SR 97-20 Dated 07/97

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

INTER-DEPARTMENT COMMUNICATION

SUMMARY

This SR implements policy on progressive sanctions for New Hampshire Employment Program (NHEP) participants who fail to meet program requirements. Also, this SR eliminates policy requiring the counting of educational income when determining eligibility for assistance payments, medical assistance, and food stamps. In addition, it releases revised Form 220, Notice of Failure to Meet Work Requirements, and related instructions, and releases changes to the Family Assistance Manual and EMS Handbook incorporating these new policies. EMS Handbook is also updated to include new Work Registration Codes released by SR 97-9.

POLICY

New Progressive Sanctions for Individuals Who Fail to Meet NHEP Work Requirements

Both NHEP, and its predecessor the JOBS program, sanctioned mandatory individuals for failure to comply with work program requirements. However, under both programs, the sanction remained the same - the removal of the needs of the noncomplying parent - no matter how long the individual failed to comply. Disqualified dependent children were removed from the financial assistance case but moved to a separate MA case.

Effective with this SR, failure to meet NHEP work requirements, including voluntarily quitting or refusing suitable employment, without good cause, will result in the application of progressive sanctions. Progressive Sanctions means that as the period of time or number of times that the individual is noncompliant increases, so does the severity of the penalties applied to the case.

Note: NHEP work requirements are described in FAM Chapter 800, Part 808. "Good Cause" reasons for failure or refusal to comply with NHEP work program requirements are discussed in FAM Chapter 800, while "good cause" reasons for voluntary quitting or refusing suitable employment are found in FAM 315.

Progressive Levels of NHEP Sanctions

Sanctions are characterized as Level 1, Level 2 or Level 3, based on the amount of time or number of times the individual fails or refuses to comply with NHEP program requirements. Unless the noncompliant individual takes action to end the sanction (see Determining the End of a Sanction, page 3 of this SR), the penalties automatically "progress" to the next higher level.

Note: Progressive sanctions only apply to the parent or caretaker relative included. Dependent children have only one uniform sanction regardless of how long the child fails to comply (see Uniform Sanctions for Dependent Children, page 3 of this SR).

? Level 1 - For the first instance of non-compliance, or for failures that occur more than 6 months after the end of the most recent sanction period, remove the needs of the non-compliant individual, when determining NHEP eligibility and grant amount, for one payment period or until the failure to comply ceases, whichever is longer. The payment standard with the individual's needs removed is called the adjusted payment standard.

? Level 2 - After 6 consecutive payroll periods of continued non-compliance without good cause, reduce the adjusted payment standard determined in level 1 above by 1/3 for one payment period or until the failure to comply ceases, whichever is longer.

? Level 3 - After 6 additional consecutive payroll periods of continued non-compliance, reduce the adjusted payment standard determined in level 1 above by 2/3 for one payment period or until the failure to comply ceases, whichever is longer.

Subsequent Failures to Comply within 6 Months of the End of the most Recent Sanction

For subsequent failures to comply which occur at any time within 6 months of the end of the most recent sanction period, reduce the payment standard by the next highest payment reduction level and progress as described above.

EXAMPLE

After a month of being sanctioned at Level 1, Sam takes part in an approved activity and the Level 1 sanction is removed. Then, 2 months later, Sam again does not comply with work requirements without good cause. Because Sam failed to meet a work requirement within 6 months of his last sanction, Sam's sanction would begin at Level 2. Sam's needs would be removed to determine the adjusted payment standard, and the adjusted payment standard would also be reduced by one third.

Refer to the EMS Handbook and the Systems Changes section of this SR for procedures on initiating and removing sanctions.

Uniform Sanctions for Dependent Children

Dependent children are not subject to progressive sanctions. Remove the needs of the non-compliant dependent child when determining the NHEP eligibility amount for one payment period or until the failure to comply ceases, whichever is longer. If the noncompliant dependent child is the only child in the case, close or deny the NHEP financial assistance case.

Note: Since, in the above child only case situation, the case is no longer eligible due to loss of categorical eligibility (no eligible child), do not prevent a food stamp increase by adding the former grant amount using code 307.

Determining the End of a Sanction

The sanction ends when the individual's failure to comply has ceased as defined below:

? If an individual voluntarily quit a job, or refused a suitable job, the individual can end the sanction by working in paid employment, an On-the-Job-Training (OJT) position, or an Alternative Work Experience Placement (AWEP) for a minimum of 20 hours per week.

? For a level 1 sanction due to failure to meet a work related participation requirement, the sanctioned individual must participate in an assigned approved NHEP activity for a minimum period of 2 weeks.

? For a level 2 or 3 sanction due to failure to meet a work related participation requirement, the sanctioned individual must participate in an assigned approved NHEP activity.

When Sanctioned Individuals are Unable to Comply with Work Requirements In Order to Remove a Sanction

Do not apply a sanction, even if noncompliance occurred without good cause, if the noncompliant individual is unable to immediately come into compliance with NHEP work requirements in order to remove a sanction penalty.

? Care must be taken not to confuse an "inability to come into compliance" with "temporary exemption" from NHEP participation (see FAM 800 for a list of exemptions from NHEP participation). Certain exemptions, such as age of the youngest child, do not necessarily preclude the individual from engaging in work activities.

? Case Technicians and NHEP teams must determine, at the time the sanction is to be applied to the case, if the individual is actually capable of removing the sanction by complying with one of the actions listed above under Determining the End of a Sanction .

Example 1

An NHEP applicant is determined to have voluntarily quit a job within 60 days of application without good cause. However, the individual provides medical verification of a recently acquired physical disability that prevents participation in paid employment, OJT, or AWEP of 20 hours per week. Because the individual is unable to immediately comply with work requirements to remove the sanction, no sanction is applied to the case.

Example 2

An NHEP applicant is determined to have voluntarily quit a job within 60 days of application without good cause. At the application interview, the Case Technician determines that the individual is temporarily exempt from NHEP participation requirements because the youngest child in the case is age 2. Although currently exempt from NHEP participation, the individual is otherwise capable of engaging in an activity that would remove the sanction. Therefore, a sanction would be applied.

? If, during the sanction period, the individual becomes incapable of participating in NHEP work activities, remove the sanction.

? Require verification of any claim of inability to come into compliance and remove a sanction.

? Exempt individuals determined to be capable of removing a sanction have the right to request a Fair Hearing on that determination.

Opening and Closing a Case During a Sanction Period

If an NHEP financial assistance case closes and reopens during a sanction period, the sanction remains on the case when the case is reopened.

Educational Income

Effective July 1, 1997, all educational income, regardless of type, source, or use, is excluded in determining eligibility for NHEP or FAP assistance payments and medical assistance, and food stamps. Educational income refers to financial assistance, payments, loans, reimbursements, or allowances paid to or on behalf of post-secondary students.

Exception: In order to qualify for the exclusion in the food stamp program, the individual must be attending a post-secondary institution at least half time.

Exception: Educational income is still counted in the adult categories of assistance.

Form 220, Notice of Failure to Meet Work Requirements, and Form 220(i), Instructions

Form 220 and its instructions, have been updated to include the new progressive sanction policy for failure to comply with work requirements.

PROCEDURES and SYSTEMS CHANGES

Sanctions

Current Systems Procedures (Prior to 7/1/97)

Under current policy, individuals are sanctioned for failure to comply with NHEP work requirements by keying "R" in field I-28 (Work Registration Code) to remove the noncompliant individual's needs from the case. EMS also requires that a date (any date is acceptable) be entered in the Work Registration Date Field (I-29), a protective payee be entered on the H-line with Payee Code (H-16) "H" and Payee Reason (H-17) "B." In addition, income coded on the individual must remain, but must also be distributed equally among all other case members' I-lines using Unearned Income Code 155 in field I-44.

When a case is coded correctly, eligibility is recomputed using income from all individuals except for the sanctioned individual, and resources from all case members including the sanctioned individual. Total case income is compared to appropriate payment standard for group size minus one. This reduction continues until the "R" and all associated coding is removed from the member's I-lines.

Currently, code "R" is only valid for casehead (and not dependent child) sanctioning.

As well, any grant reduction amounts must be manually reentered using code 307 (Other Income, FS) in order to prevent food stamp benefits from increasing due to the decrease in assistance payments.

Summary of Systems Changes Effective 7/1/97

? To implement progressive sanctions, new Work Registration codes have been developed. In addition, new NOD messages, including messages automatically generated by EMS and override messages for specific circumstances, are now available.

? Income code 155 is no longer needed and has been deactivated.

? H-line entries are no longer required, but remain valid if entered.

? Reductions in payment standards due to failure to cooperate with NHEP work requirements or Child Support will now be automatically entered on the food stamp case via new EMS-generated Unearned Income Code 308. Note: Case Technicians must continue to use code 307 to enter the difference between pre- and post-sanction amounts for other means-tested assistance payments, such as SSI or State Supplement.

? Current Work Registration Code "R" has been reprogrammed for use solely when sanctioning a dependent child for noncooperation with work requirements. As of July 1, 1997, EMS will only accept an entry of R in field I-28 for individuals with group member code F.

New Work Registration Codes (Fields I-28 and I-29)

? The new or revised codes below are entered on I-28 to implement progressive sanctions. Sanction codes may be entered on EMS by either the NHEP team or the DHHS case technician:

R Removes the needs of a sanctioned dependent child from the payment standard  when determining eligibility and benefit amount.

1 Applies a Level 1 sanction by removing the needs of the sanctioned individual  when determining the benefit amount, resulting in an "Adjusted Payment  Standard".

2 Applies a Level 2 sanction by reducing the Adjusted Payment Standard by 1/3.

3 Applies a Level 3 sanction by reducing the Adjusted Payment Standard by 2/3.

? Two additional Work Registration Codes, 8 and 9, have been developed for use in situations involving requests for Fair Hearings with continuation of benefits and are explained in detail later in this SR.

? Field I-29 must now contain a date representing the "Date of Sanction."

? Once new code 1 or 2 has been entered, EMS will automatically progress to the next highest sanction level after 6 consecutive payroll periods from the date entered in field I-29 (see below) unless the code is removed.

To Implement a Sanction on EMS at Level 1

1. Enter R or 1 in Field I-28 (Work Registration Code) of the noncompliant individual's I-line.

2. Enter "Date of Sanction" in Field I-29 (Work Registration Date). For open cases, this date must be the current transaction date; for openings or additions of individuals to currently open cases, the date may be any date between the date of application and the current transaction date.

3. Enter "M" in field I-48 to indicate that any income is being counted monthly.

4. If appropriate, close Social Services.

5. Complete Form 214 to indicate that the individual is no longer in an activity, if appropriate

To Implement a Sanction on EMS at Level 2 or Level 3:

? Unless the case technician takes action to remove code 1 or 2 in I-28, EMS will automatically progress to the next level of sanctioning effective the next payroll period after the expiration of 6 consecutive payroll periods from the date entered in field I-29.

? Approximately one month before the current sanction expires, EMS will generate flimsies for currently sanctioned individuals. They will be sent a letter explaining that unless they cooperate with NHEP requirements, their payment standard will be decreased beginning the following month.

? Sanction codes 2 or 3 may also be entered manually, as, for example, when an individual has failed to comply within 6 months of the end of a previous sanction period.

To Remove A Sanction on EMS:

When an individual complies with work requirements or becomes exempt:

? Change the I-28 code to the appropriate nonsanction work registration code; and

? Enter the current transaction date in field I-29.

New NOD Reason Messages

The following new NOD reason messages will be generated by EMS:

For Denials Resulting from Sanctioning:

Reason Message 095 - Income exceeds limits due to NHEP sanction

UNDER NHEP, ADULTS CANNOT VOLUNTARILY QUIT OR REFUSE A JOB AND ANYONE REQUIRED TO PARTICIPATE IN WORK PROGRAM ACTIVITIES MUST DO SO. BECAUSE SOMEONE IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD DID NOT COMPLY WITH ONE OF THESE REQUIREMENTS AND DID NOT HAVE GOOD CAUSE, YOUR INCOME WAS COMPARED TO A LOWER INCOME LIMIT. SEE FORM 220 FOR THE EXACT REASON FOR THE PENALTY AND HOW IT CAN BE REMOVED. FAMILY ASSISTANCE MANUAL CHAPTER 300, 800.

Upon Implementation of Progressive Sanctions (Note: Dependents coded "R" are not subject to progressive sanctions and would receive only Reason Message 460):

Reason Message 460 - Failure to meet NHEP work requirements - first penalty

BECAUSE SOMEONE IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD VOLUNTARILY QUIT OR REFUSED A JOB OR DID NOT COMPLY WITH NHEP WORK REQUIREMENTS AND DID NOT HAVE GOOD CAUSE, YOUR GRANT WAS REDUCED. YOU WILL RECEIVE A LOWER GRANT FOR ONE PAYROLL PERIOD OR UNTIL THE PERSON COMPLIES FOR 2 WEEKS, WHICHEVER IS LONGER. SEE FORM 220 FOR THE EXACT REASON AND HOW TO REMOVE THE PENALTY. FAMILY ASSISTANCE MANUAL CHAPTER 800.

Reason Message 461 - Continued failure to meet NHEP work requirements - second penalty

YOUR GRANT DECREASED BECAUSE SOMEONE VOLUNTARILY QUIT OR REFUSED A JOB OR DID NOT MEET AN NHEP WORK REQUIREMENT. BECAUSE NO ACTION HAS BEEN TAKEN TO REMOVE THE PENALTY, A SECOND GRANT REDUCTION PENALTY HAS BEEN APPLIED TO YOUR CASE. CONTACT YOUR DISTRICT OFFICE OR NHEP TEAM FOR INFORMATION ON HOW TO REMOVE THE PENALTY. FAMILY ASSISTANCE MANUAL CHAPTER 800.

Reason Message 462 - Continued failure to meet NHEP work requirements - third penalty

YOUR GRANT DECREASED BECAUSE SOMEONE VOLUNTARILY QUIT OR REFUSED A JOB OR DID NOT MEET AN NHEP WORK REQUIREMENT. BECAUSE NO ACTION HAS BEEN TAKEN TO REMOVE THE PENALTY, A THIRD AND FINAL GRANT REDUCTION PENALTY HAS BEEN APPLIED TO YOUR CASE. CONTACT YOUR DISTRICT OFFICE OR NHEP TEAM FOR INFORMATION ON HOW TO REMOVE THE PENALTY. FAMILY ASSISTANCE MANUAL CHAPTER 800.

Special Sanction Situations

When a Sanctioned Individual Requests a Fair Hearing

At the First Level of Sanctioning:

? For a fair hearings request from an individual who is to be sanctioned at Level 1 and who requests benefits be restored pending the hearing, return field I-28 to the pre-sanction coding.

? See FAM Chapter 100 for additional information about fair hearings requests and timeframes.

At the Second and Third Levels of Sanctioning:

? When an individual sanctioned at Level 2 or 3 requests a fair hearing and wishes to have benefits restored pending the outcome of the hearing, replace the 2 or 3 in field I-28 with one of the following new codes:

8 Fair Hearing - First level of sanctioning. Returns the case to the

 Level 1 sanction and prevents progression to Level 2.

9 Fair Hearing - Second level of sanctioning. Returns the case to Level 2 and  prevents progression to Level 3.

? Because EMS views use of these codes as a positive change, it will not generate a reason message. Case technicians must issue the following manual Notice of Decision to explain the action to the individual:

Reason Message 439 - Fair Hearing Requested - Grant Reduction Penalty Removed

YOU HAVE REQUESTED A FAIR HEARING BECAUSE YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH THE DECISION TO REDUCE YOUR GRANT FOR VOLUNTARILY QUITTING A JOB, REFUSING A JOB, OR FAILING TO MEET AN NHEP WORK REQUIREMENT. THE GRANT REDUCTION PENALTY WILL BE REMOVED UNTIL A FAIR HEARING DECISION IS MADE. FAMILY ASSISTANCE MANUAL CHAPTERS 100, 800.

? If the Fair Hearing results in a finding against the individual, change field I-28 to the appropriate sanction code (R, 1,2, or 3). In addition to the EMS generated NOD related to the sanction, the case technician may wish to send a manual reason message explaining that the reduction is also related to the fair hearing decision. The following language is suggested:

Reason Message 485 Fair Hearing Decision Received - Grant Reduction Penalty Applied

THE DECISION OF THE FAIR HEARING YOU REQUESTED HAS BEEN MADE. AS A RESULT OF THE HEARING DECISION, A GRANT REDUCTION PENALTY HAS BEEN APPLIED TO YOUR CASE. SEE FORM 220 FOR THE EXACT REASON AND HOW TO REMOVE THE PENALTY. FAMILY ASSISTANCE MANUAL CHAPTER 800.

When Sanctions are Combined with Other Actions on the Case

If an individual is being sanctioned and other changes must also be made to the case in the same transaction, take action as specified in policy and issue the appropriate override message as given below. See EMS Handbook ITEM F for override procedures.

Note: Every effort must be made to avoid combining sanctions with unrelated case actions.

Override Messages for Multiple Case Actions with Sanctions

Reason Message 484 Increase in Income and Penalty for Failure to Meet NHEP Requirements

TWO CHANGES HAVE HAPPENED IN YOUR CASE: YOUR INCOME HAS INCREASED AND YOU ARE RECEIVING A GRANT REDUCTION PENALTY BECAUSE SOMEONE IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD VOLUNTARILY QUIT OR REFUSED A JOB OR DID NOT MEET AN NHEP WORK REQUIREMENT. THE RESULT OF THESE TWO CHANGES IS SHOWN ABOVE. SEE FORM 220 FOR THE EXACT REASON AND HOW TO REMOVE THE PENALTY. FAMILY ASSISTANCE MANUAL CHAPTER 300, 800.

Reason Message 486 Decrease in Income and Penalty for Failure to Meet NHEP Requirements

TWO CHANGES HAVE HAPPENED IN YOUR CASE: YOUR INCOME HAS DECREASED AND YOU ARE RECEIVING A GRANT REDUCTION PENALTY BECAUSE SOMEONE IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD VOLUNTARILY QUIT OR REFUSED A JOB OR DID NOT MEET AN NHEP WORK REQUIREMENT. THE RESULT OF THESE CHANGES IS SHOWN ABOVE. SEE FORM 220 FOR THE EXACT REASON AND HOW TO REMOVE THE PENALTY. FAMILY ASSISTANCE MANUAL CHAPTER 300, 800.

Reason Message 487 Increased Case Size and Penalty for Failure to Meet NHEP Requirements

TWO CHANGES HAVE HAPPENED IN YOUR CASE: 1 OR MORE PERSONS WERE ADDED TO YOUR CASE AND YOU ARE RECEIVING A GRANT REDUCTION PENALTY BECAUSE SOMEONE IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD VOLUNTARILY QUIT OR REFUSED A JOB OR DID NOT MEET AN NHEP WORK REQUIREMENT. THE RESULT OF THESE TWO CHANGES IS SHOWN ABOVE. SEE FORM 220 FOR THE EXACT REASON AND HOW TO REMOVE THE PENALTY. FAMILY ASSISTANCE MANUAL CHAPTER 300,800.

Reason Message 458 Decreased Case Size and Penalty for Failure to Meet NHEP Requirements

TWO CHANGES HAVE HAPPENED IN YOUR CASE: 1 OR MORE PERSONS WERE REMOVED FROM YOUR CASE AND YOU ARE RECEIVING A GRANT REDUCTION PENALTY BECAUSE SOMEONE IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD VOLUNTARILY QUIT OR REFUSED A JOB OR DID NOT MEET AN NHEP WORK REQUIREMENT. THE RESULT OF THESE TWO CHANGES IS SHOWN ABOVE. SEE FORM 220 FOR THE EXACT REASON AND HOW TO REMOVE THE PENALTY. FAMILY ASSISTANCE MANUAL CHAPTER 300,800.

Reason Messages 459/101 Denial or Closing Due to Excess Resources and Sanction Applied.

Over Resources and Penalty for Failure to Meet NHEP Requirements

TWO CHANGES HAVE HAPPENED TO YOUR CASE. YOU ARE INELIGIBLE FOR NHEP MONEY PAYMENT BECAUSE YOUR RESOURCES EXCEED PROGRAM LIMITS AND A GRANT REDUCTION PENALTY HAS ALSO BEEN PUT ON YOUR CASE BECAUSE SOMEONE IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD VOLUNTARILY QUIT OR REFUSED A JOB OR DID NOT MEET AN NHEP WORK REQUIREMENT. THE PENALTY WILL REMAIN N EFFECT UNTIL ACTION IS TAKEN TO REMOVE IT. SEE FORM 220 FOR THE EXACT REASON AND HOW TO REMOVE THE PENALTY . FAMILY ASSISTANCE MANUAL CHAPTER 300, 400, 800.

When An Individual Is Being Sanctioned And Two Or More Actions Are Taken On The Case

If an individual is being sanctioned and two or more additional changes are being made to the case, suppress the NOD and issue a manual NOD with an explanation and the results of the actions.

Exception: EMS will not allow override codes to be used with positive actions. If the result of multiple transactions is a positive action to the case (e.g., the increased payment standard accompanying an increase in case size more than offsets the payment standard reduction due to a level 1 sanction), DOs must issue manual NODs to those cases.

Educational Income

Effective July 1, 1997, EMS has been reprogrammed to exclude any case income entered using Educational Income Codes 191 through 195, and Educational Income Deduction Codes 527 and 569 for TANF AP/MA (Cat 2, type 1 and U), MA-Only (Cat 2, Types 0,2,W,B,C,D, and K) and for all food stamp cases. However, these codes have not been discontinued (See IMPLEMENTATION section of this SR for further information on treatment of educational income).

IMPLEMENTATION

Progressive Sanctions

The automated progressive sanctions process explained in this SR will begin July 1, 1997. On that date, EMS will begin tracking sanction levels and timing the length of sanction periods for all cases containing any of the new work registration sanction codes released by this SR.

Currently sanctioned cases, regardless of the length of time under sanction prior to July 1, will be treated as Level 1 sanctions with a Date of Sanction of 7/1/97. Currently sanctioned individuals who come into compliance prior to 7/1/97 must have the "R" work registration code removed as soon as possible prior to 7/1/97.

New Work Registration History Screen

EMS will have a new screen to maintain work registration history. The WR Screen, accessible through the individual's IK screen, will track an individual's work registration history effective 7/1/97.

Welfare Reform Mass Change for Work Registration and Sanctioned Cases

A mass change will be run June 30, 1997, prior to the Food Stamp major run, to:

? Change the Work Registration Code in Field I-28 for sanctioned NHEP adults from "R" to "1";

? Calculate the new Unearned Income Code of 308 for sanctioned cases; and

? Set the Work Registration Begin Date (Field I-29) for all TANF-AP individuals to 7/1/97.

The Mass Change will be assigned a special batch number of 970701. The IS Display will be updated accordingly. Turnaround 801's will be generated for all recomputed cases and annotated WELFARE REFORM MASS CHANGE - JULY 1997.

Note: Due to the manual removal of Code 307 for sanctioned individuals receiving food stamps, the Welfare Reform Mass Change may issue NOD's to sanctioned recipients informing them that their food stamps may be decreasing when, in fact, no benefit change will occur. In anticipation of calls to District Offices and Client Services, the potentially affected individuals were sent a letter of explanation. Copies of all client mailings are attached.

Magna Report of Cases Containing Code 307

? A MAGNA report of all cases showing income coded 307 (FS - Other Income) was sent to district offices in June, 1997, with instructions to review and remove, prior to June 30, 1997, any code 307 amounts entered as a result of a sanction to the financial assistance case due to noncooperation with child support or NHEP work requirements.

? Effective with the July Food Stamp major run, EMS will automatically calculate and enter as code 308 the difference between pre- and post-sanction payment standards in order to prevent an increase in food stamp benefits.

 Exception: Code 308 will only be entered if the AP case remains open.

? As of 7/1/97, entering any NHEP sanction code in field I-28 or a "2" in field A-21 will trigger the computation.

Note: District offices must continue to use code 307 to manually enter the difference between pre- and post-sanction amounts for other means-tested assistance payments, such as SSI or State Supplement.

Educational Income

Although EMS will no longer include educational income in eligibility and benefit calculations, it is necessary to have the figures for tracking and federal reporting purposes. Therefore, there is no change to District Office procedures for obtaining, verifying, calculating, and entering educational income. Continue to enter educational income using the appropriate educational income and educational income deduction codes.

Exception: Applicants or recipients who do not provide verification of educational income must not be closed solely for failure to provide this verification. In the event of client failure to provide verification of education income, District Offices should use the best information available and enter amounts based on that information.

Form 220

Forms 220 and 220(i) dated 3/97 must not be used as of 7/1/97. District Offices and NHEP teams will be sent an initial supply of the revised Form 220 as soon as it is back from printing. In the unlikely event that the forms are not back from print by 7/1/97, District Offices will be E-mailed the version of Form 220 released by this SR for printing off their computer until the printed versions are available. NHEP teams will be sent a sample amount of xerox copies to use and photocopy until the printed versions are available.

CLIENT NOTIFICATION

Check stuffers summarizing the new progressive sanction policies were sent to all open TANF-AP cases with the 6/15/97 and 6/30/97 payrolls. A letter explaining the new sanction policies in greater detail was mailed on June 5, 1997, to all AP recipients currently being sanctioned for noncompliance with NHEP work requirements. Copies of both informational mailings are attached. In addition, individuals who are currently being sanctioned were sent a letter alerting them that they may receive an NOD stating that their food stamp benefits are decreasing, and if the benefit amount included for July is the same as for June the recipient can ignore the NOD. See Note under IMPLEMENTATION.

MANUAL PAGE CHANGES

SR 97-19 is releasing a complete revision of FAM Chapter 800. Because sanctions policy changes belong in Chapter 800, manual pages reflecting new sanctions policy are being included in the new version of Chapter 800 rather than being released with this SR.

This SR releases the following changes to FAM chapters:

? 315 Under TANF policy, a referral to FAM 800 for information on failure to meet NHEP  work requirements, including voluntary quit, was added.

? 511  The treatment of educational income has been changed to reflect new policy.

? 603  Methodology for treatment of educational income has been deleted. However,   District Offices are advised to retain the pages removed from Chapter 600, because staff must continue to enter and calculate this income for tracking  purposes.

TRAINING

The NHEP teams were provided with training in sanctions policy. No training was provided for the changes in treatment of educational income.

POSTING INSTRUCTIONS

DISPOSITION

This SR may be destroyed after its contents have been noted and its posting instructions carried out.

DISTRIBUTION

This SR only will be distributed according to the narrative distribution list for the Forms Manual and the FAM. This SR and pages will be distributed to all holders of the Forms Manual and FAM.

OES/MGD:s

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CERTIFICATE OF DESTRUCTION

I hereby certify that all copies of Form 220, Notice of Failure to Meet NHEP Work Requirements (SR 97-9/March 1997) have been destroyed.

Office Manager: ________________________ District Office: ________________________

NOTE: Return this certificate to Stock Control at State Office after the instructions in this   SR have been carried out.