SR 14-07 Dated 01/14

 

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

INTER-DEPARTMENT COMMUNICATION

 

FROM OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR, DFA:

JSO for Terry R. Smith

DFA SIGNATURE DATE:

December 19, 2013

AT (OFFICE):

Division of Family Assistance

TO:

District Office Supervisors

 

SUBJECT:

Concurrent Receipt of Local Welfare and Old Age Assistance (OAA) or Aid to the Permanently and Totally Disabled (APTD) Financial Assistance Is Now Allowed; Related Policy Clarification: Eliminating County Liability for OAA and APTD Recipients

EFFECTIVE DATE:

January 1, 2014 for Concurrent Receipt of Welfare and OAA/APTD policy

RETROACTIVE EFFECTIVE DATE:

July 1, 2008 for County Liability policy

 

SUMMARY

 

This SR releases:

 

·      a policy change that allows concurrent receipt of local welfare and Old Age Assistance (OAA) or Aid to the Permanently and Totally Disabled (APTD) financial assistance. This policy change is based upon amendments to RSA 167:27; and

·      A related policy correction to the Adult Assistance Manual (AAM) to accurately reflect changes to RSA 167:18-a that removed the county liability for financial assistance to APTD or OAA recipients. Although this policy change was implemented in July 2008, the policy in the AAM was never updated. This oversight is now being corrected.

 

FORMER POLICY

NEW/CURRENT POLICY

Recipients of APTD or OAA financial assistance could not simultaneously receive local welfare.

Recipients of APTD or OAA financial assistance can now simultaneously receive local welfare. Local welfare assistance, also called direct relief, is considered excluded income.

Counties were liable to pay a proportionate share of financial assistance granted to OAA and APTD recipients.

Counties are no longer liable for paying a proportionate share of financial assistance granted to OAA and APTD recipients.

 

POLICY

 

Recipients of APTD and OAA financial assistance may concurrently receive local welfare. Local welfare assistance, also referred to as direct relief, is considered excluded income.

 

RELATED POLICY CLARIFICATION

 

AAM 313, LEGAL LIABILITIES OF COUNTIES, is being updated to align text with existing policy, practice, and current state law that removes the county’s liability for paying a proportionate share of financial assistance to OAA and APTD recipients.

 

POLICY MANUAL REVISIONS

 

Revised Adult Assistance Manual Topics

 

Section 109.15  Concurrent Receipt of Financial Assistance

PART 313  LEGAL LIABILITIES OF COUNTIES

 

IMPLEMENTATION

 

The policy released in this SR allowing the concurrent receipt of OAA and APTD financial assistance with local financial assistance is effective January 1, 2014.

 

Policy removing county liability for proportionate payments of financial assistance to OAA and APTD recipients was implemented as of July 1, 2008.

 

CLIENT NOTIFICATION

 

No special client notification is planned.

 

TRAINING

 

No special training is planned.

 

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 www.dhhs.nh.gov/DFA/publications.htm, effective February 3, 2014. Additionally, this SR, and printed pages with posting instructions, will be distributed under separate cover to all internal hard copy holders of the Adult Assistance Manual.

 

DFA/KD:s