808.33 Conciliation Process SR 01-03, 07/01 (FAM-A)

Conciliation is the process for resolving disputes related to a participant’s failure to the meet NHEP work requirements.

Conciliation Process for Mandatory and Voluntary Participants

The conciliation process must be followed for:

• mandatory NHEP participants;

• voluntary NHEP participants who request to participate within the 3 month disqualification period following an act of non-compliance, and

• NHEP applicants or recipients who voluntarily quit or refuse to accept employment.

Exception: Do not begin the conciliation process for individuals previously exempt from participation in NHEP work activities due to pregnancy or whose youngest child is between 12 weeks and 2 years of age (or age 1 if conceived on assistance), who are now mandatory for NHEP work activities upon receiving 39 or more months of NHEP financial assistance. Use the Special Pre-Conciliation Procedures specified below.

Notification of Non-Compliance

When an NHEP participant fails to comply with an NHEP requirement, official notification is sent to inform the participant of the:

• specific act of non-compliance;

• opportunity to claim a good cause reason for failure to meet the NHEP program requirement;

• action required by the individual to remove the sanction;

• availability of a conciliation meeting with a supervisor (or designee) to show evidence of compliance or substantiation of good cause for non-compliance;

• participant’s right to bring a representative of his/her choosing to the conciliation meeting; and

• right to a fair hearing.

Conditions for Sanctioning

A sanction is applied under any of the following circumstances:

• the participant does not contact the NHEP team within 15 days of the date of the official notification of noncompliance (or the verified postmark date of the notice as supplied by the individual) to schedule a conciliation meeting;

• the participant does not participate in the conciliation meeting within 30 days of the date of the official notification of noncompliance; or

• the supervisor (or designee) determines, as a result of the conciliation conference, that the individual did not have good cause for non-compliance, and has notified the individual in writing of the good cause decision.

Special Pre-Conciliation Procedures

For previously exempt individuals who are newly mandatory for NHEP activities due to receiving 39 or more months of NHEP financial assistance (see Exception above), use the following special pre-conciliation procedures when unable to engage and/or maintain the individual’s compliance with NHEP participation requirements:

• Do not send the non-compliance letter, WP0012, if, within a reasonable timeframe, the best efforts put forth by NHEP team members, District Office staff, and/or NHEP Partner Agency staff to contact the individual, including sending additional letters and attempting to contact by phone, fail. Instead, staff must provide the following information in writing to the TANF Administrator at State Office:

- the recipient’s name;

- the recipient’s RID number; and

- a detailed summary of attempts to reach and work with the client.

• State Office staff will review the information provided and may contact the individual by telephone or mail. State Office will instruct the individual to call the DFA toll-free telephone number (1-800-852-3345, extension 4257) and leave a voice mail message indicating the best time for State Office to call back.

• Within 2 weeks of receipt of the case information specified above, the TANF Administrator will issue a written summary of all State Office activities and a recommendation whether or not to proceed with the formal conciliation process to the NHEP team, District Office case technician, and the individual.