SR 00-06 Dated 02/00

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

INTER-DEPARTMENT COMMUNICATION

SUMMARY

This SR adds to Section 209.21 of the Family Assistance Manual (FAM) the specific steps case technicians must use to obtain a best estimate of monthly work hours when determining eligibility for TANF assistance based upon deprivation due to unemployment of the Principal Wage Earner (PWE). Clarifications of policy and technical corrections to the Manual were also made to other sections within FAM Part 209, and to Parts 219 and 225. These corrections and clarifications were made to replace obsolete references to departmental units (e.g., replacing references to "OMS" with "Medicaid Administration Bureau" or "MAB"), and to enhance the accuracy and clarity of written policy.

POLICY

Revised Family Assistance Manual Topics

Section 209.05 Continued Absence of a Parent

Section 209.07 Continued Absence of a Parent: 30-Day Continued Absence Period

Section 209.09 Incapacity

Section 209.11 Incapacity: 30-Day Incapacity Requirement

Section 209.13 Incapacity: Case Tech Determines Incapacity

Section 209.15 Incapacity: Determining Incapacity for Parents in Optional Programs

Section 209.17 Incapacity: Increased Earnings by an Incapacitated Parent

Section 209.19 Unemployment of Principal Wage Earner

Section 209.21 Unemployment: Definition of Unemployed

Section 209.23 Unemployment: Eligibility by Work and Education History

Section 209.27 Unemployment: NH Employment Security

Section 209.29 Unemployment: Refusing an Offer of Employment or Training

Section 209.37 Verification of Deprivation

Section 219  CHILDREN UP TO AGE 19

Section 225  HOME CARE FOR CHILDREN WITH SEVERE DISABILITIES (HC-CSD)

CLARIFICATIONS AND TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS TO TANF UNEMPLOYED PARENT POLICY

FAM 209.19: Unemployment of Principal Wage Earner (PWE)

Text was added to clarify the two-part process that occurs during a two-parent household’s initial application for TANF assistance based upon deprivation due to unemployment. The first process establishes one parent as the Principal Wage Earner (PWE). The designated PWE must then meet the criteria determining unemployment status.

FAM 209.21: Unemployment: Definition of Unemployed

Text was added to this section specifying the steps case technicians must take in obtaining a best estimate of the PWE’s monthly work hours when determining eligibility for TANF assistance based upon deprivation due to unemployment.

Initial Determination of Unemployed Status

For the PWE to meet the definition of "unemployed," the case technician must have documentation validating that the PWE is currently working less than 100 hours per month on average, and that the PWE’s future work hours will be less than 100 hours per month on average, using a best estimate. Consider the following information when making the best estimate:

 If the number of hours worked by the PWE in the current month is less than 100 hours and is representative of anticipated future hours, the best estimate is the number of hours worked in the current month.

 If the number of hours worked in the current month is less than 100 hours but is not representative of anticipated hours in future months, the best estimate is the number of hours per month anticipated to be worked in the future. In most cases, this means that deprivation does not exist.

 If the number of hours worked in the current month is greater than 100 hours, and documentation indicates the client is anticipated to work less than 100 hours in future months, review the number of hours worked in the previous 2 month period when determining the best estimate, subject to the following:

 the average number of hours worked by the PWE in both of the previous 2 months must be less than 100 hours, or deprivation due to unemployment of the PWE does not exist;

 if the average number of hours worked in the previous 2 months is less than 100 hours, but future hours are anticipated to be more than 100 hours, the best estimate is equal to the number of hours anticipated to be worked in the future;

 if the number of hours worked in the current and previous 2-month period is greater than 100 hours per month, but verified anticipated hours in the future are less than 100 hours, deny the application. The individual should be encouraged to reapply when he or she is working less than 100 hours;

Exceptions to the two-month averaging:

 if fluctuating hours have been worked less than 2 months, use the actual number of hours worked in the most recent full month. If this number is more than 100 hours, deprivation due to unemployment of the PWE does not exist;

 if earned income in the previous 2 months is higher or lower than current or anticipated earnings and does not reflect a best estimate of current and future hours as determined above, the best estimate is based on the number of anticipated hours to be worked in the future;

Continuing Eligibility: Changes in Employment Status

 If documentation indicates that a currently eligible individual worked more than 100 hours in a month, or anticipates working more than 100 hours in a month in the future, determine a new best estimate to ascertain whether the individual expects to continue working more than 100 hours per month for longer than 1 month. If the individual will work 100 hours or more for longer than one month, deprivation due to unemployment of the PWE no longer exists.

 if earned income in the previous 2 months is higher or lower than current or anticipated earnings and does not reflect a best estimate of current and future hours as determined above, determine a new best estimate for the remainder of the current period of eligibility based on anticipated hours to be worked in the future.

The following chart summarizes best estimate determination:

FAM 209.23: Unemployment: Eligibility by Work and Education History

Text was added to more clearly delineate a calendar quarter and the Example was removed. An explanation was added to clarify that the phrase "the PWE must have worked at least 6 calendar quarters in a period of 13 consecutive calendar quarters ending within 1 year prior to application for assistance" means that at least one calendar quarter used to establish unemployment of the PWE must have occurred within the previous 12 months.

FAM 209.27: Unemployment: NH Employment Security

Grammatical revisions were made regarding the situations in which the PWE is still considered eligible for unemployment compensation benefits by DFA even when the PWE has been disqualified by the NHES.

FAM 209.29: Unemployment: Refusing an Offer of Employment or Training

In addition to minor grammatical revisions and terminology updating, text was added to clarify the policy that the PWE must not have refused a definite offer of employment within 30 days prior to receipt of assistance, as long as the offer was at a wage that is customary for the community. The current wording of the policy could be interpreted as allowing an unemployed individual good cause for refusing any job offer that did not provide a salary commensurate with the individual’s salary prior to becoming unemployed. The intent of the policy, however, is to address the salary or wage that is linked to the new offer of employment and allow good cause for refusing a job offer with a salary that is not fair and equitable for that specific position within that specific community.

For example, a computer programmer who had been earning $60,000 a year prior to becoming unemployed would NOT have good cause for refusing an offer of employment managing a restaurant for $22,000 a year based merely upon the salary

difference. However, the computer programmer may have good cause for refusing that offer if he had been offered $22,000 a year to manage the restaurant while other managers of the restaurant in that community are usually offered $42,000 a year. The proffered salary of $22,000 would not be at a wage that is customary for that specific position in that community.

OTHER CLARIFICATIONS AND TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS TO THE FAMILY ASSISTANCE MANUAL

FAM 209: TANF DEPRIVATION

Policy relating to TANF deprivation and eligibility was rewritten to more clearly reflect rules or state law:

 Text was added to FAM 209.05 and 209.07 to more clearly establish that deprivation due to continued absence is not met until one or both parents are physically absent from the child for at least 30 continuous days, and that the verification process begins anew if familial circumstances change as reported by the client or third party.

 Text was added to FAM 209.09, 209.11, 209.13, 209.15, and 209.17 to clarify that eligibility for deprivation due to incapacity requires that a parent be physically or mentally incapacitated for at least 30 days. Corrections were made throughout this section regarding the Office for Medical Services’ (OMS) name change to Medicaid Administration Bureau (MAB).

 Form names were updated in FAM 209.13.

 Criteria used when rejecting a client-written declaration of unemployment were rewritten for clarity, and forms required to verify deprivation due to incapacity were updated as needed, in FAM 209.37.

FAM 219: CHILDREN UP TO AGE 19

Text stating that there is no requirement that a child live with a parent or specified relative in order to be eligible for HKG-185 or HKG-300 medical coverage has been returned to FAM 219. This text was inadvertently omitted when this policy was transferred in 1994 from the former Public Assistance Manual to the Family Assistance Manual.

FAM 225: HOME CARE FOR CHILDREN WITH SEVERE DISABILITIES (HC-CSD)

Technical corrections have been made to the electronic links to other Parts of the FAM, and to the AAM, to indicate the correct reference sites for income and resource limits used to determine financial eligibility for this medical coverage group.

CLIENT NOTIFICATION

No client notification is needed or planned due to the procedural nature of this SR.

TRAINING

No training is required or planned.

DISPOSITION

This SR may be deleted or destroyed once its contents have been noted and the revised manual pages released by this SR have been posted to the On-Line Manual.

DISTRIBUTION

This SR will be distributed according to the electronic distribution list for Division of Family Assistance policy releases. This SR, and revised On-Line Manuals, will be available for agency staff in the On-Line Manual Library, and for public access on the Internet at http://www.dhhs.state.nh.us/PMIndex.htm, effective February 1, 2000.

This SR, and printed pages with posting instructions, will be distributed under separate cover to all hard copy holders of the Family Assistance Manual.

DFA/JBV:s