STATE DEPARTMENT FOR CHILDREN 7-30-13
AND FAMILIES
Family Services
Docking State Office Building
Room 581 - West
Topeka, Kansas 66612
| To: |
Regional Directors
Economic and Employment Services Program Administrators
Economic and Employment Services Staff
KDHE-HCF Staff, including the KanCare Clearinghouse
Prevention and Protection Services Administrators
Other Staff |
Re: |
Summary of Changes for Kansas Economic and Employment Services Manual (KEESM) Revision No. 60 effective August 1, 2013. |
OVERVIEW OF CHANGES
A brief overview of the major changes is described below.
Food Assistance
With this revision, the review interview can be waived in its entirety for households in which all of the following are true:
-
All adult members are elderly or disabled;
and
-
There is no earned income; and
-
The review form does not report any changes to circumstances since last reported.
If the review meets the above criteria the review can be processed without an interview. An interview will be scheduled and conducted, however, if:
-
The household requests an interview; or
-
There are outstanding issues or questions about the review process that must be addressed; or
-
Any verifications are requested and not provided by the household.
If the interview is initially waived, and in processing the review the agency determines the household must provide additional information or documentation, the review application cannot be denied without an attempt to schedule an interview.
In addition the agency must assure that the household understands the medical expense deduction and it is being allowed correctly. Any discrepancies noted on the application must be resolved prior to processing the review.
A waiver from USDA was requested and approved for this policy change. In order to implement the waiver, the State Agency must compile data on the effectiveness of this waiver. Therefore, when waiving an interview for the targeted households, staff MUST enter a Program Alert code of NI (Not Interviewed) on PRAP. To insure that the program does not close for failure to complete an interview, the interview must be coded E for exempt on INDA.
The following chart should help staff in determining when a review can be processed without an interview. These are examples and are not all inclusive.
What is a Change? |
Type |
Change or not a change? |
Shelter costs (no change in address) |
Not a Change - unless questionable and verification is needed |
SSA amount changes |
Not a change (we verify)* |
SSI amount changes |
Not a change (we verify)* |
From no Standard Medical Deduction to the Standard Medical Deduction |
Change |
Standard Medical Deduction to Actuals or Actuals to Standard Medical Deduction |
Change |
Standard Medical Deduction does not continue- - HH does not mark the medical expense box "yes" on top of page 5 of the 3100r or on the bottom of page 5 on the 3100.1r. |
Change |
New Address |
Change |
Income Terminated (including SSA/SSI terminations) |
Change |
Income Source (new) (or changed except SSA/SSI) |
Change |
New HH member enters or HH member leaves |
Change |
Change in health insurance (new plan, health insurance plan previously listed not listed on current review form, etc) |
Change |
Change in marital status |
Change |
Change in resources (new bank account, bank account previously reported not reported on current review form, etc. |
Change |
*These are not considered changes since we can verify the SSA/SSI amounts using a TPQY. However, any discrepancies still need resolution and the client or worker can request an interview. If the agency can resolve the issue with a telephone call, then the review can still be processed without the interview. But if verification is needed and the household does not provide it, then an interview must be scheduled. A condition of the approved waiver is that no review in the targeted group where the interview was waived can be denied without an attempt to schedule an interview. This includes situations of denials for excess income or resources, but would not include denials for moving out-of-state.
KEESM 9332 is being modified to incorporate this change.
FORMS
None
APPENDIX
None
MISCELLANEOUS FORMS
None
EFFECTIVE DATE
The policy in this revision is effective for all reviews processed on or after August 1, 2013.
EFFECT ON LOCAL STAFF
This should be a time saver for staff as less review interviews will need to be completed. Review processing should be accelerated for targeted households.
MATERIALS OBSOLETED BY THIS REVISION
None
COORDINATION EFFORTS
This change was coordinated with staff in Economic and Employment Services, Executive Leadership, and the EES Program Administrators.
Sincerely,
Jaime Rogers, EES Director
Economic and Employment Services
JR:am |