2550 Comparable Treatment for Penalties/Disqualifications - If a penalty/disqualification is imposed on a household or members of a household for failure to perform an action required under TANF, the agency shall impose the same penalty/disqualification to the Food Assistance Program on the member of the household who failed to comply with the TANF requirements. This provision only applies when a penalty or disqualification (TANF drug testing) is assessed, not when assistance is denied when the individual is an applicant. The individual must be receiving food assistance benefits and TANF at the time of the disqualification in the TANF program to be disqualified from the Food Assistance Program under these provisions.

 

Failure to comply with TANF work-related requirements, TANF drug testing, and school attendance are the only TANF disqualifications that will apply to the Food Assistance Program.

The comparable penalty also applies to persons who are exempt from food assistance work-related requirements per 3230 and fail to comply with a TANF work-related requirement.

 

2551 Assessing Penalties - The comparable penalty/disqualification shall be applied to the Food Assistance Program only to the individual who failed to comply with the TANF work, drug testing, and school attendance requirement. The penalty shall also apply to persons who fail to comply with a TANF work-related requirement even though the person is otherwise exempt from food assistance work-related requirements. Refer to 3510. Penalties accrued by a minor who is unable to act in his/her own behalf do not count as a first or subsequent penalty when the minor becomes an adult cash or food assistance recipient.

 

A timely notice of adverse action must be sent establishing the disqualification period.

 

NOTE: Refer 3511.2 for explanation of how failure to comply with food assistance work-related requirements affects TANF.

 

2552 Treatment of Income and Resources and Special Procedures - Persons found ineligible due to this provision shall be treated as excluded household members per 4212.2.


The remaining household members can continue to receive food assistance benefits while the individual who failed to comply is on a penalty/disqualification. The following special provisions apply to households containing a member who has been penalized ineligible due to the comparable provisions:

 

2552.1 Work Program Comparable Penalties

 

  1. Establishing the Penalty - The penalty is established and the person who failed to cooperate with work programs shall be changed from a participating member to an excluded household member on the food assistance case. The penalty periods are the same as for TANF work program penalties: 3 months, 6 months, 1 year and ten years.

    In addition, special procedures are completed by the system to ensure that households do not receive an unwarranted increase in food assistance benefits following TANF case closure after a penalty.

    NOTE: This includes penalties associated with failure to cooperate with CSS. The TANF income will still be counted by the system following the CSS failure to cooperate to insure that food assistance benefits do not increase as a result of the failure to cooperate with CSS .

    The TANF benefit will be reflected as countable income on the food assistance budget for the first month of the penalty period (3 months, 6 months, 12 months and 10 years). The person who failed to cooperate with work programs shall be changed from a participating member to and excluded household member on the food assistance case. See KEESM 4212.2.

    If the person reapplies for TANF, the TANF case will be reopened and the person will be changed from an excluded household member to a participating member on the food assistance case effective the month following the minimum penalty period has been served. If the person does not reapply for TANF, a task should be set to re-add the excluded person at the end of the minimum penalty period.

  2. Re-establishing Eligibility - The following provisions apply when re-establishing food assistance eligibility for a person who has been penalized per the comparable provisions of 2550.

    Eligibility will be re-established by the system after the fixed time period for the penalty has been served. Excluded persons will be re-added to the food assistance case at the end of the minimum penalty period with no further requirements for food assistance purposes.

 

2552.2 TANF Drug Testing Comparable Disqualifications - The individual must be receiving food assistance benefits and TANF at the time of the TANF drug testing disqualification to be disqualified from the Food Assistance Program. Thus, a disqualification on food assistance will never be done if the food assistance application is pending at the time of the TANF disqualification. If food assistance is approved before TANF and a disqualification for TANF is applied while the TANF application is pending, a comparable disqualification does NOT apply because the person was not receiving TANF at the time of the disqualification. If, however, FA is approved and TANF is approved and then the disqualification is applied to TANF, it shall be applied to the same individual for food assistance since the individual was receiving benefits for both programs at the time of the TANF disqualification. The comparable disqualification will always apply when both the TANF and food assistance case are in ongoing status.

TANF disqualifications for failure/refusal to test, or testing positive will both result in a comparable disqualification for food assistance. Only the person who fails/refuses to test or who tests positive is treated as an excluded household member.. See KEESM 4212.2.

The TANF benefit will be paid to a protective payee during the period of the disqualification. The TANF benefit will continue to be counted as the income of the Primary Applicant on the food assistance case.


  1. Establishing the Disqualification - Disqualification periods vary depending on whether the TANF disqualification is for failure/refusal to test, or for testing positive.

    1. Refusal/Failure to test

      1. First Refusal/Failure to test - 6 months
      2. Second Refusal/Failure to test – 1 year
      3. Third Refusal/Failure to test – 1 year(TANF is permanent ineligibility for the person.)

    2. Tests Positive

      1. First Positive Test – The individual is required to participate in substance abuse treatment and enroll in a skills-based training. Failure to enroll in and complete substance abuse treatment and enroll in and complete a skills-based training will result in disqualification for the individual. If disqualified, the individual may be added back to the case the month after the months of completion of substance abuse treatment and skills-based training. (SEE KEESM 2260.6). The maximum disqualification period is 12 months for food assistance.

        Note: In some instances the individual is not identified for treatment per the DCF contractor. In those situations, the person must complete the approved substance abuse course and skills based training. Failure to complete the substance abuse course will result in a disqualification being imposed (1st Positive test) or continued disqualification. The individual may be added to the case the month after the month of completion. The maximum disqualification period is 12 months for food assistance.

      2. Second Positive Test – Individual is ineligible for a minimum of 12 months. For food assistance, 12 months is also the maximum period.
      3. Third Positive Test – Individual is ineligible for 12 months. (TANF is permanent)

  2. Re-establishing Eligibility - The individual shall be added to the food assistance case as a participating member as follows:

    1. Refusal to Test – after the minimum 6-month (1st failure/refusal to test) or 12-month (2nd and 3rd failure/refusal to test) period as applicable has been served for food assistance, the individual shall be added the first month following the end of the 6- or 12-month period.
    2. First Positive Test with Disqualification – If the substance abuse treatment and skills training is completed, the person can be added the month following the month of completion. If not completed by the end of 12 months (from the first disqualification month), then the FA individual shall be added to the food assistance case the first month following the end of the 12-month period.
    3. Second/Third Positive Test – The individual is added the first month following the end of the minimum 12-month period.

    See the KEES User Manual for further information on system processing.


2552.3 School Attendance Penalties - A child, age 7 through 18, receiving TANF cash assistance must be working toward attainment of a high school diploma or its equivalent, including students attending a home school that is registered with the Kansas Department of Education. The entire TANF household shall be ineligible if a child in the home is not enrolled in school. There shall be a comparable disqualification to the corresponding food assistance case, the case head shall be changed from a member to an excluded member on the food assistance case.

The case head will be changed from excluded member to member on the food assistance case effective the month following the month the child is enrolled in school. See 2210.

 

2553 Crime Attestation - Individuals convicted of one or more of the following crimes after February 7, 2014, and out of compliance with the terms of their sentence are not eligible to receive Food Assistance.


  1. Aggravated sexual abuse
  2. Murder
  3. Sexual exploitation and other abuse of children
  4. Sexual assault