Navigating TANF in VaCMS. BPRO 2017 Spring Conference

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1 Navigating TANF in VaCMS BPRO 2017 Spring Conference

2 Guidance Understanding VaCMS Functionality Understanding Data Collection Screens Understanding Eligibility Results QRG s IBP s Teamwork Positive Attitude Keys to Survival

3 Monitor The Pending Point In Time Report Daily 30 Day Processing 30 Day Auto-Denial for Missed Interview 60 Day Auto-Denial Agency Delay Client Delay

4 Check Your Tasks and Reminders Daily Take action on the case by the Due Date as the action may have an impact on eligibility For example: Task and Reminder = APR signed by Jones, Mary run EDBC; Due Date = 05/10/2017 Note: If action in not taken to run eligibility, the case will not be recognized as a TANF/VIEW case and the 24 Month Clock will not increment Remember to dispose of Tasks and Reminders that are not automatically eliminated by execution of the case action

5 Check Your Renewal Status Report Daily Monitor Renewals Due in the next 60 days so that your workload can be planned to meet timeliness Monitor your Pending Renewals to ensure timely processing Monitor your Overdue Renewals and take the appropriate action as soon as administratively possible Note: If a TANF Renewal Packet is not received by the last day after the month of the Renewal Due Date, the case should drop off the list

6 Check Your TANF Reports Daily Active ESP Enrollments with no VIEW/FEP This report is a list of all cases that have been referred to VIEW but an assessment has not been completed. This a monthly report Active TANF VIEW Cases with no open VIEW Supplement - This is a monthly report. The report picks cases which fall under the following two scenarios: 1. VIEW Cases Closed in Error Example: VIEW worker referred client for sanction and closed the VIEW case anticipating that sanction would be entered. EW did not sanction the client. So, the client has an open TANF case, is coded VIEW, but has no open VIEW supplement. 2. VIEW Referral Removed from TANF Grant Example: Client referred to queue, but then leaves the household and is removed from the TANF grant. IEVS Report - This report provides the worker with a list of all SSN s that resulted in a match with the IEVS batch. This is a monthly report Queue Report - This report provides a listing of TANF participants referred to VIEW but the client has not signed the APR. This is a daily report

7 Check Your TANF Reports Daily, continued TANF Overpayment Report - This report displays overpayments for TANF cases with a claim status of Suspend, Active, Pending Court/ADH Collect and Pending Court/ADH Do Not Collect. This is a monthly report TANF Recoup Report - This report displays recoupment for TANF cases. This a quarterly report TANF VIEW Clock Report - The report displays all TANF case with a Federal clock counter and a report of all VIEW cases with a 24 month clock counter. This is a monthly report VIEW Satisfactory Participation List - This report provides a listing of all VIEW clients for whom satisfactory participation for components must be recorded for the prior month. This report is run twice a monthly. VIEW Job Follow-up Report -This report is a listing for all VIEW participants who have their second through their 24 month job follow-up due during the report month. This report is run twice monthly

8 Changing a TANF Method of Issuance From the Left Navigation, click on Eligibility and then TANF Method of Issuance. A blank TANF Method of Issuance Screen will present Please Note: The case should not be in any action and must be approved in order to access from the left navigation Enter your case # in the Case # Field and hit the Search button. The details that are present will populate Please Note: Make sure the name of the person in the Pay To field is correct before changing the method. If not, please update your Protective Payee or TANF Benefit Recipient information in Data Collection Select the new Issuance Method and hit the submit button A message will display the states Request has been submitted successfully Please Note: If the Issuance Method is changed to Direct Deposit, it could take up to 2 cycles before depositing to the account. In the interim, checks will be issued

9 Child Support Enforcement Collections Interface This Interface displays Child Support Enforcement Collections information received from DCSE Worker will enter search criteria and the Search Results will display information to include: 1. Case Number 2. Corresponding Legacy Case # 3. First, middle and last name of the case 4. Month Support was Collected

10 Child Support Enforcement Collections Interface, continued Net Collected Support displays amount collected including the Disregard Amount, and excludes IRS and State Tax Offsets Offset Amount displays IRS and State Tax Offsets Total Support Collected displays the Total Amount Collected including the Disregard Disregard Amount displays the Disregard Amount that was sent to the customer

11 Child Support Enforcement Collections Interface, continued When the Total Support Collected minus the Total Disregard Amount is greater than the TANF Grant amount, VaCMS will take action to suspend the TANF grant for the first month When the Total Support Collected minus the Total Disregard Amount is greater than the TANF Grant amount for two consecutive months, VaCMS will take action to close the case Best Practices: At the point you realize or are notified a case has been suspended due to excess support: 1. Check the Child Support Enforcement Collections Interface 2. Verify that the Net Support exceeds the TANF Grant 3. Run a Spider check for APECS and verify the Current Collections match the information in the interface If there are discrepancies, contact DCSE to clarify the information If the case has been suspended or closed in error, submit a ticket

12 Child Support Enforcement Collections Interface Changes Effective 07/01/2017 TANF cases will no longer be suspended for Excess Child Support After 2 months of receiving Excess Child Support, VaCMS will take action to close the TANF case automatically A report will be available similar to the TANF Cases, Current Collected Support and Expected TMP s The Child Support Disregard will increase up to $200 for families with 2 or more children

13 Child Support Unearned Income Treatment of Support - Current support paid directly to the client during the application process will be treated as income with the exception of a disregard of up to $100. Effective 07/01/2017 up to $200 It is no longer required that redirected child support be entered in the system as the customer is notified of the requirement to redirect child support in the Notice of Action at approval VaCMS knows to disregard $100 of the Child Support Unearned Income entered and count any remaining support after the disregard has been applied

14 24 and 60 Month Clocks Best Practices Post Conversion: 1. When conducting a Renewal or Change on a case, review your Time Limit Details 2. Compare the clock(s) details in ADAPTRO prior to Conversion and adjust immediately if countable months are not present 3. Verify sure that the clock(s) have incremented since conversion, if applicable. If you notice that they have not incremented, capture screenshots, submit a ticket and then adjust to ensure the correct months are reflected

15 24 and 60 Month Clocks, continued Note: Prior to performing an inquiry in ADAPTRO, be sure to Restore Archived Case Data Keep in mind: Effective March, 2008, the 60-month time limit applies to the following individuals whose needs are included in the TANF grant: an adult caretaker on a case, the spouse of the caretaker, a minor caretaker with her own case, and the spouse of the minor caretaker. Both parents in a TANF-UP case, including minor parents, will have a 60- month clock regardless of marital status. (Note: Prior to March, 2008, the 60-month clock was not based on months of TANF receipt in Virginia. Instead, only VIEW months, including months in a VIEW sanction, and months of TANF received in another state, were counted on the clock. The individual 60-month clocks of parents in TANF-UP or TANF twoparent households were identical in terms of months counted that were based on VIEW participation; months of TANF counted in another state may have been different for each parent.) (201.1G)

16 24 and 60 Month Clocks, continued VaCMS Functionality Each month that a TANF case is recognized as a TANF-VIEW or TANF-UP VIEW case, with a signed APR, the 24 month clock will increment. Note: If a manual referral was created because an individual was not referred to the ESP Queue in error, the 24 Month Clock will have to be manually incremented The 24 and 60 Month Clocks can be adjusted in Data Collection or Benefit Issuance The 24 Month Clock should be maintained and adjusted by the ESP Worker

17 Temporary Disability Individuals unable to participate in VIEW because of a temporary medical condition that prevents entry into at least 20 hours per week of employment and training activities, as determined by a medical professional (901.2 D) For these individuals, on the Disability Screen enter TANF Disability details to exempt an individual from participation The Work Participation Status will display Exempt based on the details entered A Task and Reminder will be sent to the Primary Eligibility Worker on the 1st of the previous month to the disability end date, to begin the process for obtaining a new Medical Evaluation Form

18 Caretaker of a Disabled Family Member An individual who is needed on a substantially continuous basis to care for a family member living in the household. The family member must have a verified disability When the family member who requires care is also a member of the AU, the Disability Details Screen must be completed for that individual By answering yes to Is the Individual taking care of the disabled individual in the household question, the individual will be exempted from VIEW A new Statement of Required Presence of Caregiver form must be obtained immediately following the anticipated end of the need for the caretaker. The EW will be required to set a Task and Reminder as this is process is currently not automated

19 Immunizations Exemption Reasons Verification Sources

20 Capping/Uncapping a Child Guidance: FAMILY CAP PROVISION* - An additional child born during the period when a family is eligible for TANF is not eligible to have his needs included in the grant. The family cap provision applies to a child born while the family is eligible for TANF whether the parent s needs are included in the grant or not. Once a child has been capped, he continues to be to be capped during any subsequent period of eligibility. For cases active on July 1, 1995, the family cap provision applies to a child born on or after May 1,l996. VaCMS Functionality: If the Child s parent(s) received 10 FULL consecutive months of TANF at the time of the Child s birth or adoption, the child will be capped by VaCMS (NOTE: For a capped child determination, counting of the 10 full consecutive months will start from the month after the first month of TANF Benefit Issuance. For example: if TANF Benefit Issuance started from 06/16/16 then month of Jul 2016 will be the first month) Note: If you find that VaCMS does not cap a child, navigate to the Client Demographics screen and enter Capped Child Details as displayed in the screenshot Note: Always check the TANF Payment History to determine the accuracy of a child s Capped Status

21 VTP A VIEW participant may be eligible for transitional services for up to 12-months beginning with the month following TANF VIEW case closure. Prior to establishing a VTP, the EW must verify the client s wages. For previously reported employment, the wage verification cannot be more than 30 days old. If the wage verification is more than 30 days old, the client must provide current verification of employment prior to the effective date of the TANF case closure

22 VTP, continued The VTP amount is $100 for a two parent household in which both parents meet the VTP criteria. If one parent leaves the home, the payment must be reduced by $50 When closing a TANF case with a VIEW participant, determine VTP eligibility. Inform the ESW when a VTP is started or terminated in VaCMS When an Individual reapplies for TANF, the VTP Case must be closed prior to pending the TANF Application

23 Renewals Effective March 31, 2017, the new TANF auto-closure batch process, which mirrors the SNAP auto-closure process, was implemented. VaCMS will send a TANF Renewal Notification form, similar to the SNAP Notice of Expiration, on the 16 th of the month prior to the redetermination month. Interview dates and times must be entered in the Scheduler by the 15 th of the month prior to the redetermination month. Example: For May 2017 renewals, interview dates and times must be entered in the Scheduler by April 15, If a renewal is not submitted during the redetermination month, no action is required by a worker to impact TANF benefits. The VaCMS will not issue TANF payments beyond the redetermination month. If a renewal is not submitted during the month following the TANF redetermination month, VaCMS will automatically close the TANF case on the last day of the month following the TANF redetermination month. No worker action is required. Example: March 31, Redetermination Date in VaCMS March Renewal application not submitted April 1, No TANF payment will be issued April 30, 2017 Renewal application not submitted - VaCMS will auto-close the TANF case on April 30 Entering a package received date on the Initiate Interview Initiate Review screen will prevent auto-closure. If eligibility requirements are not met, a worker must take action to close the case.

24 Know What Your Eligibility Results Mean Always drill-down on your Eligibility Results to ensure accuracy before certifying and authorizing the case Ensure the correct Participation Status displays for individuals in the case Eligible, Countable, Deemed and Excluded If the Participation Status is incorrect, drill-down on the Individual in question and verify the Notice Reasons and double check your entries in Data Collections If the Participation Status is correct, drill-down on the individual and verify the Work Participation Status

25 Know What Your Eligibility Results Mean, continued Verify that the Work Participation Status is correct based on the case details In a TANF-UP case, both parents must be referred for participation, unless one meets an exemption; only one parent can be exempt. If both parents meet an exemption criterion, they must decide who will be referred for participation VaCMS will exempt the case name from Work Participation for a child less than 1 For example: Mr. Jones is the case name, Mrs. Jones gave birth 3 months prior. VaCMS will exempt Mr. Jones as he is the case name So in the example above, the TANF Work Requirements question must be answered so that the correct Individual can be referred

26 Know What Your Eligibility Results Mean, continued Verify that the correct countable earned and unearned income display If not, immediately stop and go back to Data Collection and revisit your income screens to ensure correct entries Keep in mind that what displays on this screen impacts SNAP as well Note: 1. Only the Countable Child Support will display in the Income Determination 2. Deemed Income displays as Unearned Income 3. The Total Self Employment Income is the amount after expenses are deducted

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28 Contact Information Monique Majeus SR TANF/VIEW Consultant