SR 09-11 Dated 11/09

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

INTER-DEPARTMENT COMMUNICATION

SUMMARY

The SR releases the reinstitution of the Interim Disabled Parent (IDP) financial and medical assistance program which was temporarily suspended in December 2008 due to a Governor’s Executive Order. As of October 1, 2009, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) maintenance of effort (MOE) funds became available which allowed this program to be offered again. There were no changes to the eligibility requirements for the program once the program started back up in October, however due to how the IDP program is now funded:

·   IDP recipients now count towards Federal work participation rates; and

·   there is no longer a choice offered between the NHEP and IDP program; if the household is eligible for IDP, the household receives IDP assistance.

Due to the reinstitution of the IDP program, a few revisions were made to DFA Form 260, Financial Assistance to Needy Families (FANF) Fact Sheet, and DFA Form 261, Financial Assistance to Needy Families (FANF) Interview Checklist. The choice of program text was removed from DFA Form 260, and in DFA Form 261 one of the FANF discussion topics that was removed in July 2009, via SR 09-22, when it was thought that the IDP program would be unavailable for a longer period of time, was added back to the form.

This SR also releases the following form changes unrelated to the reinstitution of the IDP program:

·   DFA Form 242, The 60-Month Lifetime Limit on Financial Assistance To Needy Families (FANF), was corrected to indicate that receipt of Families With Older Children (FWOC) financial assistance does not advance the Federal 60-month lifetime limit clock; receipt of FWOC only advances the NH state 60-month clock. In the last two revisions to this pamphlet, text was mistakenly worded to indicate otherwise. Policy clearly indicates that receipt of FWOC only advances the state clock, so no other policy changes are required;

·   DFA Form 752a, Authorization for Release of Protected Health Information, was revised to reduce this currently 4-PART NCR to a more cost-effective 2-PART NCR. Its instructions were updated accordingly. No other changes were made to the DFA Form 752 medical exemption process; and

·   New HEIGHTS-generated AE0026, Verification Checklist, and AE0055, Proof Needed to Determine Your Assistance, were both revised to eliminate the need for a signature. DFA Form 808, Proof Needed to Determine Your Assistance, the paper backup to the New HEIGHTS forms, and the instructions to DFA Form 808, were also updated to reflect this change. Revisions were also made to the "Examples of Acceptable Proofs" page of DFA Form 808 to better align with revisions made to DFA Form 800V, Examples of Acceptable Verifications Needed to Determine Eligibility, released in SR 09-07, dated April 2009.

BACKGROUND

When the IDP program was temporarily suspended in December 2008 due to a Governor’s Executive Order, no recipient of IDP lost financial or medical assistance; families that had been receiving IDP financial or medical assistance were converted to NHEP or Family Assistance Program (FAP) financial and/or medical assistance, as appropriate. However, the conversion was not considered to be permanent because as soon as funds became available, the Department planned to offer IDP again. As such, IDP policy was never removed from the Family Assistance Manual, and DFA Form 260, Financial Assistance to Needy Families (FANF) Fact Sheet, which describes all the FANF categories of financial assistance, including IDP, continued to be provided to all FANF applicants.

POLICY

TANF MOE funds to reinstitute the IDP program became available October 1, 2009, and DFA began to offer the IDP program to clients immediately. All IDP eligibility criteria has remained the same, except that prior to the elimination of the program back in December 2008:

·   IDP recipients did not count towards federal work participation rates. Now, due to how the IDP program is funded, IDP recipients will count towards federal work participation rates; and

·   IDP-eligible recipients were offered a choice between the IDP and NHEP categories of assistance because at one time, eligibility for EFS benefits as well as how recipients impacted NH’s federal work participation rates differed between the two programs. An earlier SR expanded EFS benefits to all categories of FANF and recipients in both programs now count towards federal work participation rates, so the reason to offer a choice is now moot.

Since opting out of IDP to opt into the NHEP program also meant that recipients had to assign child support to the state as a condition of eligibility and that receipt of cash assistance counted towards the federal and state clocks, whereas IDP recipients are not required to assign child support to the state and receipt of IDP only counts towards the NH state clock, it is better for the family to remain in IDP, if eligible. All other benefit and eligibility requirements remain unchanged.

DFA Form 260, Financial Assistance to Needy Families (FANF) Fact Sheet, was revised to remove the choice of program text related to the IDP and NHEP programs. DFA Form 261, Financial Assistance to Needy Families (FANF) Interview Checklist, was revised to add back in the FANF discussion topic that was removed in July 2009, via SR 09-22, when it was thought that the IDP program would be unavailable for a longer period of time. Instructions for both forms were updated accordingly.

The new versions of both forms will not be printed until the current supply is exhausted. Until the new versions of the form are received, FSS must:

·   discuss the various FANF categories with the client during the eligibility interview; and

·   explain that there is no longer a choice between NHEP and IDP, if the individual asks, and explain that because receipt of NHEP advances the federal lifetime clock as well as the state clock, that it is in the individual’s best interest to receive IDP if eligible for it, as receipt of IDP only advances the state clock. Because the federal clock is not advanced during receipt of IDP, if the individual’s family moved to another state, months receiving NH IDP financial assistance would not count towards the family’s lifetime limit of receipt of TANF financial assistance in that new state.

UNRELATED FORM CHANGES

DFA Form 242-Related Changes

DFA Form 242, The 60-Month Lifetime Limit on Financial Assistance To Needy Families (FANF), was corrected to indicate that receipt of Families With Older Children (FWOC) financial assistance does not advance the federal 60-month lifetime limit clock; receipt of FWOC financial assistance only advances the NH state 60-month clock. In the last two revisions to this pamphlet, text was mistakenly worded to indicate that the federal clock was advanced if receiving assistance from the FWOC program. The Berlin District Office address was also updated to reflect its new location. Continue to use the old version of DFA Form 242 until the supply is exhausted, verbally indicating to FWOC recipients that only the state clock is advanced during the receipt of FWOC financial assistance. The new version of this form will be printed when the current supply is exhausted.

DFA Form 752a-Related Changes

DFA Form 752a, Authorization for Release of Protected Health Information, and its associated instructions were revised to reduce this currently 4-part NCR to a more cost-effective 2-part NCR. Clients and the District or NHEP office worker will no longer receive a copy of the form. If clients request a copy of the form while in the office, the worker can make a copy of the form for the client. The white copy (original) of the DFA Form 752a is for the Healthcare Provider and the yellow copy is sent to the TANF Program Analyst. No other changes have been made to the DFA Form 752 medical exemption process. Continue to use the 4-part NCR version of the form until the supply is gone. The new version of this form will be printed when the current supply has been exhausted.

New HEIGHTS-Generated AE0026, AE0055 and DFA Form 808-Related Changes

New HEIGHTS-generated AE0026, Verification Checklist, and AE0055, Proof Needed to Determine Your Assistance, were both revised to eliminate the need for a signature. DFA Form 808, Proof Needed to Determine Your Assistance, the paper backup to the New HEIGHTS forms, and the instructions to DFA Form 808 were also updated to reflect this change. Revisions were also made to the "Examples of Acceptable Proofs" page of DFA Form 808 to better align with revisions made to DFA Form 800V, Examples of Acceptable Verifications Needed to Determine Eligibility, released in SR 09-07, dated April 2009.

As DFA Form 808 is only a paper backup to the New HEIGHTS-generated AE0026 and AE0055, use of the paper form should be minimal. However, the new version of DFA Form 808 will be printed when the current supply is exhausted. In the meantime, if the paper version is used, refrain from requiring a signature from the client on the form.

NEW HEIGHTS SYSTEMS PROCEDURES AND IMPLEMENTATION

New HEIGHTS began determining eligibility for the IDP program effective October 1, 2009. The new versions of the New HEIGHTS-generated AE0026 and AE0055 began being generated November 12, 2009. New HEIGHTS released the revised letters under separate cover.

POLICY MANUAL REVISIONS

Revised Family Assistance Manual Topics

PART 129   PENDING INFORMATION

PART 147   ACTIONS ON CHANGES

Section 161.03   Required Verification for Redetermination/Recertification

Section 161.05   Processing Redeterminations/Recertifications

PART 203   FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO NEEDY FAMILIES

Section 203.09   Interim Disabled Parent (IDP)

Revised Adult Assistance Manual Topics

PART 121   INTERVIEWS

PART 123   PENDING INFORMATION

PART 141   ACTIONS ON CHANGES

Section 155.01   Timely Notice

Section 155.05   Required Verification for Redetermination

Revised Food Stamp Manual Topics

Section 125.13   Postponed Verification

PART 129   PENDING INFORMATION

PART 147   ACTIONS ON CHANGES

Section 161.03   Required Verification for Redetermination/Recertification

IMPLEMENTATION

The IDP program was reinstituted October 1, 2009. Staff must continue to use the current versions of DFA Form 260 and DFA Form 261 until the supply is exhausted. At that time, the new versions will be printed.

Similarly, the new versions of DFA Forms 242, 752a, and 808 will be printed when the current supply of the forms has been exhausted.

CLIENT NOTIFICATION

No special client notification is planned.

TRAINING

No special training is planned or needed.

FORMS MANUAL POSTING INSTRUCTIONS

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.nh.gov/DHHS/DFA/LIBRARY, effective December 7, 2009. Additionally, this SR, and printed pages with posting instructions, will be distributed under separate cover to all internal hard copy holders of the Family Assistance, Adult Assistance, Food Stamp, and Forms Manuals.

DFA/JBV:s