SR 03-33 Dated 09/03

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

INTER-DEPARTMENT COMMUNICATION

SUMMARY

This SR releases simplified requirements for verifying changes in earned income and Food Stamp deductions which have been reported by recipients of financial assistance, medical assistance, Food Stamp benefits, or Child Care assistance.

Effective October 1, 2003 for medical assistance-only programs and September 1, 2003 for all other programs, Family Services Specialists (FSS) must first attempt collateral contact when verifying reported changes in:

·   earned income; or

·   Food Stamp deductions.

If collateral contact is unsuccessful, FSS must verify the change using:

·   information provided by the client, if the change is expected to decrease benefits; or

·   standard verification procedures, if the change is expected to increase benefits.

In addition, this SR releases simplified requirements for verifying Food Stamp deductions at recertifications. Unless the information provided by the Food Stamp recipient is questionable, re-verification of Food Stamp deductions is no longer necessary if the deduction:

·   is incurred by the recipient and payment from the recipient is expected;

·   has not changed from the last certification; and

·   was previously verified by a third party.

* When "Yes" is chosen, New HEIGHTS will consider the employment information "verified" if the system determines that the change will cause benefits to decrease, and as long as all other information in the case has been verified. However, if New HEIGHTS determines that the change will cause benefits to increase, the system will consider the employment information as "not yet verified," even if "Yes" was selected, and FSS must then use standard verification procedures to verify.

POLICY

Effective October 1, 2003 for medical assistance-only programs and September 1, 2003 for all other programs, verification requirements for reported changes in earnings or food stamp deductions will be simpler. FSS will:

·   first attempt collateral contact to verify reported or discovered changes in earned income or food stamp deductions. If a successful collateral contact is made, no additional paper verification is needed. The reported change is considered as verified and is entered into New HEIGHTS as verified; or

·   if collateral contact is unsuccessful, FSS must:

-   verify the reported change by using standard verification procedures, if the change is expected to increase benefits; or

-   verify the reported change by using information provided by the client, if the change is expected to reduce or close benefits. FSS must select "yes" to new statement "Determine eligibility using client statement," if an earnings change, or "verified," if a Food Stamp deduction change, using the client’s statement as verification. No additional paper verification is needed.

Note: Simplified verification requirements apply only to certain changes reported by recipients, and does not apply to verifying information provided by applicants. Additionally, policy regarding when and what a recipient must report remains unchanged (see SR 02-32, dated October 2002, and the Director’s Memo dated July 22, 2003).

In general, the simplified verification requirements will allow FSS to act on and confirm changes timely. However, standard verification procedures will continue to be necessary when FSS must act on:

·   changes in earned income discovered through the New Hire Match. Attempt collateral contact first but if it is unsuccessful, send Form 756, Employment Verification Request, to the employer, and allow 10 days for the required verification; or

·   insufficient or questionable client information which does not allow the FSS to verify the change based upon the client’s statement.

Food Stamp Recertifications

Unless questionable, it is no longer required at Food Stamp recertifications to re-verify food stamp deductions incurred by the recipient if:

·   payment from the recipient is expected;

·   there have been no changes in the deductions; and

·   the deductions have been previously verified by a third party.

However, if the shelter deduction has changed because the recipient has moved, residence must still be verified by a third party.

PROCEDURES

For all reported changes in earned income or Food Stamp deductions, successful collateral contact is considered verified information. Enter as "verified" in New HEIGHTS and confirm the case, taking no further action. Verify normally at the next redetermination/recertification or change in deduction. If collateral contact for reported changes in earned income was successful, do not send Form 756, Employment Verification Request, or Form 776, Verification of Terminated Employment.

Procedures are noted below for when FSS are unsuccessful in making collateral contact.

New or Increased Earnings That Are Expected to Decrease Benefits

·   If unsuccessful in making contact with the employer, use reasonable information from the recipient to verify the change. Document clearly in case notes. Leave the verification field as "Not yet verified" on the Employment screen and select "Yes" for new statement "Determine Eligibility Using Client Statement," or the case will pend. New HEIGHTS will consider the new or increased earnings as verified if the system determines that the change will cause benefits to decrease. If there is no other unverified information in the case, confirm. Verify using standard procedures at next redetermination/recertification.

Note: If New HEIGHTS determines that the entered change will cause benefits to increase, the system will consider the earnings as "not yet verified," even if "Yes" was selected, and FSS must then use standard verification procedures to verify. If required verification is not provided within the 10 days, terminate benefits for "Refused/Failure to Verify."

·   For changes discovered through the New Hire Match, attempt collateral contact and, if not successful, send Form 756, Employment Verification Request. If required verification is not provided within the 10 days, terminate benefits for "Refused/Failure to Verify."

·   For changes reported to the NHEP Team, the Team member will enter the new or increased earnings information (employer, begin date, anticipated hours, rate and frequency of pay, first pay date, and tips and commissions, if anticipated) into the "WP Employment Assessment" screen. Form 756, Employment Verification Request, will not be provided to the recipient. FSS will immediately receive an alert stating "Work Program Changed Employment – Verify." FSS must then attempt collateral contact to verify the entered information, or, if collateral contact is unsuccessful, FSS will confirm the change based upon the information that the NHEP Team Member entered, which substitutes as the client statement. Effective November 1, 2003, the "WP Employment Assessment" screen will contain fields for the NHEP Team to enter the new or changed earnings information as described above. Until that time, Team Members must enter the data into the "Duties & Responsibilities/Skills" field.

·   For changes reported to DFA Support Staff, Support Staff will enter the same new or increased earnings information as indicated for the NHEP Team above, into the details section of the "Expected Change" screen. This screen will be printed and provided to the FSS so that the FSS can attempt collateral contact to verify the entered information. If collateral contact is unsuccessful, FSS will confirm the change based upon the information that the Support Staff entered, which substitutes as the client statement.

Loss of or Decreased Earnings That Are Expected to Increase Benefits

If unsuccessful in making contact with the employer, send Form 756, Employment Verification Request, or Form 776, Verification of Terminated Employment, to the employer and act within 10 days. If the recipient fails to verify within the 10 days, terminate benefits for "Refused/Failure to Verify."

Increased Food Stamp Deductions That Are Expected to Increase Benefits

If unsuccessful in making collateral contact, request standard verification. Enter "Not yet verified" on the appropriate deduction screen. If verification has not been provided within the 10 days, New HEIGHTS will not use the deduction when computing the budget.

Note: All unverified deductions older than 10 days will default to "0" in the October Food Stamp Mass Change.

Decreased Food Stamp Deductions That Are Expected to Decrease Benefits

If unsuccessful in making collateral contact, enter the change into New HEIGHTS using the client’s statement. Document in case notes. Mark as "verified," and confirm the case. Do not request further verification until the next recertification or change in deduction.

POLICY MANUAL REVISIONS

Revised Family Assistance Manual Topics

PART 107    PROVIDING VERIFICATION

PART 147    ACTIONS ON CHANGES

PART 151    CHANGES THAT INCREASE BENEFITS

PART 153    CHANGES THAT DECREASE BENEFITS

PART 509    VERIFICATION

Revised Adult Assistance Manual Topics

PART 107    PROVIDING VERIFICATION

PART 141    ACTIONS ON CHANGES

PART 143    CHANGES THAT INCREASE BENEFITS

PART 145    CHANGES THAT DECREASE BENEFITS

PART 509    VERIFICATION

Revised Food Stamp Manual Topics

PART 107    PROVIDING VERIFICATION

PART 147    ACTIONS ON CHANGES

PART 151    CHANGES THAT INCREASE BENEFITS

PART 153    CHANGES THAT DECREASE BENEFITS

Section 161.03    Required Verification for Redetermination/Recertification

PART 509    VERIFICATION

Section 603.11   Verification of Deductions

IMPLEMENTATION

The simplified verification requirements for reported changes in earned income and food stamp deductions are effective:

·   September 1, 2003 for the Food Stamp Program, Financial Assistance, and Child Care assistance; and

·   October 1, 2003 for Medicaid-only and QMB/SLMB.

CLIENT NOTIFICATION

No special client notification is planned.

TRAINING

The NHEP Team was advised of these changes at their meeting held on August 14, 2003. DFA Supervisors were notified of the new policy during the monthly Supervisor’s Meeting scheduled on Tuesday August 19, 2003. The Training Unit trained Support Staff on August 19, 2003 and updated the Speedy Reference Guide and Committing to Great Customer Service manual as well. A remote training for all DFA staff has also been scheduled for Thursday August 28, 2003.

DISPOSITION

This SR may be destroyed or deleted after its contents have been noted and the revised manual topics released by this SR have been posted to the On-line manuals.

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/DHHS/DFA/LIBRARY, effective October 1, 2003

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

DFA/JBV:s