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. 96 effective October 01, 2019

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 – Some clean up and clarification is being added to several sections of the KEESM.

Child Care Providers – A revision to KEESM is being made to add an exception to the current policy. This exception will allow foster care parents to receive payment for their foster care children that are enrolled in their child care facility if they are the owner of the facility.

Food Assistance This revision implements a new fixed 36-month period for ABAWDs, from October 1, 2019, through September 30, 2022. It also incorporates the annual adjustments to the Food Assistance program that are effective October 1 of each year. These changes will be processed in KEES. This batch will run before negative action in September.

The minimum benefit amount increased to $16.

LIEAP – Policy changes are being made with the focus on removing policies that delay eligibility determination by requiring data collection from third party sources (e.g., landlords) or to align process with other benefit programs in the case of income calculation. There are three specific changes listed under the next section, DESCRIPTION, PURPOSE, AND DETAILS OF POLICY CHANGE

DESCRIPTION, PURPOSE, AND DETAILS OF POLICY CHANGE

  1. All Programs

    1. Changes

      1. Vehicle Exemptions for All Cash, Child Care and Food Assistance Programs - Verbiage is being added to KEESM 5510 to indicate the exempted vehicle may be unlicensed.

    2. Clarifications

      None

  2. Child Care

    1. Changes

      None

    2. Clarifications

      1. Responsibility to Report Changes – KEESM 1212.5 is being modified to reflect the change in clients’ reporting responsibilities for child care that were made effective August 1, 2019.

      2. Income Eligible (Non-TANF) Child Care – KEESM 2835, items 1 and 3 are being modified regarding families who have lost TANF eligibility to reflect current policy that does not allow a family share to be increased during a family’s 12-month eligibility period, and the reassessment of a family’s qualifying reason for child care at the end of the 12-month eligibility period.

      3. Determining Scheduled Hours – KEESM 7620 is being revised to clarify that study time is allowed for post-secondary students.

  3. Child Care Providers

    1. Changes

      1. Provider Selection – KEESM 10010 is being modified to include an exception that would allow foster/relative and kinship parents who are owner/operator of a licensed child care facility to make payment to that facility for the care of their foster care child. This change will prevent daycare providers from having to leave their daycares to take a foster child to another location.

    2. Clarifications

      None

  4. Employment Services

    1. Changes

      None

    2. Clarifications
      1. Determination of Failure to Cooperate – Text is being added to KEESM 3521 to clarify circumstances under which an Employment Service penalty can be applied. Penalties can be applied after case closure notice has been sent. The failure must have occurred before the notice of closure and the client must be notified of the penalty in the month of closure or the month immediately following the closure.


  5. Food Assistance

    1. Changes

      1. Annual Adjustments to the Food Assistance Program Standards – Effective October 1, 2019, the following documents are being updated to incorporate the annual federal adjustments to the Food Assistance program. The changes for October 1, 2019, include an increase in the standard deduction amounts for all household sizes, an increase in the gross and net income limits, and an increase in the maximum excess shelter deduction. The Food Assistance mass change process will run all Food Assistance cases through EDBC for October 2019 with the information currently in KEES, which can cause benefits to change or cases to be discontinued. Examples include income changes, verified date of death, etc. Households will be notified of any changes to their benefits with the mass change notice issued after rollover in September 2019.

        Documents being changed are:

        Appendix Item F-2, Food Assistance Program Standards

        Appendix Item F-3, Food Assistance Program Benefit Tables

        Form ES-1510.1, Computation of Food Assistance Benefit

      2. Standard Deduction – Section 7222 is being modified to increase the standard deduction amounts. The new amounts effective October 1, 2019, are:

        Household size 1-3 = $167

        Household size 4 = $178

        Household size 5 = $209

        Household size 6 or more = $240

      3. Shelter Costs – Section 7226 is being modified to change the excess shelter deduction to $569. The SUA is increasing to $364, and the LUA is increasing to $247. The telephone standard decreased to $35.

      4. Food Assistance Standards – KEESM section 7420 is being updated to reflect the minimum benefit amount increase to $16.

      5. ABAWD Tracking – A new fixed 36-month ABAWD eligibility period is beginning October 1, 2019, and ending September 30, 2022. KEESM 2520 is being modified to include this change.

      6. Reporting Requirements – KEESM item 9122.1 (3) is being added to indicate that gross lottery or gambling winnings of $3,500 or greater must be reported.

      7. Crime Attestation – KEESM 2553 is being added to indicate 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

        KEESM 1322.3 (7) is being added to indicated that verification of conviction and compliance with the sentence is required if questionable.

  1. LIEAP

    1. Changes

      1. Energy Vulnerability Requirement – Deep Subsidy (KEESM 13340): Current criteria will be removed that stipulates if the subsidy exceeded 50% of the household’s gross income the household would be ineligible. Clarification added that subsidized households where utilities are included in rent would not be LIEAP eligible.

      2. Self-Payment Requirement – (KEESM 13350): Modifying policy to allow for client self-declaration subject to prudent person criteria.

      3. Income Eligibility – Income Calculation (KEESM 13360): Current policy calculates income for LIEAP biweekly pay by multiplying pay times 2 and weekly times 4 to arrive at standard conversion for determining monthly income for LIEAP household. These calculations would be changed to 2.15 and 4.3 to align with current calculation methods utilized by other EES programs.

    2. Clarifications

      None

  2. TANF

    1. Changes

      None

    2. Clarifications

      1. Relationship (TANF Only) – KEESM Sections 1322.1 (10) and 2220 are being updated to indicate that households have 90 days to verify relationship as long as a bona fide effort is being made.

      2. Time-Limited Assistance – KEESM 2240 (d) is being added to clarify a household in which all adults are receiving SSI may receive TANF for their children. KEESM 2240 (b) is being clarified allowing cases receiving the WIP to remain open past the 36th month.

      3. Agency Protocol Prior to Terminating TANF Cash and Hardship Status – Guidance is being provided on cases receiving more than 24 months of assistance. Cash assistance cases will be allowed to reopen after closing for TANF time limits if less than 36 months of assistance have been received and if they meet a hardship as identified in 2243 number 1 through 4. Any open TANF case can be reviewed for eligibility for hardship 5 if losing a hardship as defined in 1 through 4. KEESM 2242 and 2243 are being updated with this information. A closed case may not be reopened for hardship 5 if 24 months have been received.

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

Food Assistance

ES-1510.1, Computation of Food Assistance Benefit

ES-2007, Food Assistance Brochure. This has been modified and was linked to the Forms section in September 2019.

ES-2007E Insert. The income amounts are being updated with the Oct. 1, 2019, changes on English and Spanish versions.

 TANF

ES-3100, Application for Benefits. This has been updated to reflect the changes made in the May 2019 KEESM revision related to testing positive for illegal use of a controlled substance. The Spanish version has also been updated.

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

Child Care

X-6, Definitions of Common Terms, is being updated to include the definition of “Homeless Children” used for Child Care.

Food Assistance

F-2, Food Assistance Program Standards

F-3, Food Assistance Program Benefit Tables

X-6, Definitions. The definition of "Homeless Individual" is being updated with the latest information for Food Assistance.

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

EFFECTIVE DATE

All changes are effective October 1, 2019. The exception to allow foster care parents to receive payment for their foster care children is retroactive to the application date of July 1, 2019, if determined eligible by child care provider enrollment and foster care child care staff on a case by case basis.

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

No significant effect.

MATERIALS OBSOLETED BY THIS REVISION

Policy Memo #99-10-06, Relationship Verification for Children in DCF Custody is being removed as the information in that memo is now incorporated into KEESM 2220.

COORDINATION EFFORTS

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

Sincerely,
Sandra Kimmons, Assistant EES Director
Economic and Employment Services
SK:am
Page Last Updated: October 1, 2019 12:28 PM