This business process flow shows the high level steps utilized when Returned Mail is received in a DCF office.
Mail Receiver/Imager:
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Returned mailed is received from USPS
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Human Services Assistant (HSA) will triage the returned mail (date stamp, write case number in the top right corner, sort to correct unit/team), and image Returned Envelope for all EES returned mail.
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Scan all Returned Mail to its corresponding case using the guidance below.
o Application Plan: KEES Case
o Basket: Case-Task
o Document Type:
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Returned Mail-In State: Post Office provided forwarding address listed in KS
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Returned Mail-No Fwd Address: No forwarding address provided
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Returned Mail-Out of State: Post Office provided a forwarding address listed out of state
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Place Returned Mail in 60-Day File Retention Area.
A Change task is generated for the Purple queue. Returned Mail tasks are not added to the EES Tracker. Supervisors will pull the BPM Task Unclaimed and In Process Report (KEES Reports Tab, then DCF Management) to reconcile the tracker and identify any Returned Mail tasks that have been imaged. This should be completed no less than twice per week (daily is best practice)
Purple Team Eligibility Workers:
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Claim the Change task in KEES.
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Check all resources/systems to find the correct address. (Applications, Perceptive Content, call the consumer, Journal, historical notes, etc.).
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Utilize USPS.com to verify the address is a deliverable normalized address.
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Do NOT edit or backdate an address. Always ADD a new address with today’s date as the begin date.
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Do NOT change the address of a child in Foster Care.
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Mark the document as Undelivered (Return by PO?) in Distributed Documents.
NOTE: This action flags the address as ‘bad’. A warning message will be presented during the generation of any notification from KEES tied to the undeliverable address until it is end dated. The ‘bad address’ indicator is placed on a code table behind the scenes in KEES. Staff will not see an indicator on the Contact Summary page or Address Detail page.
If a new address is obtained:
- KEES will automatically create a journal entry when a new address is added.
- If the household verifies the new address and the NOA needs to be resent: hand write a new envelope with the correct mailing address and resend the original notice to the consumer (either from the mail actually returned or from distributed documents.) If the returned mail is requesting information from the consumer, staff with the Supervisor to determine if a new Request for Information (RFI) with a new 10-day due date is needed.
- Complete the task with a Status Reason of DCF Complete.
If a new address is not obtained:
- If unable to verify a new address for the household, send a RFI from the Verification List page giving the household 10 days to provide an updated address.
- Any change to Rent, Utilities, or Household Composition should be requested, but if not provided no action can be taken on Food Assistance program blocks.
- Complete the task with a Status Reason of DCF Pending.
- After 10 days have passed, if no response is received from the household for a new address AND the program is not Food Assistance, proceed with closing the program for Failure to Provide (FTP) requested information using the Negative Reason Requested Information Not Received.
Key Process Considerations
- Reminder (Food Assistance Only): If the consumer/household did not report the change of address to the agency AND did not respond to the 10-day request that was sent, the Food Assistance program block cannot be closed for Loss of Contact or Failure to Provide Requested Information. (04/2021 KEESM Revision No. 102) – No action will be taken until the Review or IR is due. If the Review or IR is not received, the case will close for Failure to Return a Signed Review or IR.
- Staff will see a warning message when trying to send notifications to an address that has been linked to returned mail. It is important to remember that this functionality is shared across agencies and departments. EES staff may see this warning message when KDHE or another DCF program has linked returned mail to an address in KEES.
- See EBT Undeliverable Mail for process steps specific to returned EBT cards.
- Mail for consumers who have a LIEAP case and another Non-Medical case will be bundled together in the same envelope by the print vendor if correspondence is generated from KEES for both cases on the same day. As a result, returned mail for LIEAP or other Non-Medical programs could be returned to the incorrect office. For example, a consumer’s LIEAP case may be housed in Wichita, but their Food Assistance case is in El Dorado. Since the correspondence is bundled together, one program’s mail could be returned to the incorrect office location. Scan the returned mail using a multi-function device and email it to the correct office. In addition, any mail received by an incorrect office should be bundled and mailed to the correct location on a regular basis.