SR 16-06 Dated 01/16

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

INTER-DEPARTMENT COMMUNICATION

SUMMARY

This SR releases the following policy revisions associated with evaluating residency status when New Hampshire residency is questionable for applicants or recipients of all programs of assistance. These changes were initiated by the Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) Administrator and analyzed for accuracy by the NH State Supplement Program (SSP), Financial Assistance to Needy Families (FANF), Food Stamp (FS), and Medicaid Program Specialists:

·      policy and procedures associated with when residency is questionable were aligned for the SSP, FANF, FS, and Medicaid programs to:

-     require proof of residency via New HEIGHTS-generated AE0055, Proof Needed to Determine Your Assistance, or paper backup DFA Form 808, Proof Needed to Determine Your Assistance, if New HEIGHTS is unavailable, when residency is questionable;

-     deny or close SSP cash, FANF cash, FS benefits, or Medicaid benefits if the individual fails to respond to DHHS’ request for proof of residency within 10 days or responds within timeframes but fails to adequately verify residency; and

-     include examples of factors that may make residency questionable.

·      former SSP, FANF, and Medicaid policy associated with scheduling a redetermination interview to request proof of residency when the individual fails to respond to DHHS’ request for additional proof of residency or the additional proof supplied by the individual fails to adequately verify residency was eliminated to align with the policy released in this SR.

·      FS policy associated with the evaluation of residency status was expanded to provide more specific details about evaluation of residency status when questionable and to better present requirements of 7 CFR 273.12(c)(3).

Note: Policy for all programs remains unchanged that temporary absences from New Hampshire continue to be allowable when an individual intends to retain New Hampshire residency and return to New Hampshire as soon as the purpose for the absence is accomplished.

POLICY

Temporary absences from New Hampshire continue to be allowable in all program areas when an individual intends to retain NH residency and return to NH as soon as the purpose for the absence is accomplished. For all programs, there are acceptable reasons for temporary absence, including visiting, vacationing, temporary hospitalization, and rehabilitation services. Out-of-state school attendance is also an acceptable reason for temporary absence for SSP, FANF, and Medicaid, but not for FS benefits.

If DHHS receives or becomes aware of conflicting information which places a client’s NH residency in question, further evaluation is required. The following examples of factors that may raise questions about residency and require additional evaluation have been added to the AAM, FAM, FSM, and MAM:

·      Recurring out-of-state EBT card transactions;

·      Out-of-state home ownership or rental; and

·      Use of a PO Box, rural route address, or general delivery address to receive mail.

These examples are not a comprehensive list of questionable factors. Any one of these factors by itself is not proof that the individual is not a NH resident. If residency is questionable, the FSS must evaluate information in the client’s electronic case file and information received about the client’s household circumstances or call the client to consider, per current policy, the individual’s:

·      Reason for absence;

·      Duration and frequency of absence;

·      Place where personal and household possessions are kept;

·      Place where the individual votes or pays resident taxes;

·      Place of employment;

·      Future plans; and

·      Any other factors that would establish a place of residency.

If, after evaluating these factors, residency remains doubtful, the FSS must take the following steps:

·      Request additional proof of NH residency via the New HEIGHTS-generated AE0055, Proof Needed to Determine Your Assistance, (or paper backup DFA Form 808, Proof Needed to Determine Your Assistance, if New HEIGHTS is unavailable), and give the household 10 days to respond to clarify its circumstances.

·      If the household does not respond within 10 days, or responds timely but does not provide sufficient information to clarify its circumstances, close or deny FANF, SSP, FS, and Medicaid benefits.

Example:

An FSS knows that FANF casehead Melissa uses a PO Box to receive her family’s mail. Reviewing the case, the FSS finds that Melissa had previously confirmed that her family lived in an apartment in an area of New Hampshire where home mail delivery was not available, so Melissa receives her mail from DHHS at a PO Box. However, Melissa’s family vacated their apartment and now stays with friends in a different city in New Hampshire but continues to use the PO Box for mail delivery. Because Melissa’s employer is located out of state, Melissa frequently uses her EBT card out of state to withdraw cash. Both of those things raise questions. The FSS calls Melissa, but Melissa does not answer. The FSS immediately mails Melissa the New HEIGHTS-generated AE0055 to request verification. The FSS enters an expected change into New HEIGHTS to check the status in 10 days. When the FSS checks the status 10 days later, she sees that Melissa did not respond. The FSS enters Melissa’s failure to verify residency status into New HEIGHTS, which closes her family’s FANF cash.

Example:

FANF casehead Beth, who is exempt from NHEP work requirements, informs her FSS that she and her children are temporarily staying with a friend out of state due to family/domestic violence concerns. Because Beth and her children intend to retain New Hampshire residency and their absence from the state is temporary, their FANF benefits are not affected.

Example:

An FSS is informed that Food Stamp client Sophia has used her EBT card outside of New Hampshire over the past several months. This prompts the FSS to evaluate other factors. The FSS researches Sophia’s electronic case notes and reads that Sophia lives in a town that borders Vermont and does her grocery shopping in Vermont before returning to her NH home, which is permissible. There is no need for Sophia to verify residency based on this.

Example:

An FSS is informed that Food Stamp client Chris has used his EBT card outside of New Hampshire consistently over the past several months. This prompts the FSS to evaluate other factors. The FSS reads in Chris’s electronic case file that Chris had mentioned six months earlier that he was thinking about moving out of state. The FSS calls Chris to ask if he moved out of New Hampshire. Chris denies moving, but does not provide a reason for the out-of-state EBT use. The FSS immediately mails Chris the New HEIGHTS-generated AE0055 to request verification of residency. Chris does not respond within 10 days. The FSS enters Chris’ failure to verify residency status into New HEIGHTS, which terminates his Food Stamp benefits.

Example:

An FSS receives information that Stuart, who is receiving APTD cash and medical assistance, owns a house in Florida despite his claiming New Hampshire residency. This prompts the FSS to assess other factors. The FSS calls Stuart, but Stuart does not answer. The FSS immediately mails Stuart the New HEIGHTS-generated AE0055 to request verification of residency. Stuart submits proof that he does own a house in Florida, and this house is an excluded resource. He also submits proof from his landlord in New Hampshire verifying that he lives in his rental apartment for 10 months out of the year and returns to New Hampshire after his out-of-state visits. The FSS determines that, based on this information, Stuart’s New Hampshire residency is not questionable. She reminds Stuart to notify DHHS anytime he plans to leave New Hampshire for more than 30 days.

FIELD OPERATIONS AND NEW HEIGHTS PROCEDURES AND IMPLEMENTATION

New HEIGHTS is programmed to keep cash, Medicaid, and NH Child Care Scholarship assistance open when 'Out of Home Employment/Education/Training - Temporary' is selected as the individual’s living arrangement. Food Stamp benefits will close when that reason is selected. If a Food Stamp recipient alerts the FSS that he or she plans to be temporarily out of state for employment or training purposes, the FSS should not change the living arrangement selection, but should indicate the plan in case notes.

Upon generation of the AE0055, Proof Needed to Determine Your Assistance, the FSS should change the residency status on the Demographics à Additional Demographics screen to “not yet verified”. The FSS should enter an expected change in New HEIGHTS to check for the required verification in 10 days. If the individual does not provide proof of residency within 10 days, or provides the proof timely but it is insufficient to verify residency, the FSS should enter “refused/failed to verify” for residency status in New HEIGHTS to ensure that policy is applied correctly.

If the FSS would like information on an individual’s out-of-state EBT card use, he or she may email the EBT Service Requests inbox (EBTServiceRequests@dhhs.state.nh.us).

RELATED POLICY REVISIONS

AAM 301.01, Absence from New Hampshire, FAM 303.11, Absence from New Hampshire: Temporary, and MAM 301.05, Absence from New Hampshire, were revised to update the terms used for examples of acceptable reasons for temporary absence, changing “convalescent care” to “rehabilitation services.”

An additional manual page revision was made to FAM 303.11 to emphasize that, for FANF cases, when a parent retains custody of a child who is attending school in another state, DHHS considers the child to be a resident of New Hampshire, and the parent as providing care for the child (as supported by current policy at FAM 207.05, Living with a Specified Relative.)

POLICY MANUAL REVISIONS

Revised Adult Assistance Manual Topics

Section 301.01  Absence from New Hampshire

Revised Family Assistance Manual Topics

Section 303.03  When to Verify Residency

Section 303.11  Absence from New Hampshire: Temporary

Revised Food Stamp Manual Topics

Section 303.11  Absence from New Hampshire: Temporary

Revised Medical Assistance Manual Topics

Section 301.05  Absence from New Hampshire

IMPLEMENTATION

The policy revisions released in this SR are effective January 22, 2016.

CLIENT NOTIFICATION

No special client notification is planned or needed.

TRAINING

No special training is planned or needed.

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 1, 2016. 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, Family Assistance, Food Stamp, and Medical Assistance Manuals.

DFA/SMC:s