3500 FAILURE TO MEET WORK RELATED REQUIREMENTS
There shall be ineligibility for TANF benefits when a non-exempt person fails or refuses to meet work related requirements for TANF without good cause.See KEESM 3540 for a Potential Employment Violation.
Penalties can result in a hardship to the family without other alternatives of support, so they must be applied with care and consideration. To ensure that penalties are applied uniformly and appropriately, the following guidelines must be followed in all instances of employment services non-cooperation.
- There is documented evidence that the person was made aware of the specific participation requirement.
- The Work Program Penalty Checklist for Administrative Review must be completed, assuring that the client is aware of work program requirements and the consequences of failing to cooperate.
- The expectations must be realistic for the person to complete.
- Employment Services Program Administrator or Employment Services Assistant Program Administrator approval for all work program penalties is required.
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. This is required in TANF non-cooperation situations only.
If a person has been assigned to the Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault activity due to domestic violence, the career navigator will contact the DV/SA advocate to determine if there is good cause for failing to cooperate due to domestic violence.
The notices will inform customers 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 customer 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 on the system. Good cause documentation may be requested by the career navigator if needed due to multiple cancelations or other suspicious circumstances.
If the customer 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 customer 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 3 business days for it to be mailed or brought into the DCF office. Good cause will only be requested if the customer 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.