TEA Manual 12/27/01

07/01/1997

5000 Termination of Cash Assistance

A case will be closed:

1. When the recipient has requested closure. Advance notice will be given if required. (Reference [TEA 4050-4051]).
2. Upon notice of another state agency that the recipient is being certified for assistance in that state.
3. When the County Office has factualinformation that a recipient fails to meet any eligibility requirement.
4. When a recipient has failed to furnish requested information or comply with other Agency procedures necessary to establish his eligibility after specific written notice (DCO-1 or system generated) that he must do so.

Cash assistance will be terminated at any point it is determined that a family is no longer eligible to receive assistance.

TEA Manual 12/27/01

07/01/1997

5001 Time Limit

During periodic contacts, the client will be informed of how many months of eligibility he or she has remaining due to the time limit. The number of months a TEA family has received benefits can be determined via the WACE screen. The worker should view this screen during periodic interviews with the parent.

The County Office will receive a printout identifying cases which have received TEA for 6, 12, 18 or 22 months. 

Upon completion of the 22^nd month staffing, a decision to close the TEA case or grant an extension will be made. The Case Manager will advise the client of the decision via form DCO-177, Notice of TEA Time Limit Determination.

The DCO-177 will be sent within 10 days of the date the decision is made. If the decision is to not extend the time limit and to close the TEA case, the client can appeal the decision. If the client appeals the decision within 10 days of the date of the notice (DCO-177), benefits will continue pending the hearing. Upon actual closure of the TEA case, the Case Manager will send form DCO-178, Final Notice of TEA Time Limit Determination, to the client as a reminder that the TEA case has been closed.

Note: The time limit for TEA eligibility has no bearing on Medicaid Eligibility

TEA Manual 07/01/1997

5002 Intentional Program Violations (IPV)

A 10-day notice will be sent to the client stating that the case will be closed due to an Intentional Program Violation. Also, that the case will remain closed until the resulting overpayment (e.g. the total amount of assistance received to which the family was not entitled) has been repaid to the State with interest. This requirement may be waived by the Director of the Division of County Operations or his designee.

Refer to [TEA 8100] for detailed policy and procedures concerning IPV Disqualifications.

TEA 
Manual 07/01/1997

5003 Earnings Related

At any point it is determined that a family is no longer eligible for TEA benefits due to earnings, the TEA case will be closed. An advance notice of closure will be required. In addition, the family’s eligibility for extended support services will be determined. Refer to [TEA 5100]

TEA 
Manual 08/01/2002

5100 Extended Support Services (ESS)

Extended Support Services are available to certain families who lose eligibility for TEA due to earnings. These services are Child Care, ESS Employment Bonue and Transportation assistance, ESS Job Retention, ESS Case Management Services, and Medicaid. Eligibility for these services will be determined by the worker.

TEA 
Manual 08/01/2002

5110 Extended Support Services (ESS) Child Care

Eligibility for extended child care will be determined if a TEA case closes while the individual is employed.  This includes cases involving earned income but which close at the client’s request. An application is not needed to determine eligibility.

Child care assistance is available to help meet child care expenses for a child for whom child care would be guaranteed while the family was receiving TEA cash assistance (Refer to [TEA 3451]). Child care assistance will also be available to a child who is born or enters the home after the TEA case closes but during the ESS child care period provided the child is one described in [TEA 3451].

For ESS/CC cases, the county cap rate will apply to the total charges by the provider. The county cap rate is the sum of the amount paid by TEA and the amount assessed the client. (Refer to [TEA 3452])

Example: The client has two children who received child care services at a local daycare center. Both children were at the daycare center for three days during the month for which the services were billed. This will not count as a month toward the client’s 36 month lifetime limit as neither child received at least five days of child care services.

If a client has not needed child care prior to obtaining employment, but later requests child care to accept or maintain employment, the individual may receive ESS child care assistance.

TEA Manual
08/01/2002

5110.1  Minimum Hours of Work Requirement

Note: During the third year, the hours of employment should increase to 32 hours per week. This is the minimum required hours of employment for Division of Child Care (DCC) low-income child care assistance. By increasing the number of employment hours to 32 by the end of the third year, an otherwise eligible individual will be able to make the transition to DCC child care assistance for the fourth year.

The client will be advised of the minimum hours of work requirement prior to authorization of the ESS child care via form DCO-1413, Notice of ESS Child Care Lifetime Limit and Minimum Hours of Work Requirement.

At each authorization the client will be notified via DCO-1412, TEA Notice of Child Care Action, of the number of months remaining in his or her lifetime limit.

TEA Manual
08/01/2002

5110.2  Verification of Hours of Employment and Income

At the initial request for ESS child care assistance, the client's declaration regarding the number of hours worked per week or the amount of earnings received will be accepted. However, prior to renewal of the authorization for the second six months of the first twelve months, the hours of employment or earnings must be verified. Form DCO-1414, ESS Child Care Request for Verification of Earnings and Hours of Employment, will be sent to the client to request the verification. If the verified hours of employment are less than 20 hours per week and the earnings are not sufficient to cause TEA ineligibility, the ESS child care case will be closed after appropriate notice.

The client must return the completed form DCO-1414 and provide verification of income and number of hours of employment per week for the second and third years of ESS child care assistance. (See [TEA 5111]). If the verified hours of employment are less than the required minimum hours the ESS child care case will be closed after appropriate notice.

Failure to verify income and the hours of employment will result in the ESS child care case being closed after appropriate notice.

The client will be advised of the closure via DCO-1412, TEA Child Care Notice of Action. The child care provider must also be notified that the child care case is being closed via DCO-1404, Notification to Provider.

TEA 
Manual 08/01/2002

5111 The Sliding Fee Scale

The sliding fee scale is used by the worker in the second and third year of ESS/CC to determine the percentage of the child care payment for which the family will be responsible.

This will be determined using earnings information reported and verified by the recipient for each employed TEA adult. The sliding fee scale is used as follows:

1. Take the total gross wages for each adult and multiply by

• 4.334  if paid weekly
• 2.167  if paid bi-weekly
• 2         if paid semi-monthly
• 1         if paid monthly

2. Total the monthly earned income for all employed TEA adults;
3. The parent of caretaker relative who is employed at least 32 hours per week will receive a $100.00 work-related deduction from his or her gross income. If the adult is employed less than 32 hours per week, no deduction is allowed.
4. Add the unearned income to the earned income total (after appropriate deductions).
5. Use the total income amount in #4 to determine which income group the family belongs, according to family size (parents or caretaker relative and siblings).
6. The fee percentage the participant will be required to pay can be found on the bottom row of the scale. A different fee rate is found beneath each income level and ranges from 0% to full rate. Refer to Appendix C for the sliding fee scale.

TEA 
Manual 11/15/1999

5112 Participant’s Responsibility to Pay ESS Fees to Provider

The following will be explained to the participant:

1. The individual’s responsibility for paying registration and activity fees (as determined by the provider);
2. The amount the individual is expected to pay to the provider (sliding fee scale);
3. The individual’s responsibility for making timely payments to the child care provider;
4. When and how often payments will be made will be based on arrangements made between the recipient and provider; and
5. Failure to pay required fees may result in termination of ESS/CC benefits.

TEA 
Manual 07/01/1997

5113 When the Participant Fails to Pay Required Fees

When the child care provider notifies the County Office that the participant has failed to pay the required fee, the worker will obtain the following information from the provider:

• total amount of delinquent fee;
• time period for which fees are owed; and
• date last payment was made by the participant.

Using the above information, the worker will notify the participant that the ESS/CC case will be closed within ten (10) calendar days of the date of notice. The notice will include the reason(s) why the action is being taken and steps the participant can take to avoid the action. To avoid closure the participant must:

• pay all delinquent fees to the provider prior to expiration of the notice and provide proof to the County Office; or
• make satisfactory arrangements with the provider to repay the delinquent fees and provide proof of arrangements.

If the participant pays all fees or makes satisfactory arrangements with the provider to pay the delinquent amount and provides proof to the County Office (statement, receipt from provider) prior to expiration of the notice, ESS/CC will continue and no further action is required. The case record will be documented accordingly.

If the participant fails to respond to the notice, the worker will close the case, notify the participant and the provider via DCO-1404.

TEA 
Manual 07/01/1997

5114 Notifying Provider When Services are Changing/Terminated

When child care services change or terminate, the worker will notify the provider of the change or termination via form DCO-1404 within ten (10) days of the date the change or termination is determined. The worker may advise the provider in person or by telephone in addition to the written notice.

A copy of the DCO-1404 will be sent to the participant at the same time the form is sent to the provider.

TEA 
Manual 07/01/1997

5115 Notifying the Provider When Participant’s Share of Fee Changes

If at any time the participant’s share of the child care cost changes (increases/decreases) from the amount previously keyed, the information will be entered on the DCFS System. Refer to DCFS User Help Guide, Appendix D.

TEA 
Manual 07/01/1997

5116 Deobligation of Certificate

When it becomes necessary for the worker to deobligate a certificate, the information will be entered to screen AZ07 of the child care automated system.

In all situations, the case narrative will be documented.

TEA 
Manual 07/01/1997

5120 Medicaid

In certain situations, a family who becomes ineligible for TEA benefits due to employment may receive up to one year of extended Medicaid coverage. Refer to MS 2061.

TEA
Manual
05/01/02

5130 Employment Bonus

When a case is closed for payment with one of the Action Reasons specific to the Employment Bonus, the system will automatically issue the bonus payment to the family in the month following the effective month of closure. If a system generated notice of closure is not sent, the county should include the information regarding the Employment Bonus in their manual notice of closure so that the adult will know its purpose and be expecting it. (The system generated closure notice for an Employment Bonus closure code will include that information.)

Only one Employment Bonus may be authorized to a family within a twelve (12) calendar month period. Therefore, if a family who received an Employment Bonus returns to TEA cash assistance, such family cannot receive another Employment Bonus for at least twelve (12) months even if the case closes due to employment before then.

EXAMPLE: Ms. Jones started to work in January and requested her case be closed due to her new employment effective for February. Her case was closed in ANSWER on January 18 with an Employment Bonus Action Reason. The bonus payment was issued to Ms. Jones in February. The following November, Ms. Jones loses her job, reapplies for TEA cash assistance, and is recertified in December. She finds another job in January and again her case is closed due to employment effective for February. However, she cannot receive an Employment Bonus this February because she received one within the twelve months preceding this month (i.e., the prior February).

TEA
Manual
07/01/06

05/01/02

08/20/2004

5140 EXTENDED SUPPORT SERVICES - TRANSPORTATION

When a case is closed due to earnings, the worker will use the Action Reasons specific to allowing this Extended Support Service. Verification of earnings is not required. (See examples below). The system will automatically issue to the client’s EBT account the Extended Transportation benefit in the month following the month of case closure. There is no limit to the number of times an individual may receive Extended Support Service Transportation assistance.

TEA
Manual
05/01/02

5145 Extended Support Services Employment Bonus and Transportation Examples

The following are situations in which an ESS Employment Bonus and/or Transportation assistance will be authorized.

NOTE: A system edit will prevent more than one Employment Bonus from being issued in any 12-month period.

1.  Ms. Manning reported that she found a job and requested her TEA case be closed. The client’s statement that she is employed may be accepted without verification.

2.  An anonymous telephone call is received in the county office reporting that Ms. Smith is working. A 10 day notice is sent to Ms. Smith requesting that she contact the county office concerning the report. Ms. Smith calls the county office and states that she is working and no longer wants TEA benefits. Ms. Smith’s case will be closed and the ESS Employment Bonus and Transportation assistance will be authorized.

3.  Ms. Davis reported that she was employed. Based on her earnings, she was no longer eligible for TEA cash assistance. The TEA case was closed and the ESS Employment Bonus and Transportation assistance was authorized.

4.  Ms. Long is in her twenty-fourth month of TEA cash assistance. After her twenty-second month case staffing, it was determined that her time limit will not be extended. Ms. Long is working, but her earnings are not enough to cause ineligibility. Because she has earnings when her TEA case is closed, she is eligible for the ESS Employment Bonus and Transportation assistance.

In the following EXAMPLE, an ESS Employment Bonus and Transportation assistance will not be authorized.

5. A telephone call was received in the county office reporting that Mr. Jones was employed. A 10-day notice was sent to Mr. Jones to contact the county office concerning the report. Mr. Jones did not contact the county office. The TEA case was closed for failure to respond to the notice. Even though this was a report of employment, the ESS Employment Bonus and Transportation assistance will not be authorized because Mr. Jones did not confirm that he was employed.

TEA 
Manual 2/15/00

08/20/1998

5150 Extended Support Services (Job Retention)

The following are examples of situations in which a former recipient would need assistance in retaining a job:

Example: Ms. Smith started to work in July 1998 and her TEA case closed in December. Ms. Smith is still employed in February, 1999. However, her car has broken down and is in need of repairs in order for her to continue to work. All other resources have been exhausted and her case closed within the prior twelve months. In this instance, Ms. Smith may receive an Extended Support Service Job Retention payment to repair her car.

Example: Mr. Jones has been employed since March and his TEA case closed in September. Mr. Jones has not received any assistance for the past eleven months. In order for this former recipient to remain employed, he must purchase a special type of uniform. Mr. Jones states that after his expenses are met, he has very little or nothing left over for extras. All other local resources have been exhausted. In this instance, Mr. Jones may be paid an Extended Support Service Job Retention payment to purchase the special uniform.

Although more than one job retention payment may be made during the twelve-month period, Case Managers should be alert to situations in which a client requests multiple payments throughout the year.  Job retention payments should not become a substitute for regular cash assistance payments or be viewed as an additional year of cash assistance.  Prior to authorizing any job retention payment, it must be clearly established that a job-related need exists and that failure to meet that need will most likely result in the client's job begin terminated.  In addition, job retention payments may not be used to provide on-going assistance with basic needs such as rent or utilities since that type of assistance must be counted for purposes of the time limit.

Job Retention payments will be authorized through the WISE reimbursement system using the close override feature.

TEA 
Manual 02/01/1999

5160 Extended Case Management Services

Case Management is the process of coordinating and brokering the multiple services needed to achieve progress toward self-sufficiency. Case Managers serve as a point of contact for recipients and a point of accountability for management. The TEA Case Manager has overall responsibility for recipients from initial assessment until case closure.

One aspect of case management is to provide the recipient with sufficient information on what to expect regarding changes and challenges in the world of work.

TEA 
Manual 02/01/1999

5161 Employment Follow-ups

One of the most important aspects of case management is the follow-up after a recipient has entered employment. The follow-up with the recipient or employer should occur soon after employment begins and then continue periodically throughout the Extended Case Management period.

The following information will be discussed during the follow-up’s as appropriate;

Employment Information: Recipient -Verify employment information (e.g. name of employer, employer address, job title, start date, hourly wage, hours worked per week, length of employment, etc.).

Employer – Advise employer of eligibility for tax credit if appropriate. If the employment was developed by TEA, then during the placement remind the employer to contact the worker if problems began to surface.

Extended Support Services (ESS): Ensure recipient has information on available ESS services (e.g. childcare, transportation, employment bonus, etc.,). Follow-up with service providers to determine if any problems have arisen.

Counseling/Coaching: Provide encouragement to the client, discuss any problems he or she may be having on the job, remind him or her not to quit their job without contacting TEA program staff first, etc.

Other: Follow up with the employer or providers to determine if any problems have arisen.

TEA Manual 02/01/1999

5162 Counseling/Coaching Services

General Counseling – The TEA case worker may arrange or provide, general counseling related to attitudes, motivation, and barriers to employment and personal situations related to work. Former TEA recipients may need supportive counseling to build their self-confidence. Counseling is guided conversation between the recipient and the TEA caseworker designed to solve personal problems relating to work. The objectives of counseling are to improve the client’s problem solving abilities, and to help the client take responsibility for his or her own employment decisions.

Employment Counseling - In employment counseling or coaching the TEA worker helps the client better understand how he or she fits into the working world and also assists clients in solving existing problems. The worker should determine whether the client and client’s children are experiencing difficulty in adjusting to the client’s dual role as employee and parent. Discuss potential financial management problems once Extended TEA services are terminated, e.g., health insurance, and day care (if needed) and other issues related to transition from welfare to employment. The following clients are likely to have a need for employment counseling:

• Clients entering employment for the first time.
• Clients reentering the labor market after a period of unemployment.
• Clients who had to be re-trained due to the current labor market requirements.
• Clients with unsatisfactory work experience/history.

Group Counseling – Group counseling may be needed to assist other counseling efforts. Group settings are beneficial because the client may relate his or her problems to peers better than he or she would to professional staff (TEA). NOTE: Clients who have been successfully employed could be used as role models for recipients who are having problems. Group sessions may be conducted by the TEA caseworker or may be provided by another agency or organization. Topics for discussion may include but are not limited to: low self-esteem, uncertain childcare, inadequate housing, etc.

TEA Manual 02/01/1999

5163 Other Services

The need for other supportive services or assistance may become apparent during the Extended Case Management period. The TEA worker should be prepared to assist clients needing other services through referrals to appropriate service providers or agencies. Such services or assistance may include Homemaker Services, Housing Assistance, transportation assistance, etc.