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 Prevention and Protection Services Administrators Other Staff
Re:	Summary of Changes for Kansas Economic and Employment Services Manual (KEESM) Revision No. 88 effective July 01, 2018

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.

Child Care – The definition of Social Service Child Care is being expanded to include two new groups of children. The first of those two groups of children is foster children who have been placed with relatives who are not licensed for foster care, or with other non-related kin, and for whom the family may or may not be receiving a relative or non-relative kinship care payment. The second group is children who are not in state custody whose parents have placed them with a Safe Families for Children host family (not a foster family) to avoid coming into the foster care system while their parent/caretaker works to resolve a crisis situation. If these families in either of these situations include their own children who need child care, they will also be included in the Social Service Child Care.

Food Assistance – Several changes and clarifications are being included in this revision. Households containing a convicted drug felon are not considered categorically eligible. Changes are being made to the ABAWD, Primary Work Activities, and Food Assistance Work Related Exemption sections. The E-26 is being updated and renamed Food Assistance Work Registration.

Food Assistance and TANF – Wording is being changed for eligibility periods for Cash and Food Assistance.

DESCRIPTION, PURPOSE, AND DETAILS OF POLICY CHANGE

1. Child Care
   
   
   1. Changes
      
      
      1. Income Eligible (Non-TANF) Child Care – KEESM 2835 (5), Social Services –Social Services – This section is being modified to include in the definition of Social Service Child Care situations in which a foster child has been place with a relative or non-related kin who is not licensed for foster care and may or may not be receiving a relative or Kinship Care payment from the foster care contractor, and situations in which a parent/caretaker has temporarily placed a child with a Safe Families for Children host family to avoid placement of the child in foster care while they work to resolve a crisis situation.  The application for child care for both of these groups must be accompanied by a form ES-1627b, Child Care for Children in Safe Families for Children or Relative or Non-Relative Kinship Foster Care, completed by a DCF Social Worker or staff member of the Foster Care contract Agency (for Kinship Care) or a representative of the Safe Families for Children Agency (for their host families).
         
         
      2. Personal Need – KEESM 2820 is being modified to indicate that a relative or non-relative kinship family may receive child care under the social service need reason.   
         
         
      3. TANF Child Care – KEESM 2831 is being modified to expand the definition of Social Service Child Care as was done in KEESM 2835
         
         
      4. Termination of Child Care Plans – KEESM 7640 is being modified to allow child care plans to close prior to the end of a 12-month eligibility period when a child leaves a relative or kinship foster care placement or a Safe Families for Children placement.
         
         
   2. Clarifications
      
      None
      
      
2. Food Assistance
   
   
   1. Changes
      
      
      1. Households Not to be Considered Categorically Eligible – The following is being added to the list in 2513 (3): "convicted of a drug-related felony provisions of 2184."
         
         
      2. Able-bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWD) – These changes are being made in KEESM 2520.
         
         
         1. KEESM 2520 (1) is being changed to indicate that in-kind work is allowed to meet the 20-hour-per-week work requirement.
            
            ABAWDs are not required to make minimum wage when working 20 hours per week. Text indicating the minimum-wage requirement is being removed from 2520 (1).
            
            
         2. The following text is being added to the end of KEESM 2520 (2) (b) for persons voluntarily participating in the Food Assistance Employment and Training Program in available counties:
            
            

            "ABAWDs may participate in job search/job readiness for the first 30 days after their food assistance is approved. After the first 30 days the ABAWD must be engaged education, training, or workfare and job search/job readiness must only comprise less than 50% of the ABAWD's activities."

         3. The following text is being added at the end of the NOTE following 2520 (2):
            
            "Failure on the part of the ABAWD to meet and or verify the training requirement must be reported to the appropriate BPM team and will result in that month being counted against their 3-month limit."
            
            
      3. Appendix item E-26, Food Assistance Work Registration, is being updated with this revision and renamed, dropping the term "Requirements." It is being updated with rights and responsibilities for ABAWDs as well as informing ABAWDs of the work requirements. It does NOT have to be signed and returned to the agency. It does, however, need to be given to the clients or explained to them during the interview and documented on the interview template.
         
         
      4. Regaining Eligibility – Text is being added to KEESM 2522 to indicate that individuals denied eligibility under this provision must be given the opportunity to regain eligibility in the food assistance program.
         
         The following note is also being added to 2522:
         
         "NOTE: ABAWDS that are in the third countable month must have the opportunity to meet the work requirement during the third month."
         
         
      5. Status Changes – The following note is being added to KEESM 2528:
         
         "NOTE: After case closure an ABAWD who can provide documentation that work requirements or an exemption were being met during the 3 countable ABAWD months should retro-actively have countable ABAWD months removed."
         
         
      6. Additional Food Assistance Work Related Exemptions – Text is being added to KEESM 3230 (1) that meeting the 30-hour employment exemption includes in-kind work or working 30 hours a week but earning less than Federal minimum wages times 30 hours.
         
         
      7. Primary Work Activities - A bullet is being added to the end of KEESM 3310.8 (1), Job Search/Job Readiness, with the following text:
         
         "ABAWD food assistance recipients who are in their second month of ABAWD status. Job search/job readiness may only be used as a qualifying activity for the first 30 days after the ABAWD is approved for benefits. After that, JSR may only count for less than 50% of the ABAWDS qualifying activities."
         
         
   2. Clarifications
      
      None
      
      
3. Food Assistance and TANF
   
   
   1. Changes
      
      None
      
      
   2. Clarifications
      
      
      1. Eligibility Periods for Cash and Food Assistance – KEESM 7310 is being clarified that at initial application, the first month in the review period shall be the first month of eligibility, or if the month of application is denied, the review period begins the month of application, even if the household's eligibility is not determined until a subsequent month.
         
         
      2. All Programs Work Related Exemptions (TANF and Food Assistance) – The age of exemption for working toward attainment of a high school diploma or its equivalent is being reduced from 17 to 16 years of age. A non-head-of-household member aged 16-18 is also exempt under this provision.
         
         KEESM 3210 (1) is being modified to reflect this change.
         
         
4. Successful Families
   
   
   1. Changes
      
      
      1. SASSI Requirements – KEESM 3120, 3130, and 3330.1 is being changed to say, “It is recommended that the SASSI be completed within the first 90 days of TANF approval and is required to be completed by the 12^th month of TANF assistance. All cases that do not have the SASSI completed within the first 90 days must have the extension approved by the Employment Services Manager.”
         
         
      2. Gather Information – The requirement to complete the SASSI within the first 90 days is being removed from KEESM 3130.2.
         
         
   2. Clarifications
      
      None
      

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

Child Care

ES-1627b, Referral for Child Care for Children in Safe Families for Children or Relative or Non-Relative Kinship Foster Care

Employment Services

ES-4108, Collection Site Passport, is being updated to reflect the correct address of the Redwood Toxicology Laboratory. The Collection Sites document is also being updated.

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

Food Assistance

E-26, Food Assistance Work Registration

Successful Families

E-8, Self-Sufficiency Agreement

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

EFFECTIVE DATE

All changes are effective July 1, 2018, unless specified otherwise in the implementation memo.

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

MATERIALS OBSOLETED BY THIS REVISION

COORDINATION EFFORTS

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

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