KANSAS DEPARTMENT FOR CHILDREN
AND FAMILIES
Family Services
DCF Administration Building
555 S. Kansas Ave., 6th Floor
Topeka, KS 66603

OVERVIEW OF CHANGES

A brief overview of the major changes is described below. Other clarifications and technical corrections are also included and described in the next section. Additional technical corrections not mentioned here are being incorporated into KEESM, as needed.

Child Care – To bring Kansas’s 12-month eligibility policy into compliance with federal regulations, we are required to ensure that a child added to an existing child care program receives 12 full months of child care eligibility. To accomplish this, child care plans for all children in the program will end on the 12th full month of the added child’s eligibility. The eligibility review month for that family will be changed to the last month of the newly added child’s eligibility period. There is no limit to the number of times the family’s period of eligibility can be extended, also known as the Guaranteed Eligibility (GE) period, when adding a new child to a program. To resolve another compliance issue, beginning July 1, 2025, if a family’s child care program is closed before the end of an established Guaranteed Eligibility (GE) period and the family requests child care be reinstated before the end of that previously established eligibility period, the child care program must be reinstated for the remainder of that established eligibility period with no change to eligibility.

No application is required to reinstate assistance during the established Guaranteed Eligibility (GE) period.

The Guaranteed Eligibility (GE) period will be ended when a program is closed for the following reasons and a new application will be required:

• The family moved out of state,
• The case head passed away, or
• The household's income increased so that the total countable income exceeded 85% of the state median income (SMI).

Employment Services - KEESM 3000 and its subsections have been reviewed and updated. Clarified terminology used to define work-eligible individuals. Some activities are redefined. The "Assessment" activity is renamed to include "Reassessment," the "Job Search" and "Job Readiness" activities have been split apart, and the "Mental Health Care" activity has been repurposed and given the new title of "Referral to provider for services, awaiting acceptance." The activities "Retention Services" and "No activities assigned" have been added.

DESCRIPTION, PURPOSE, AND DETAILS OF POLICY CHANGE

1. Child Care
   
   
   1. Changes
      
      
      1. Reinstatement of Assistance - KEESM 1423 is being modified to add policy that allows for the reinstatement of child care program without an application during the established Guaranteed Eligibility (GE) period.
         
         The Guaranteed Eligibility (GE) period will be ended when a program is closed for the following reasons and a new application will be required:
         
         
         • The family moved out of state,
         • The case head passed away, or
         • The household's income increased so that the total countable income exceeded 85% of the state median income (SMI).
           
           
      2. General Requirements - KEESM 2810 is being modified to indicate that for families whose eligibility for child care is extended due to the addition of another child, eligibility for a child who is 13 years of age may not be extended beyond the month of their 14th birthday unless that child is physically or mentally incapable of caring for him or herself or if the child is under court supervision.
         
         
      3. Proration is not applicable to - KEESM 7401.2 Is being modified to indicate that proration is not applicable to child care cases being reinstated.
         
         
      4. Duration of Child Care Plans - KEESM 7610 is being modified to indicate that if a new child is added to an existing child care family plan, plans for all children in the current family plan will be extended to match the 12-month eligibility period for the new child.
         
         
      5. Termination of Child Care Plans – KEESM 7640 is being modified to add policy that allows for the reinstatement of child care program without an application during the established Guaranteed Eligibility (GE) period.
         
         The Guaranteed Eligibility (GE) period will be ended when a program is closed for the following reasons and a new application will be required:
         
         
         • The family moved out of state,
         • The case head passed away, or
         • The household's income increased so that the total countable income exceeded 85% of the state median income (SMI).
           
           
      6. Households Required to Change Report – KEESM 9121 is being modified to add that child care households are required to report if an adult household member experiences a non-temporary loss of employment, or they stop attending an approved education or training program.
         
         
      7. Processing Changes Reported by Change Reporting Households – KEESM 9121.1 is being modified to include adding a child to an existing child care case when it is reported that a child has been added to the household and child care benefits are requested for that child. The child will be added beginning with the date of request, or the date care begins, whichever is later, and the newly added child must receive a full 12 months of eligibility, determined in the same way it is determined for new applications. In addition, child care plans will be extended for all other children on the case to end in the same month as the newly added child’s eligibility period, and the family’s eligibility review will be changed to the last month of that newly established eligibility period.
         
         
      8. Review Periods for Child Care – KEESM 9374 is being modified to include policy for changing the review period for an existing child care case when adding a new child for benefits. The review period will be changed to end in the last month of the newly added child’s 12 full months of eligibility.
         
         
   2. Clarifications
      
      
      1. Termination of Child Care Plans – KEESM 7640 is being modified to provide clarification regarding the process followed when a household stops making payments to their DCF child care provider listed.
         
         
2. Food Assistance
   
   

1. Changes
   
   
   1. None
      
      
2. Clarifications
   
   
   1. Counting A Sponsor’s Income and Resources as Available to the Sponsored Non-citizen – KEESM 7722 is being updated to clarify the length of time for which the income and resources of a sponsor are to be counted as available to the sponsored non-citizen.
      
      
3. LIEAP
   
   
   1. Changes
      
      
      1. Income Guidelines - KEESM 13362 is being updated with the new federal guidelines for LIEAP.
         
         
      2. Payment Methods - KEESM 13421 is being updated to remove the requirement for a split payment to have the same name on both accounts in order for the customer to have their LIEAP benefit split between two vendors.
         
         
   2. Clarifications
      
      
      1. Exempt Income - KEESM 13361 is being updated to include all exempt income that LIEAP uses, some of which were missing from this section.
         
         
4. Employment Services
   
   
   1. Changes
      
      
      1. TANF Initial Appointment - It is no longer necessary for employment services staff to reach out every six months to disqualified individuals who have been convicted of a drug felony and offer additional opportunities to participate. Additionally, the last sentence of KEESM 3120.1 which stated "All other initial assessments (Self-Assessment, ONet*, etc.) should be reviewed in a face-to-face meeting with the Career Navigator," has been removed.
         
         
      2. Unsubsidized Employment – KEESM 3310.1 has been updated as the activity no longer includes on-campus participation. Two new activities have been added: "Paid Apprenticeship" and "Paid Internship/Practicum/Clinical Assignment to fulfill an academic requirement."
         
         
      3. On-the-Job Training (TANF only) – KEESM 3310.5 has been updated to no longer include “Apprenticeship”. Added “Training paid for by an employer for which the client is not paid full wages as per the job description."
         
         
      4. Vocational Education – KEESM 3310.7 language has been updated for ESL classes and new language added for on-campus participation.
         
         
      5. Job Search/Job Readiness – This Activity is now split into two (2) separate activities (Job Readiness and Job Search, respectively).
         
         KEESM 3310.8 is now designated as Job Readiness and is a primary activity. This activity shall be used as preparation to seek or obtain employment and should directly enhance the employability of the client with individualized contacts to assist clients.
         
         KEESM 3310.9 is now designated as Job Search and is a primary activity. This activity is limited to four consecutive weeks in a month and a total of six weeks in a year.
         
         
      6. Retention Services - Retention Services has been added to KEESM 3310.11 and is to be used to support a client’s effort to maintain and enhance employment.
         
         
      7. Education Directly Related to Employment (TANF only) – KEESM 3320.2 has been updated to include language that the education program must be approved by the State Department of Education. Additionally, it was added that this activity can be used if a High School Diploma or GED is a prerequisite for employment.
         
         
      8. Assessment or Reassessment - KEESM 3330.2 has been updated to include Reassessment in the name.
         
         
      9. Mental Health Care - KEESM 3330.6 has been renamed to Referral to Provider for Services, Awaiting Acceptance. It is to be used when a client has been referred to another agency to participate in an activity but has not been accepted yet. This includes the Physical Health Care activity while the client is in the process of getting the medical statement completed.
         
         
      10. Physical Health Care (TANF only) – A sentence has been added to KEESM 3330.10, stating that if the client already has a verified current Social Security Disability application pending with the Social Security Administration, updated documentation is not required.
          
          
      11. No Activities Assigned - KEESM 3330.16 is being created for a new activity and should be used when there is a gap between the agreed-upon assignments for the client’s self-sufficiency plan or if there are no other appropriate activities available.
          
          
   2. Clarifications
      
      
      1. TANF Participation Rate Requirements - Wording in KEESM 3110.1 (1)(a) is being updated to clarify that a client is not a work-eligible individual if they are an ineligible non-citizen due to their immigration status.
         
         
      2. Education Directly Related to Employment - KEESM 3320.2 note addressing teen parents has been clarified.
         

Appendix

Child Care

X-6 Definitions of Common Terms has been updated with new Child Care terms.

TANF/Employment Services

E-3, SBDT Referral Process Guide has been moved to Training by Topic.

Forms

Employment Services

ES-4304, TANF Work Hours Verification/Documentation Checklist, has been updated with the new and updated activities. Additional changes were made to reflect what is required to complete the TANF Sample.

EFFECTIVE DATE

All policies in this revision are effective July 1, 2025.

Effect on Local Staff

COORDINATION EFFORTS

The material in this letter and manual revision has been coordinated with staff in Economic and Employment Services, Executive leadership, the EES Program Administrators, and the Implementation Planning Team.

Sincerely,
Carla Whiteside-Hicks, PhD
Economic and Employment Services Director
CWH:cw