3500 Failure to Meet Work Related Requirements

3510 Effect of Failure to Meet Work Related Requirements on Eligibility - There shall be ineligibility for benefits when a non-exempt person fails or refuses to meet work related requirements without good cause.  See KEESM 3540 for a Potential Employment Violation.

Penalties and violations can result in a hardship to the family without other alternatives of support, so they must be applied with care and consideration. To ensure the appropriate and uniform application of policy, the following guidelines must be followed in all instances of employment services non-cooperation.

1. There is documented evidence that the person was made aware of the specific participation requirement.
2. There is documented evidence that the client is aware of Employment Services requirements and the consequences of failing to cooperate.
3. The expectations must be realistic for the person to complete.

3511 Effect of Failure to Meet Work Related Requirements for Non-Recipients - For a failure occurring while the person is not a recipient, (e.g., application is pending and there has been a potential employment violation or there is a required employment services failure), there is ineligibility until the failure or refusal ceases.

Such failure or refusal does not incur a penalty in cash assistance or food assistance for purposes of establishing a first or subsequent penalty.

3511.1 Effect on TANF Eligibility for Non-Recipients - The mandatory filing unit of which the individual is a member shall be ineligible except in situations where the mandatory individual who fails the requirements is a child who is not able to act in their own behalf. In that circumstance, only the minor parent is ineligible. This failure results in a denial for cash benefits and is NOT considered a penalty nor does it count towards establishing a first or subsequent penalty.

Note: See 2230 on treatment of teen parents not enrolled in school.

3511.2 Effect on Food Assistance Eligibility for Non-Recipients - For food assistance, the only work related provisions that apply to applicants are the Potential Employment provisions of 3540. Only the individual who failed to comply is ineligible.  Eligibility for the remaining household members shall be determined considering the individual who failed to comply as an excluded household member.  

3512 Effect of Failure to Meet Work Related Requirements for Recipients - For ongoing TANF and Food Assistance E&T cases, the penalty shall be established giving timely and adequate notice.  

When individuals are ineligible under this provision, their ineligibility will follow them and affect any mandatory filing unit (MFU) they are associated with. If a non- sanctioned member of the ineligible MFU leaves and joins a different MFU, they may reapply for benefits.

3512.1 Effect on TANF Eligibility for Recipients - Employment Services Program Administrator or Employment Services Supervisor approval is required for all work program penalties.

At the point non-cooperation is first reported or discovered, the career navigator must check with Prevention and Protection Services (PPS) to determine if there is any PPS activity that might support good cause for failing to meet requirements.

If a person fails to cooperate with their assigned Employment Services activity and is also participating in the Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault activity, the career navigator will contact the DV/SA advocate to determine if there is good cause for failing to cooperate with the additional activities assigned.

All notices will inform clients they may call any time prior to an appointment to request a date or time change and up to a 24-hour grace period after they have missed an appointment to report good cause for non-cooperation. The career navigator has the option to request good cause documentation for situations including but not limited to

• Conflicting appointments

• Medical emergencies or family illness

• Family emergencies

If the client calls prior to the appointment requesting a change in the time or date the career navigator will set up a new date and/or time. A new appointment notice will be sent to document the change in the system. Good cause documentation may be requested if needed due to multiple cancellations or other suspicious circumstances.

If the client calls within the 24-hour grace period after the appointment is missed, the career navigator will determine good cause based on KEESM 3530. If good cause is met a new appointment will be made and a new appointment notice documenting the change will be sent.

If the client calls after the 24-hour grace period has expired, good cause may be requested and an Employment Service Program Administrator will review the case circumstances to determine if the penalty notice should be rescinded.

If good cause documentation is requested prior to the appointment, during the 24-hour grace period or after the 24-hour grace period, the career navigator will allow up to 10 days for it to be mailed or brought into the DCF office. Good cause will only be requested if the client contacts the DCF career navigator.

NOTE: If a disqualification is imposed on a TANF household for failure to comply with TANF work related requirements and the disqualification period will begin prior to the twenty-fourth month of TANF and the household also receives food assistance, the agency shall impose the same disqualification on the member of the food assistance household who failed to comply with the TANF requirements. See 2550.

If a client has reached the lifetime limit for TANF and has failed to comply with TANF work related requirements without good cause, the current hardship will be ended and the TANF case will close for exceeding the lifetime limit. No penalty will be applied to the TANF case and no comparable penalty will apply to the individual on the food assistance case.

See KEESM 2243 and 2243.1.

For a failure to cooperate with employment services requirements while the TANF Mandatory person is in recipient status, the penalty period of ineligibility applies to the mandatory TANF filing unit the penalized person is a part of, unless the individual responsible for the failure is a teen parent under 18 who is unable to act in their own behalf and is being treated as a child on the case. In this circumstance, only the individual teen parent is ineligible for assistance.

NOTE:  See 2230 on treatment of teen parents not enrolled in school.

NOTE: Penalties accrued by a minor who is unable to act in their own behalf do not count as a first or subsequent penalty when the minor becomes an adult cash assistance recipient.

The period of ineligibility for TANF is as follows:

• First Penalty: The mandatory filing unit (MFU) will be ineligible for cash benefits a minimum of 3 Months. The family will have to reapply for cash benefits at the end of the 3-month period. (See 3522- Re-Establishing Eligibility)
  

• Second Penalty: The MFU will be ineligible for cash benefits a minimum of 6 months. The family will have to reapply for cash benefits at the end of the 6-month period. (See 3522- Re-Establishing Eligibility)
  

• Third Penalty: The MFU will be ineligible for cash benefits a minimum of 1 year. The family will have to reapply for cash benefits at the end of the 1-year period. (See 3522- Re-Establishing Eligibility)
  

• A fourth and subsequent penalties will result in TANF ineligibility for ten years for the individual and the MFU they are associated with. Penalties for children in the MFU will not count against the child when the minor becomes an adult cash recipient.
  
  

The penalty is cured when the individual(s) completes the mandatory minimum ineligibility period.

3512.2 Effect on Food Assistance Eligibility for Recipients - There is ineligibility for the individual for food assistance when the local DCF office has evidence that a Food Assistance Mandatory E&T participant, without good cause, failed to cooperate with Food Assistance Mandatory E&T  requirements or failed to meet 30-hours per week of verifiable participation in Food Assistance Mandatory E&T countable activities.  

If the recipient of food assistance obtains a Food Assistance "Not Meeting Work Requirements" violation, tiered disqualifications of 3 months, 6 months or 12 months are applied. (Note: 3rd and subsequent violations will result in a 12-month disqualification).  

Good cause shall be determined by Employment Services based on the provisions of 3530 and 3530.1.

Food Assistance "Not Meeting Work Requirements" violations for Food Assistance Mandatory E&T participants shall be tiered with Potential Employment violations.

Example: Sue fails to participate with the Food Assistance Mandatory E&T program to meet her 30-hour per week requirement. She has a previous potential employment violation which is to be tiered with the Food Assistance "Not Meeting Work Requirements" violation. This will be her second violation and she will be ineligible for Food Assistance for 6 months.

A Good Cause notice must be sent to the client by the E&T non-compliance coordinator if a Food Assistance Mandatory E&T client:

1. misses an appointment, scheduled class, or activity; or

2. does not provide verification of 30 hours of weekly participation.

The client must be given 10 days to provide good cause before a penalty can be requested.

The penalty is cured when the individual completes the mandatory minimum ineligibility period.

3512.3 Effect on Child Care Eligibility for Recipients- When a child care recipient is penalized for non-cooperation with work programs, child care must remain open at the current benefit level (no increase in family share deduction and no decrease in hours of care authorized) for the remainder of the current 12-month eligibility period unless one of the situations listed in 7640 should occur. At the end of the 12-month eligibility period when the case is reviewed, the family must meet all eligibility criteria to be approved for another 12-month eligibility period.