SR 08-21 Dated 06/08 (FSM)

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

INTER-DEPARTMENT COMMUNICATION

SUMMARY

This SR releases the transfer of the town of Londonderry from the Manchester catchment area to the Salem catchment area.

POLICY

Effective June 1, 2008, Salem Family Service Specialists (FSS), Salem New Hampshire Employment Program (NHEP) Team Members, and Salem Food Stamp Interviewers will begin processing all cases with a Londonderry home address in Salem rather than Manchester.

BACKGROUND

The transfer of the town of Londonderry from the Manchester catchment area to the Salem catchment area was undertaken to:

·   coordinate services offered by other state agencies. Before this change, all other departments except DFA and Bureau of Elderly and Adult Services, served Londonderry residents out of the Salem District Office; and

·   align caseloads in Manchester District Office with the caseloads held in other District Offices throughout the state. Manchester has served approximately 40-50 more cases per worker than any other District Office. This change reduces the workload of the Manchester Office to a caseload of approximately 423 per worker, while increasing Salem’s caseload to approximately 400 per worker, ensuring a more equitable distribution of resources to meet the needs of all our clients, while imposing minimal disruption on clients. The distance from Londonderry to either the Manchester or Salem offices is approximately the same, 13 miles.

NEW HEIGHTS SYSTEMS PROCEDURES AND IMPLEMENTATION

The New HEIGHTS transfer of the electronic case records of clients with a Londonderry home address to the Salem District Office will occur May 29-30, 2008.

Note: Cases will not be transferred in pending status. Cases that are in a pending status at the time of the New HEIGHTS electronic transfer must be processed by the Manchester District Office and, once opened for assistance, transferred to the Salem District Office.

New Applications

As of June 2, 2008, Salem District Office will begin retaining and processing new applications from Londonderry residents. New applications from Londonderry residents received by the Manchester District Office as of the above date must be forwarded to Salem District Office within 2 days to ensure timely delivery of benefits.

Recipient Case Management

The approximately 360 open Londonderry cases that are currently in the Manchester District Office will be electronically transferred to "Vacant Position" at the Salem District Office on May 29-30, 2008. The New HEIGHTS-generated "Transfer Letter" will be suppressed during the transfer, so that clients impacted by the transfer do not receive a letter indicating that their new worker is "Vacant Position." The Salem District Office Supervisor will then utilize the "Redistribute Caseloads" process in New HEIGHTS to evenly distribute all the transferred cases to Family Services Specialists in the Salem office.

Londonderry residents who are current NHEP and Food Stamp work program participants will not be electronically transferred by New HEIGHTS due to the low case numbers (approximately 20 Food Stamp cases and 12 NHEP cases). The NHEP Field Support Manager will manually transfer these cases to Salem NHEP Employment Counselor Specialists and Food Stamp Interviewers on May 29, 2008.

Salem staff will assume responsibility for case management and service delivery for all transferred cases on June 1, 2008. May redeterminations must be processed prior to the transfer.

Green Eligibility Case Files

The green eligibility case files for each Londonderry resident being transferred to Salem will be transported to the Salem District and NHEP offices between the dates of May 27-30, 2008.

Client Mail Received During the Transition

Prior to June 1, 2008, mail received in the Manchester District or NHEP offices related to any of the Londonderry cases being transferred to Salem must be delivered to the current Manchester FSS or NHEP Team Member handling the case.

June mail-in redeterminations and mail received after May 30, 2008, must be sent via interoffice mail to the Salem District or NHEP office within 2 days of receipt to ensure timely delivery of benefits and services.

Transferring Client Cases

As of May 30, 2008

All other District and NHEP offices will stop sending applications, cases, or mail from Londonderry residents to the Manchester offices.

As of June 1, 2008

Send applications, cases, or mail from Londonderry residents to the Salem offices.

IMPLEMENTATION

Responsibility for case management, eligibility, and related service delivery will continue to reside with DFA and NHEP staff in the Manchester District and NHEP offices until May 30, 2008. Salem DO and NHEP staff will assume responsibility for case management and service delivery for all transferred cases on June 1, 2008.

CLIENT NOTIFICATION

Three client mailings were generated in May to cases affected by the transfer as follows:

·   The first mailing, to approximately 44 open cases due for a mail-in redetermination in June, was mailed to Londonderry recipients on May 13, 2008.

·   The second mailing, to the approximately 320 remaining cases being transferred to Salem, was mailed on May 14, 2008.

·   The third mailing, to approximately 32 participants in the NHEP (approximately 12 individuals) and Food Stamp (approximately 20 individuals) work programs, was mailed on May 15, 2008.

The letters and associated maps to the District or NHEP office are attached for reference.

TRAINING

The transition procedures were addressed at the Administrative Supervisor’s meeting on April 24, 2008 and the Statewide NHEP/DO meeting on May 23, 2008.

DISPOSITION

This SR must be retained in its electronic form until it is posted to the "SR’s Retained" section of the On-Line Adult Assistance, Family Assistance, and Food Stamp Manuals, effective with the May 30, 2008 On-Line Manual distribution. Hard copy holders of the manuals must retain the hard copy version of this SR until informed that it has been obsoleted.

DISTRIBUTION

This SR will be distributed according to the electronic distribution list for Division of Family Assistance policy releases. This SR 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 June 1, 2008.

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

DFA/JBV:s