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. 83 effective July 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 – Child Support Arrearage payments for a child whose current support order has ended are considered the income of the person receiving the payment.

Medical Assistance – Prescribed probiotics and enzymes are an allowable medical expense. The transfer of property divisor has changed. The spousal impoverishment minimum community spouse income allowance, dependent family member allowance, and excess shelter deduction are changing.

TANF – TANF cases where all adults receive SSI shall be reviewed at least once every 24 months.

DESCRIPTION, PURPOSE, AND DETAILS OF POLICY CHANGE

  1. All Programs

    1. Changes

      1. Child Support Arrearage – Verbiage is being added to indicate that payments for a child whose current support order has ended are not considered child support payments and are considered the income of the person receiving the payment.

        Text regarding this is being added to 6220 (4) (e).

        A note is being added to 6410 (11)(e) indicating this income is no longer to be exempted.

    2. Clarifications

      1. Child Support as exempt income – The title of KEESM 6410 (11)(a) is being changed to "Medical Only" because the exemption only applies to the medical program.

      2. Completion of Summary – Verbiage in KEESM 1614.3 is being modified to reflect current procedure as stated on the Appendix item B-5, Appeal Summary. The agency shall furnish the appellant, or appellant’s representative, and the Office of Administrative Hearings with a copy of the fair hearing summary.

  2. Medical Assistance

    1. Changes

      1. Probiotics and Enzymes as Medical Expense – Probiotics and enzymes that have been prescribed by a physician are allowable as a non-covered medical expense.

        Appendix item P-1 (Medical Necessity) is being updated with this revision.

      2. Transfer of Property – The average nursing home private pay daily rate in the state used to set the transfer of property penalty divisor increased from $192.21 to $197.88. The new rate is effective with all penalty periods, with a start date on or after July 1, 2017.

        KEESM section 5724.4 (2) and the W-9 (Transfer of Property Worksheet) are being updated with this revision.

      3. Spousal Impoverishment – New federal poverty level guidelines have been published by the Department of Health and Human Services. For spousal impoverishment, the minimum community spouse income allowance has increased from $2,003 to $2,030, the dependent family member allowance has increased from $668 to $677, and the excess shelter deduction has increased from $601 to $609 effective July 1, 2017.

        KEESM sections 8144.2 and 8244.2 and the ES-3163 (Income Allowance Determination) form are being updated with this revision.

    2. Clarifications
      1. Aged-Out Foster Care – Aged-Out Foster Care has been included as a medical program not subject to a resource test. This is not a change in policy.

        KEESM section 5130 is being updated with this revision.

      2. Long Term Care Cost Share as Due & Owing Expense – Clarification is being added to indicate that a Long Term Care share of cost in a covered month is never allowable as a due and owing medical expense against a nursing home patient liability, HCBS client obligation, PACE participant obligation, or a Medically-Needy (MN) spenddown.

        KEESM sections 7532.1, 8172.1 and 8270.1 are being updated with this revision.

  3. Successful Families

    1. Changes

      None

    2. Clarifications

      1. Provisions specific to TANF Support Services -

        1. KEESM 3410 is being changed to restrict the support services that are issued to a client during the 12-month transitional period to only be authorized if the client is employed during the month for which the support service is issued. Payments made to vendors during this time do not have the same restriction.

        2. A note is being added to KEESM 3410 to clarify that a transportation allowance may be issued prior to TANF approval when the client requires such assistance to cure a penalty.

        3. A reference to KEESM 3410 is being added to 3411, 3412, and 3414.

  4. TANF

    1. Changes

      1. Review Periods for Cash – KEESM 9371 is being changed to indicate TANF cases where all adults receive SSI shall be reviewed at least once every 24 months.

    2. Clarifications

      1. Assigned Support Retained by Child Support Services (CSS) – Text is being added to 6220 (4)(b) to indicate that child support retained by CSS for a child in the home who is in State custody will be counted to determine if there is TANF initial eligibility and for each month ongoing TANF.

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

  1. Employment Services

    ES-4313, Statement of Understanding for Vehicle Purchase

    ES-4316, Screening/Referral Form

    IS-4308, Assessment Referral/Report

    IS-4315, EES & RS Referral/Communication Form

  2. TANF

    ES-3104.1, TANF Benefit Determination and Instructions.

    ES-3100.9, Grandparents as Caregivers Cash Assistance Application. Added Suspicion-based drug testing policy to first page.

    ES-4101, TANF Months in Kansas. This should have been updated in January 2017. It was updated and added after January, and has been reposted.

    ES-4102, TANF Request for Months in other States    . This should have been updated in January 2017. It was updated and added after January, and has been reposted.

  3. Medical Assistance

    ES-3163, Income Allocation Determination

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

  1. All Programs

    B-5, Appeal Summary, has been added to the Appendix list as a form in Word for easier completion.

  2. Medical Assistance

    P-1, Medical Necessity

    W-9, Transfer of Property Worksheet

  3. TANF and Child Care

    X-6, Definitions of Common Terms    . Verbiage is being added to the Mandatory Filing Unit definition to include same-sex partners as part of the mandatory filing unit when they are considered the cohabiting boyfriend or girlfriend of the legally responsible person of the child.

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

EFFECTIVE DATE

All changes are effective July 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

Forms

ES-3105.4, Acknowledgement of Reporting Responsibilities.

ES-3109, TANF Ineligibility Notice

ES-3110, Negative Drug test

ES-3113A, Eligibility Documentation Log

ES-3120, Initial Interview and/or Referral

ES-3850, Record of Identity and Citizenship Documentation.

IM-3140, EBT Card Stock Control Log

IM-3140a, EBT Card Stock Control Log Attachment

Appendix

C-8, Core Competencies for Early Child Care and Education Professionals.

R-3, Referral for Technology - Assisted Children Assessment.

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
Page Last Updated: July 5, 2017 2:49 PM