1322 Verification Provisions - Verification is the use of documentary evidence, collateral contacts, or home visits to establish the accuracy of statements on the application.
1322.1 Mandatory Verification That Affects Eligibility for Program Benefits - The worker shall verify the following information prior to approval for clients initially applying:
NOTE: The intent of these verification requirements is to prevent payment errors. It is not the intent to be punitive to clients. Staff should work with and assist clients in obtaining the necessary verification. If the client refuses to provide the necessary verification, assistance may be denied. However, if the client tries to, but cannot obtain the necessary verification, and the employer will not provide the necessary verification, the agency shall not deny assistance. Rather the interim report/12-month report/application/review change shall be processed using all available verification. The case file must be documented to support the action(s) taken.
Note: The balance of a Direct Express electronic debit account used for the deposit of federal benefits (Social Security, SSI, VA, Civil Service Annuities) need not be verified if the only monies in the account are from Social Security or SSI benefits, or the value of all countable resources, including the account, are not within $300 of the applicable resource limit.
The agency will need to follow-up and if the child is not enrolled at the start of the school year, or first available time for orientation, the TANF case is ineligible and the case is to be closed, allowing for timely and adequate notice.
1322.2 Mandatory Verification That Affects the Amount of Program Benefits - The following information shall be verified prior to a determination of the benefit amount for households initially applying. Failure to provide verification of these items is not grounds for denial, rather the application would be processed without allowing a deduction for the claimed expense.
Utility Expenses (Food Assistance Only) - The household's utility expense shall be verified if the household is not entitled to the SUA or LUA and must claim the cost of one (or more) expenses per (7226.3 (4)).
If the household's only expense is a telephone, verification is only required if questionable. See 1322.3 (4) for verification of entitlement to the utility standards.
Medical Expenses - Medical expense incurred by food assistance persons who are elderly or disabled (refer to definitions in Appendix item X-6). The amount of any medical expenses shall be verified prior to initial approval.
For food assistance, if the elderly or disabled household member is entitled to the Standard Medical Deduction at initial certification, the household must verify one allowable expense (or a combination of expenses) greater than $35. If the elderly or disabled household member with expenses over $175 chooses to use actual medical expenses instead of the standard, then all medical expenses must be verified. Also see 7223.
Legal Obligation and Actual Child Support Payments (Food Assistance Only) - The worker shall verify the household's legal obligation to pay child support, the amount of the obligation (if not averaging payments per 7225), and the monthly amount of child support the household actually pays. The household is responsible for providing verification of the legal obligation, the obligated amount, and the amount paid. Also see 7225.
The agency shall accept documents that verify the household's legal obligation to pay child support, such as a court or administrative order, divorce decree, legally enforceable separation agreement or documentation of the court order from KAECSES-CSS screens. (CSS always obtains a hard copy of the order prior to entering it on the system. To be acceptable, the order must be active, i.e., there is no end date reflected on the system.) The KPC system can also be used as verification there is a court order and the monthly amount of child support actually being paid. It cannot be used as verification of the amount of the obligation, so if payments are just starting and the deduction needs to be prospectively budgeted, the household will have to provide proof of the amount of the obligation.
Acceptable documentation verifying a household's actual payment of child support includes, but is not limited to, court receipts, wage withholding statements, verification of withholding from unemployment compensation, and the State CSS agency if the payments are being made to CSS . Also acceptable are statements from the custodial parent regarding direct payments or third party payments the noncustodial parent pays or expects to pay on behalf of the custodial parent. KPC is also acceptable for verifying the household’s actual payments.
Documents that are accepted as verification of the household's legal obligation to pay child support shall NOT be accepted as verification of the household's actual monthly child support payments.
Households that fail or refuse to obtain necessary verification of their legal obligation or of their child support payments shall have their eligibility and benefit level determined without consideration of a child support deduction.
KDOL (Food Assistance and TANF Only) - The checking of KDOL is required at the time of application, review and at the time of IR processing to determine if any adult household members have failed to report current earned income or the receipt of unemployment compensation.
1322.3 Verification of Questionable Information - The worker shall verify all other factors of eligibility prior to approval only if they are questionable and affect the household's eligibility or benefit level. To be considered questionable, the information on the application must be inconsistent with other information on the application or previous applications or inconsistent with information received by the agency. When determining if information is questionable, the decision shall be based on each household's individual circumstances. Also see 1310 and 1320.
Household Composition - If questionable, the worker shall verify any factors affecting the composition of a household.