SR 03-40 Dated 12/03

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

INTER-DEPARTMENT COMMUNICATION

SUMMARY

This SR releases the policy and procedures for the New Hampshire Employment Program (NHEP) Level 3 Full Family Sanction:

·   NHEP participants who progress to a Level 3 sanction must participate in a home-based assessment to ascertain the reason for the continued lack of engagement with NHEP work program requirements.

·   Barriers identified in the home assessment will be addressed in the NHEP Employment Plan (EP) by NHEP Team Members.

·   If no barriers are identified, financial assistance for the entire assistance group (AG), including dependent children, will be terminated for failure to comply with NHEP work requirements.

The following forms were created or revised to incorporate the new policy:

·   New HEIGHTS-generated WP0012, Notice of Not Meeting a NHEP Requirement;

·   New HEIGHTS-generated WP0022, Agency Sanction Referral Letter, and companion client version, Sanction Referral Letter;

·   Form 77a, New Hampshire Employment Program and the Family Assistance Program; and

·   Form 221, The New Hampshire Employment Program (NHEP).

This SR additionally releases unrelated technical corrections to NHEP240, Partner Agency Participation Form.

BACKGROUND

With previous policy, clients could remain at a Level 3 sanction and receive reduced cash benefits for an indefinite amount of time up to the 60-month lifetime limit. The purpose of Full Family Sanction (FFS) policy is to:

·   determine if there are barriers beyond the sanctioned family’s control that prevent full participation in NHEP;

·   re-engage the sanctioned family in the New Hampshire Employment Program; and

·   ensure that the family has been given every opportunity to take advantage of the NHEP programs and services that will assist them in obtaining economic self-sufficiency.

/¡MAssistance groups (AG) receiving NHEP financial assistance who have progressed to a Level 3 sanction must participate in a home-based assessment. The assessment will determine:

·   the AG’s willingness and capacity to comply with NHEP;

·   how the AG is managing its finances on a severely reduced assistance grant; and

·   the well-being of the dependent children in the assistance group.

If the home assessment reveals that a family has a barrier that is preventing or inhibiting their ability to comply with the NHEP work requirements, the AG’s EP will be revised accordingly. Upon compliance with the revised EP, the AG’s cash grant returns to its pre-sanction level.

If the home assessment reveals that an individual is able to participate in the employment program but is unwilling to, or if the individual refuses or fails to participate in the assessment process, financial assistance will be terminated for the entire assistance group.

Note: Full Family Sanction (FFS) policy does not affect an AG’s eligibility for medical assistance. Additionally, current policy states that Food Stamp benefits do not increase if NHEP financial assistance is reduced due to a sanction. This policy does not apply to cases whose cash grant is terminated due to Full Family Sanction. Once NHEP financial assistance is terminated, Food Stamp benefits are computed without the TANF grant.

Application for TANF Financial Assistance After Closure Due to Full Family Sanction

Individuals may reapply and be reopened for TANF financial assistance at the full grant for which they are eligible, at any time after being closed due to FFS. However, consequences for continued non-compliance with NHEP work requirements vary based upon the number of times an AG has had their financial assistance benefits terminated due to FFS:

·   Noncompliance resulting in sanction after being reopened for NHEP cash assistance for the first time following a closure for FFS: If the family is reopened for NHEP cash and an AG member fails to meet NHEP work requirements, the sanction is immediately returned to Level 3, with the resulting reduced grant amount, and the AG must participate in another home-based assessment.

·   Noncompliance resulting in sanction after a subsequent reopening of NHEP cash assistance: If a family’s cash benefits are terminated for FFS for a second time and the family is again reopened for NHEP cash, financial assistance benefits will automatically terminate upon the first instance of non-compliance that results in sanction.

PROCEDURES AND HEIGHTS CHANGES

All existing policies and procedures remain unchanged for Level 1 and Level 2 sanctions. To institute Level 1 and Level 2 work sanctions, NHEP Team Members and Family Services Specialists (FSS) will continue to use the "WP Noncompliance" screen to prompt the notification and conciliation processes.

Once an individual is confirmed at sanction Level 3, either through automatic progression or Supervisor override, a new Full Family Sanction (FFS) process begins.

Sanction Screen Changes

·   "Name" field – Selecting an individual with at least 1 closure for FFS in history will cause a new informational Pop-Up message indicating the individual has been closed for Full Family Sanction before, and the number of times this has happened. Click "YES" to continue.

·   "Initiate Sanction" field -- A new "Full Family Sanction" reason has been added in the dropdown field. This reason will autopopulate under certain conditions (see below). Manually selecting this reason when the individual is currently at Level 1 or Level 2 sanction or has no more than 1 FFS in history will trigger a screen edit and error message instructing the worker to select a different reason.

·   New "Full Family Sanction" Box --FFS fields have been added in a new box on the screen between the "Sanction Details" and "Good Cause Information" boxes. The new fields are:

-   "Full Family Sanction" — a "YES/NO" (default) response box;

-   "Reason" drop-down — containing the following four closing reasons:

o Closed as Result of Home Visit;

o Refused Home Visit;

o Failed to Keep Second Appointment for Home Visit; and

o Repeated Failure to Comply with Work Requirements; and

-   "Close Date" — populated by Confirmation with the last cash eligible date.

Note: All Full Family Sanction fields are protected from entry unless the individual selected is currently at sanction Level 3 or has been closed for Full Family Sanction in the past.

Additional System Changes

·   Once an FFS closure is confirmed, the "Sanction End Date" will be populated and the new "Close Date" field in the FFS box will populate with the last date of cash eligibility. Confirmation will set the program of assistance (POA) cash request to "NO."

Exception: If another cash AG is open at the time of the FFS closure (e.g. an APTD parent), confirmation will not change the POA and all cash requests will remain set to "YES." To prevent NHEP cash from opening incorrectly the next time eligibility is redetermined, set the NHEP individuals on POA to "Not Requesting" before running eligibility.

·   At reapplication for cash assistance after an FFS closure, because the sanction was end dated, EDBC will determine eligibility and benefit level without any NHEP Sanction. All mandatory individuals will be referred to NHEP.

·   New letter WP0022, Agency Referral Letter, and a companion client version, Sanction Referral Letter, has been created to initiate the new review process by the home-based assessment agency.

-   The letters are automatically triggered and sent out in batch the same night an individual progresses to a Level 3 sanction.

-   The Agency version of the WP0022 is printable on-line from the "Daily Notices" screen, and both are available for reprint from "Notices/Letter History" the next day. Note: If the letter is printed on-line, it will not go out in batch unless the "Mail Centrally" switch is reset.

-   The letter process will select the correct header and footer information for the appropriate home-based assessment agency site based on the DO/Team initiating the action.

-   If cash closes on the same day the letter is generated, the letter will not go out and the trigger will go to the "Eliminated Triggers" report (NCN391RB).

Full Family Sanction Process

First Time At Level 3, No FFS In History

When the NHEP recipient progresses to a level 3 sanction, new letter WP0022 will automatically be triggered to the assessment agency, and a companion version of the WP0022 to the recipient. The agency contracted to administer the assessments will arrange for and conduct the home-based assessment and provide a narrative evaluation with recommendations to the NHEP Team. Once the assessment has been received, NHEP Team Members must collaborate with the State Office Full Family Sanction Coordinator and proceed as follows:

·   If the assessing agency determines that the individual is cooperating or has good cause, end date the sanction so that the grant amount returns to its pre-sanction level.

·   If assessing staff determine that barriers exist, revise the EP to address the barriers. Upon compliance with the revised EP, end date the sanction.

·   The NHEP Team Member, collaborating with the Full Family Sanction Coordinator at State Office, will apply the FFS if the assessing agency reports that:

-   no barriers exist which prevent the recipient from coming into compliance with NHEP work requirements;

-   the recipient refuses a home-based assessment; or

-   the recipient cancels a second scheduled home-based assessment.

Note: The NHEP Team Member will also apply the FSS, after collaborating with the Full Family Sanction Coordinator, if the family continues to be non-compliant after the EP has been revised to address barriers discovered during the home assessment.

·   To apply the FFS, the NHEP Team Member will:

-   Select the current Third Level sanction row on the "Details" tab of the "TANF Work Sanction" screen.

-   Go to the "Full Family Sanction" box and select "YES." This will enable the "Reason" drop-down as mandatory.

-   Select one of the first 3 reasons from the drop-down based on the assessing agency’s response (the 4th reason is autoselected -- see Continued Noncompliance After Full Family Sanction below).

-   Select "Save" and close. This will generate a mass change trigger to run eligibility through confirmation in the nightly batch. If eligibility is run and confirmed on-line that day, this trigger will disappear.

·   New HEIGHTS will generate WP0012, Notice of Not Meeting a NHEP Requirement, which includes variable text indicating the reason that the AG’s benefits will be terminated at the expiration of the 10-day ANP, while providing another opportunity for compliance.

·   NHEP cash assistance will close after the normal 10 day ANP. Confirmation will:

-   reset the cash request to "NO" (unless there is another on-going cash assistance AG); and

-   end date the "Sanction" screen as explained above.

·   Once closed due to Full Family Sanction, the family can reapply and have NHEP Cash reopened without sanction at any time.

Continued Noncompliance After Full Family Sanction

If cash assistance benefits are closed due to FFS and the AG subsequently reapplies for TANF financial assistance, the individual’s eligibility must be redetermined as if an initial applicant. If eligible, the AG’s grant amount is the full amount for which the family is eligible, and is not reduced due to having been closed for Full Family Sanction.

First Noncompliance after Reopening NHEP Cash

If the family is reopened and a mandatory participant subsequently fails to meet work requirements, the sanction is immediately set to Level 3. The individual will also be referred one last time for a home-based assessment.

To institute the sanction:

·   Go to the "Sanction" screen, select "Add," and select the individual from the "Name" drop-down list.

·   When the individual is selected, the new informational Pop-Up will indicate that the individual has had 1 FFS to date. Click "OK" to continue.

·   Choose the appropriate "Initiate Sanction" reason (not "Full Family Sanction") and Save. When eligibility is run and confirmed, EDBC will automatically set the sanction to Level 3 and generate the home-based Assessment letter.

·   If the assessing agency again reports noncompliance, use the above procedures to apply an FFS to close the NHEP cash assistance AG for the 2nd time.

Noncompliance after a Subsequent Reopening of NHEP Cash

Once an NHEP recipient has had 2 or more FFS closures, there is no Level 3 sanction and no referral to the assessing agency if a family member is again noncompliant resulting in a sanction. Policy requires immediate FFS closure for any act of noncompliance without good cause.

To implement immediate FFS, do the following:

·   Go to the "Sanction" screen, select "Add," and select the individual from the "Name" drop-down list.

·   The new Pop-Up message will alert the worker that the individual has had 2 (or more) FFS in the past. Click "OK" to continue.

·   New HEIGHTS will automatically:

-   select "Full Family Sanction" from the "Initiate Sanction" dropdown;

-   flip the FFS switch to "YES;" and

-   populate the "Reason" field with "Repeated Failure to Comply with Work Requirements."

Note: None of these fields are protected, so the worker has the option of undoing the above by changing the Sanction Switch to "NO," if it was done in error.

·   Save the screen and run eligibility. Confirmation either on-line or through the daily mass change will close NHEP cash assistance after the normal 10 day ANP.

There is no limit on the number of times the individual can reapply and be reopened for NHEP cash, but once the individual has reached this point in the process, follow this procedure for all subsequent occurrences of noncompliance.

Additional Information

·   New HEIGHTS inserted a "first time at Level 3" trigger on all open cases receiving NHEP cash assistance and at Level 3 sanction status on the evening of December 5, 2003. This trigger automatically generated the new home-based assessment letters and began the new FFS process.

·   Level 3 individuals whose cash assistance closes for a reason other than FFS and then reopens at Level 3 at a later date will be re-referred to the assessing agency.

FORMS

DFA Forms

Forms 77a, New Hampshire Employment Program and the Family Assistance Program, and Form 221, The New Hampshire Employment Program (NHEP), were revised to incorporate new Full Family Sanction policy. Text was added to both forms indicating that benefits may be terminated if the recipient continues to be non-compliant with NHEP requirements.

Because the variable text in the Level 3 sanction notices generated by New HEIGHTS has been altered to include information about termination of benefits for continued non-compliance, and NHEP Team Members will be discussing the new Full Family Sanction policy with sanctioned recipients, the current versions of Forms 77a and Form 221 will be used until the supply is exhausted. At that time, the new versions of both forms will be printed and distributed.

New HEIGHTS-Generated Forms

New letter WP0022, Agency Referral Letter, and a companion client version, Sanction Referral Letter, were created to initiate the new review process by the home-based assessment agency for Full Family Sanction. Both letters are automatically generated the same night an individual progresses to a Level 3 sanction. The letter to the recipient warns the individual of the imminent termination of financial assistance benefits if the recipient does not begin to comply with NHEP and includes an explanation of the home-based assessment requirement. The letter to the assessing agency requests that agency staff contact the sanctioned individual and schedule an assessment. Copies are attached for reference.

Revisions were additionally made to WP0012, Notice of Not Meeting A NHEP Requirement. Text was added to the letter to indicate that benefits may be terminated if the recipient continues to be non-compliant with NHEP requirements.

Unrelated Form Revision

NHEP240, Partner Agency Participation Form, was revised to substitute "NHEP Employment Support Counselor" with "NHEP Employment Counselor Specialist," and to remove "PREP," since this program is no longer provided. Because these are non-policy related changes and do not affect the usage of the form, the current version of NHEP240 will be used until the supply is exhausted. At that time, the new version will be printed and distributed.

POLICY MANUAL REVISIONS

Revised Family Assistance Manual Topics

Section 315.05   Sanctions/Disqualifications for Voluntary Quit

Section 808.33   Conciliation Process

*Section 808.35   Sanctions for Voluntary Quit Or Failure/Refusal to Cooperate with NHEP Work Program Requirements

PART 825   CONCILIATION PROCESS

*SR 03-39, dated 09/03, Release of the New NHEP Non-Compliance Notification Period …, indicated that manual pages incorporating the new sanction notification periods and new time periods for progressive sanctions would be included under separate cover. The pages marked by an asterisk additionally incorporate policy released in SR 03-39. Please refer to that SR for further explanation of the policy.

FORMS POSTING INSTRUCTIONS

NEW HEIGHTS-GENERATED FORMS POSTING INSTRUCTIONS

IMPLEMENTATION

The policy released in this SR is retroactively effective to December 1, 2003.

CLIENT NOTIFICATION

A public hearing regarding Full Family Sanction policy was held on August 15, 2003. Additionally, in mid-December a letter was sent to all recipients in sanction status alerting them to the Full Family Sanction policy as well as the new sanction notification periods and new time periods for progressive sanction released in SR 03-39, dated September 2003. The letter is attached for reference. At the end of January 2004 an additional letter will be mailed to all NHEP cash recipients who are not in sanction status, notifying them of the new policies. This letter will be released under separate cover.

TRAINING

A remote training for all DFA staff on the policy released in this SR was held on December 4, 2003. A training for NHEP Team Members will be scheduled in the near future.

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 manual.

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 Manual, will be available for agency staff in the On-Line Manual Library, and for public access on the Internet at http://www.dhhs.state.nh.us/DHHS/DFA/LIBRARY, effective March 1, 2004.

This SR, and printed pages with posting instructions, will be distributed under separate cover to all hard copy holders of the Family Assistance Manual.

DFA/JBV:s