Interim Acitivities SR 06-12, 10/06 (FAM-A)

An individual may participate in interim activities when the activity has been determined to be reasonable and necessary for his or her entrance into or success in the work force. Participation in an interim activity may not count towards federal reporting requirements; however, NHEP participants enrolled in Interim Activities must fulfill all agreements outlined in their employment plan. Activities include:

• Barrier Resolution; and

• Family Intervention.

Barrier Resolution

A serious and substantial personal barrier is the temporary inability of the individual to seek and accept employment due to a debilitating situation including but not limited to:

• Homelessness;

• Impending eviction;

• Substance abuse or addiction of the individual or family member;

• A crisis within the family or with a child or another family member;

• Domestic abuse;

• Physical or mental disability, emotional or mental instability, including depression;

• Legal problems; or

• Any other serious and substantial personal situation which needs to be resolved before employment or preparation for employment shall be pursued.

Barrier resolution services, classified as an interim activity, are available to NHEP individuals in any phase of the program and whenever possible should be combined with any other NHEP activities specified on the EP.

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Participant Requirements

• Individuals are required to participate in NHEP services or be referred to community services as their NHEP activity to resolve the temporary serious and substantial personal barriers when agreed upon with the individual and identified on their Employability Plan. Interim activities that address a serious personal barrier are only required provided that the services are covered by Medicaid, or do not generate a cost to the NHEP individual.

• Individuals must not be referred to any barrier resolution activities unless agreed upon by the participant.

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• Minimum hourly participation requirements do not apply to individuals actively participating, cooperating, and progressing in barrier resolution activities.

• Hourly participation in barrier resolution activity is not counted toward federal participation.

Support Services

The following support services may be authorized for this activity:

• Child care assistance; and

• Transportation assistance (payment to enrolled public/private carriers, mileage and auto repair reimbursement).

Family Intervention

Family Intervention is an Interim activity when the following exists:

• barriers to NHEP participation;

• interpersonal/behavioral issues or the participant has children with these issues;

• involvement in or a history of domestic violence or abuse of drugs or alcohol; or

• a need for an assessment to determine if any barriers exists.

When an assistance group (AG) reaches a third level sanction, the participant may participate in a home-based assessment to identify barriers causing the lack of engagement in NHEP:

- if barriers exist which inhibit the AG’s ability to comply with NHEP work requirements, the AG’s employability plan (EP) is revised accordingly. Upon 2 weeks of full cooperation with NHEP and the revised EP, the AG’s payment level is returned to its pre-sanction amount; or

- if no barriers are determined to exist, upon 2 weeks of full cooperation with the NHEP, the AG’s payment plan is returned to it’s pre-sanction amount.