SR 05-28 Dated 05/05

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

INTER-DEPARTMENT COMMUNICATION

SIGNATURE DATE:	April 18, 2005
FROM:	OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR Terry R. Smith
AT (OFFICE):	Division of Family Assistance
TO:	DFA Supervisors District Office Manager of Operations
SUBJECT:	Phase 4 of the Centralization of Healthy Kids Gold-Only Cases, Medical Coverage for Pregnant Women-Only Cases, and Cases That Are Open for Both Healthy Kids Gold and Silver, from the Claremont and Salem District Offices to the Central Healthy Kids District Office
EFFECTIVE DATE:	May 2, 2005

SUMMARY

This SR releases the procedures for Phase 4 of the centralization of the following cases from the Claremont and Salem District Offices to the Central Healthy Kids District Office (CHK DO):

§ Healthy Kids Gold-only (HKG-only) and/or Medical Coverage for Pregnant Women-only (MCPW-only) cases; and

§ cases that are open for both Healthy Kids Gold and Silver.

HKG cases, MCPW cases, and HKG/HKS combination cases that are open for other programs such as cash, food stamps, Foster Care, Child Care, Adoption Subsidies, Refugee Assistance, or any type of medical assistance including In and Out and MEAD, will continue to be processed at the Claremont and Salem DO. HK Gold cases managed by the DCYF Fiscal Specialists and cases that involve a child in a nursing home are not being transferred to the CHK DO.

FORMER PROCEDURES FOR CLAREMONT & SALEM DOS	NEW PROCEDURES FOR CLAREMONT & SALEM DOS
· HKG and MCPW mail-in applications sent to the CHK DO involving clients who lived in the Claremont or Salem catchment areas were transferred to Claremont or Salem DO for processing and case management.	· HKG and MCPW mail-in applications involving households in the Claremont and Salem catchment areas will now be processed and maintained at the CHK DO as long as the application is for HKG or MCPW, or a combination case involving HKS, and involves no other DFA cash or medical assistance program.
· HKG and MCPW mail-in applications sent to Claremont or Salem DOs were processed and maintained on-site at the DO.	· HKG and MCPW mail-in applications sent to the Claremont or Salem DOs must be transferred to the CHK DO within 2 days for processing and case management as long as the application is for HKG or MCPW, or a combination case involving HKS, and involves no other DFA cash or medical assistance program.

POLICY

Effective May 2, 2005, the CHK DO will begin processing all Healthy Kids Gold-only cases, Medical Coverage for Pregnant Women-only cases, and cases that are open for both Gold and Silver Healthy Kids medical coverage, from the Claremont and Salem District Offices. This completes the statewide centralization of all HKG-only, MCPW-only, and HKG/HKS combination cases at the CHK DO.

PROCEDURES

New HEIGHTS will transfer the electronic HKG-only, MCPW-only, and HKG/HKS combination case records from the Claremont and Salem District Offices to the CHK DO the evening of April 29, 2005. April redeterminations must be processed prior to the transfer.

Note: Cases will not be transferred in pending status. HKG, MCPW, and HKG/HKS combination cases that are in pending status at the time of the New HEIGHTS electronic transfer must be processed by Claremont or Salem and, once opened for assistance, transferred to CHK when it is determined that no other DFA cash or medical assistance program is involved.

CHK DO staff will assume responsibility for case management and service delivery for all centralized cases on May 2, 2005.

New Applications

New HKG-only, MCPW-only, and HKG/HKS combination applications received in the Claremont or Salem DO as of April 29, 2005, must be forwarded to the CHK DO within 2 days to ensure timely delivery of benefits.

§ Perform an Inquiry before mailing new applications to the CHK DO to ensure that the individual is not open for another program.

§ If during the initial application the individual was denied for other DFA medical or cash assistance programs but the application is still pending for HKG, MCPW, or HKG/HKS, do not transfer the case to CHK until the case has actually opened and is no longer in pending status.

Green Eligibility Case Files

The green eligibility case files will remain at the current DOs and only electronic case transfers will occur.

Client Mail Received During the Transition

Prior to May 2, 2005, mail received in the Claremont and Salem DOs related to any of the cases being transferred to CHK DO must be delivered to the current FSS handling the case. April mail-in redeterminations and mail received after May 2, 2005 must be sent via interoffice mail to CHK within 2 days of receipt to ensure timely delivery of benefits.

IMPLEMENTATION

Responsibility for case management, eligibility, and related service delivery will continue to reside with DFA staff in the Claremont and Salem DOs until April 29, 2005. CHK DO staff will assume responsibility for case management and service delivery for all centralized cases on May 2, 2005.

CLIENT NOTIFICATION

Two client mailings were generated in April to cases in the Claremont and Salem DOs affected by the centralization. On April 15, 2005, a client letter was mailed to the approximately 140 individuals with a May 25 redetermination. The second mailing to the remaining 1,445 cases being centralized will be mailed to clients on April 21, 2005. The client letters are attached for reference.

TRAINING

No special training is needed or planned.

DISPOSITION

This SR may be destroyed or deleted after its contents have been noted and the SR has 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 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 May 2, 2005.

This SR will be distributed under separate cover to all hard copy holders of the Family Assistance manual.