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

To:	Regional Directors Economic and Employment Services Program Administrators Economic and Employment Services Staff KDHE-HCF Staff, including the KanCare Clearinghouse Prevention and Protection Services Administrators Other Staff
Re:	Summary of Changes for Kansas Economic and Employment Services Manual (KEESM) Revision No. 82 effective May 1, 2017

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 in KEESM, as needed.

All Programs – ABLE accounts are now listed as exempt as a resource. Gift cards are called out as either exempt or countable, depending on the type of card.

Child Care – New poverty level guidelines have been published by the Department of Health and Human Services. These guidelines affect the eligibility standards in the Child Care program.

Food Assistance – A comparable penalty is being added for school attendance. An Interim Report requirement change is also being added.

Successful Families – Two adult households that are categorized as one parent families must participate in work programs for a minimum of 30 hours per week. If there is a child under the age of six, at least 20 of those hours are to be completed by one adult. If there is no child under six, all 30 hours must be completed by one adult.

TANF and Child Support – Changes have been made in regards to Child Support good cause and non-cooperation notification from Child Support Services (CSS).

DESCRIPTION, PURPOSE, AND DETAILS OF POLICY CHANGE

1. All Programs
   
   
   1. Changes
      
      
      1. Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Accounts – New information is being added to KEESM 6410 (1) to provide specific text for all programs except medical. Any amount in the ABLE account or distributions from the ABLE account are exempt as income in the month received and as a resource in the following months.
         
         
      2. Exempt Income, Gift Cards – A note is being added to KEESM 6410 (27) to indicate that establishment-specific gift cards, such as Walmart or Olive Garden, are exempt as income. However, credit card company gift cards, such as Visa or MasterCard, that are provided regularly and can be reasonably anticipated should be counted as income.
         
         
      3. Income Producing Cost Deduction – KEESM 7122.1 is being updated to include actual deductions allowable and those not allowable for self-employment income.
         
         
      4. Referral Procedure for Applying for an SSN – Updates are being made to KEESM 2131, 2136 and 2137 removing reference to SSN-1 and the procedures for completing the form. The SSA SS-5 is adequate in addressing the application process for a Social Security card.
         
         
   2. Clarifications
      
      
      1. Reinstatement of Assistance – A note is being added to KEESM 1423 to clarify when a new application is required. And to clarify that when a new application is required, the date of agency action is to be considered the date of closure. In addition to this clarification, additional clarifications are being made to work program penalties in KEESM 3521 and Child Support penalties in 2165.1.
         
         
      2. Combat Pay – A direct link to the IRS site Combat Zones Approved for Tax Benefits is being added to 6410 (13).
         
         Appendix item X-12, Current Combat Zones, will be removed with this update.
         
         
2. Food Assistance
   
   
   1. Changes
      
      
      1. School Attendance Comparable Penalty – KEESM 2550, 2551, and 2552.3 add a food assistance comparable disqualification to the case head of the corresponding TANF case if a child 7 through 18 is not enrolled in school.
         
         
      2. Interim Report – KEESM 9122.6 is being changed to remove the requirement for the client to date the report for it to be complete.
         
         
   2. Clarifications
      
      
      1. Additional Food Assistance Work Related Exemptions – KEESM 3230 (10) is being added to say a person age 16 or 17 who is not the case head or who is attending school, or is enrolled in an employment training program, on at least a half-time basis, is exempt from work requirements.
         
   
   
3. Medical Assistance
   
   
   1. Changes
      
      None
      
      
   2. Clarifications
      
      
      1. DDS Referral Process – The Disability Determination Services (DDS) referral process has been clarified with an emphasis on specialty types of referrals and a reminder of the reconsideration and continuation review process.
         
         KEESM section 2662.3 is being updated with this revision.
         
         
4. Successful Families
   
   
   1. Changes
      
      
      1. Federal work participation rate – KEESM 3110.1 (2) is being changed to say that two-adult households are required to participate 30 hours per week. If there is a child under the age of six, at least 20 of those hours are to be completed by one adult. If there is no child under the age of six, all 30 hours must be completed by one adult to meet the federal participation requirement.
         
         
   2. Clarifications
      
      None
   
   
5. TANF and Child Care
   
   
   1. Changes
      
      
      1. Good Cause for Failure to Cooperate – KEESM 2162 is being updated to reflect the role the Career Navigator plays in determining the incidence of good cause for non-cooperating with CSS. Because the Career Navigator has monthly contact with the TANF recipient, he/she would be the most likely individual to be made aware of a situation where good cause could be established.
         
         
      2. Failure to Cooperate – KEESM 2165 and subsections are being updated to add the Career Navigator as the contact for determining if there is good cause for failure to cooperate with CSS due to domestic violence. In addition, staff no longer needs to check with PPS to determine if the family is involved with services as CSS staff has taken over this role. There is also no required supervisor review before a CSS penalty can be placed on a case.
         
         
      3. Adequate Notice Only – A note is being added to KEESM 1432 changing policy to allow adequate notice for work program and Child Support penalties in the month of closure or the month following the month of closure. This will allow penalties to begin without delay in processing the application of the penalty.
         
         
      4. Timely and Adequate Notice – KEESM 1431 is being updated to include the requirement of timely and adequate notice being provided when restricting payments to a cash recipient payee when a protective payment is required.
         
         
   2. Clarifications
      
      None

FORMS (Explanation provided if not mentioned previously in this summary.)

1. Employment Services
   
   ES-4108, Collection Site Passport, has been updated since the January 2017 revision and reposted. The Collection Sites document was also updated and reposted.

2. Food Assistance
   
   ES-1510.1, Computation of Food Assistance Benefit

   ES-4307, Penalty Tracking Sheet
   

APPENDIX (Explanation provided if not mentioned previously in this summary.)

All Programs

A-1, Immigrant Status/Program Qualification Chart, has been updated since the January 2017 revision and reposted. The columns related to medical programs were removed.

B-5, Appeal Summary, has been updated since the January 2017 revision and reposted. The information about where to send copies was corrected.

P-4, Kelly Blue Book User Instructions, is being updated due to changes to the site.

Child Care

F-1, Monthly Family Income and Family Share Deduction Schedule. This is being updated based on May 2017 poverty level amounts.

Employment Services

E-8S, Self-Sufficiency Plan (Spanish), was added to Appendix list with April 2017 revision.

E-12, EES Screening Tool for Referral to Rehabilitation Services. Reference to General Assistance and medical is being removed. The note at the end of the first paragraph is also being removed.

Food Assistance

P-15, Application Signature Request, is being revised to include Interim Reports as well as Applications/Reviews.

TANF and Food Assistance

T-6, Relationship Chart, is being updated to reflect correct policy.

MISCELLANEOUS FORMS (Explanation provided if not mentioned previously in this summary.)

EFFECTIVE DATE

All changes are effective May 1, 2017, unless specified otherwise in the implementation memo.

EFFECT ON LOCAL STAFF (No significant effect if not explained below.)

MATERIALS OBSOLETED BY THIS REVISION

B-2, GA Disqualification Consent Agreement

C-1, Information for Parents/Providers

C-2, Introduction: Quality Standards for Family Child Care Settings

C-3, Choosing Child Care

C-4, CC R&R Service Delivery Areas

C-5, Hiring Someone To Work In Your Home

C-6, Five Steps to Choosing Quality Child Care

C-7, Guidelines for Clarifying Child Care Licensure Requirements in Public School Programs

C-16, KsCares Provider Data Entry Instructions

C-23, EBT Child Care - Information for Parents (ES-1658)

C-24, Provider Tip Sheet: What to Do if You Cannot Get a Traditional Bank Account

D-2, Refugees and Migration Resettlement Affiliate Director

F-8, Medicaid and HealthWave Standards. This is available on the KDHE web site so will be removed from KEESM Appendix.

P-10, Medical Transfer Checklist

P-12, Self-Employment Schedules-2007 Tax Returns

P-13, Self-Employment Schedules-2008 Tax Returns. Moved to Training by Topic.

P-14, Where to find Death Information on EATSS Records. Moved to Training by Topic.

S-1, Referral for Social Security Number Application

S-2, SSA Disability List (For Determining Disability for Food Assistance)

T-7, IR Set-Up Schedule

X-12, Current Combat Zones. A direct link to the IRS site Combat Zones Approved for Tax Benefits is being added to 6410 (13).

ES-2001 and ES-2001S, EES Programs Brochure (Help for Working Families)

ES-2002, Medicare Savings Plan (MSP). Linked on KDHE site.

ES-3100.8, Application/Redetermination Medicare Savings Plans. Available on KDHE site.

ES-3116, Simplified Reporting for Food Assistance Households

EES Policy Memo 13-06-03, Understanding Simplified Reporting Handout

EES Policy Memo 99-10-09, Applying Penalties to Closed Cases

COORDINATION EFFORTS

This change was coordinated with staff in Economic and Employment Services, Executive leadership, and the EES Program Administrators.

Sincerely,
Sandra Kimmons, EES Director
Economic and Employment Services
SK:am