible for payment. However, for
children remaining in the state mental health hospital past the month of
entrance and the following month, LOTC must be completed before Medicaid
payments can be made. This is true regardless of the length of stay in the
facility.
KEESM 8112.4 item (1) and 8113 are being updated
with this information.
- Medicare
Approved Drug
Discount Card
- As authorized under
the Medicare Modernization
Act of 2003, a new benefit for Medicare beneficiaries
is available beginning June 1, 2004. The Medicare-Approved
Drug Discount Card is available to persons
receiving either Parts A or B of Medicare.
Under the Act, beneficiaries have a choice
from several approved drug cards, which offer
a price reduction on specified drugs. An annual
enrollment fee is required. Persons receiving
prescription drug coverage through Medicaid
are not eligible for the card. Complete information
about the card is available through Medicare
and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services. Implementation instructions outlining
the impact of the new program with Medicaid
will be issued separately.
KEESM 2911 is being updated with this information.
- Discretionary
Trusts - Based
on action taken by
the 2004 Kansas Legislature
through Senate Bill
272, K.S.A. 39-709(e)(3)
has been added to
deem certain discretionary
trusts available to
the Medicaid beneficiary.
Prior to the new law,
Kansas case law established
that an irrevocable
trust established
for an individual
with assets of someone
other than the individual,
was not considered
an available asset
if the trustee could
exercise discretion
in the distribution
of the trusts assets.
The new law requires
assets in such a trust
to be considered available
to the Medicaid applicant/recipient.
The entire value of
the trust is a countable
resource to the beneficiary.
Staff must continue
to submit all trusts
to EES Central
Office for review.
The availability
of the trust will
be determined from
this review. Trusts
which are countable
shall continue
to be listed on
KAECES with a code
of ‘TF’,
exempt trusts shall
be listed with
a code of ‘TE’ on
the LIRE screen.
Additional instructions
will be issued
in a separate Implementation
Memo including
a review of certain
existing exempted
trusts to determine
if the trusts are
now countable under
the new law.
Sections 5600 and 5620(4)
are being amended
due to this change.
- CLARIFICATIONS
Medicaid Fraud
Disqualification
Period - Clarification
is being made in regards to disqualification
periods for findings of Medicaid fraud. Only
convictions made under the specific federal
statute noted carry a disqualification period.
Convictions under any other state or federal
statute do not result in a period of ineligibility.
However, repayment agreements may be entered.
Because this is a federal statute, this finding
will generally be made in federal court.
KEESM 11221 item (4) is being updated with
this information.
FORMS (Not previously discussed in this Summary)
None
MISCELLANEOUS FORMS (Not previously discussed
in this Summary)
None
APPENDIX (Not previously discussed in this Summary)
Appendix Item
#79, Electronic Benefit Transfer System Guide
- Two PCA codes were inadvertently
left out of the May revision on page 11 of
this Item in the May, 2004 revision. Those
PCA codes (for WP-JO and WP-MO) are being placed
into this Item with this revision.
EFFECTIVE DATE
All policies in this revision are effective
July 1, 2004. All new applications and reviews
processed on or after July 1, 2004 shall be
completed using these revised policies. All
open cases should be updated using the new
policies when the case is being worked on
to process other changes. As stated above,
special instructions will be issued in an
Implementation Memo for the implementation
of the ABAWD and General Assistance changes
on existing cases.
MATERIALS OBSOLETED BY THIS REVISION
Policy Memo 02-12-04 is being obsoleted with
this revision. The pilot project covered by
this Policy Memo has been completed and will
not be implemented state-wide, so there is
no longer a need for these exceptions to regular
policy.
EFFECT ON LOCAL STAFF
It is expected that the changes in this revision
will free staff from nonessential work and
allow staff to focus efforts on other more
critical areas. Clarifications are intended
to provide greater understanding of program
expectations in order to allow faster and
easier administration at the local level.
Efforts continue to be made to allow area
discretion and flexibility in order to make
prudent decisions given basic guidelines.
The food assistance policy changes contained
in this revision will require all staff in
the state to be cognizant of the counties
in the state that are waived from the ABAWD
provisions. This will be important for inter-county
transfers and universal access. In the counties
waived, implementation of the food assistance
program will be simplified as staff will not
have to determine if individuals are subject
to the ABAWD provisions, set alerts and subsequently
close cases when the time limit has been reached.
The General Assistance hardship criteria will
require staff to review several hundred ongoing
cases which are beyond the 24 month time limit
over several months. The criteria will increase
case work associated with the application
of the 24 month time limit.
COORDINATION EFFORTS
Within SRS, the material in this letter and
manual revision have been coordinated with
staff in the Economic and Employment Support,
the EES Chiefs and other Area Management Staff,
the Implementation Planning Team, EES Program
Training Unit, and other EES field staff.
Sincerely,
Bobbi Mariani, Director
Economic and Employment Support
BM:MSW:jmm |