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Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)

Revised January 16, 2009

Add Newborn to TANF Case Coding TANF Screens Continuing TANF Assistance When Child Is Relinquished In Loco Parentis Kinship Care Dual TANF Pregnant Women With No Other Children Processing A TANF Application When (DCA) Has Been Previously Issued 20% Extension TANF Processing for Special Immigrants TANF Closed Due to Receipt of Tribal TANF Benefits   What happens when a TANF client starts receiving Tribal TANF Benefits? When an F01 AU closes due to receipt of Tribal TANF benefits, will it trickle to categorically needy medical? What happens to an associated Basic Food Assistance Unit when the TANF AU closes for receipt of Tribal TANF benefits? What happens when [TT] income is coded on an F04 AU? What happens when [TT] income is added to other cash programs?

Add Newborn To TANF Case See Add A Person When adding a newborn to an AU do not remove the pregnancy information from the mom's (DEM1) until after the child is added, or the system will close the case because there is no eligible child. Once the child has been added and is active in the AU, the pregnancy information must be removed from the mother's (DEM1) so that the program type information is correct and so that pregnancy related reports are accurate. Enter the [date that the newborn met TANF eligibility] in the Elig Estab Date field on the newborn's (DEM1).

Coding TANF Screens ACES uses AF as the program code for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families ( TANF) program. Some fields in ACES must be completed to gather statistical information even though the requirement does not affect eligibility. One example of this is the Deprivation field on a child's (DEM1). Deprivation is not a requirement for TANF but the valid values entered here are gathered for statistical purposes.

Continuing TANF Assistance When Child is Relinquished In certain circumstances a TANF recipient can continue to receive assistance for six weeks after relinquishing a child for adoption.  See EAZ Manual - WAC 388-462-0011 Post adoption cash benefit To issue assistance in this situation: When the only eligible child has been relinquished for adoption enter [Y] in the Child Relinq field on (DEM1). Make sure the pregnancy due date is the same as the newborn's birth date. The client will receive cash benefit (AF-9) through the end of the month in which they reach their six weeks of eligibility. At the end of that month the case will close and sprout a P05 medical AU to cover the client's family planning medical assistance.

In Loco Parentis TANF For Children Living With Adults Acting In Loco Parentis Children can be eligible to receive TANF benefits without living with a relative, court-ordered guardian, or court ordered custodian. Children who live with an adult who is acting in loco parentis (as a parent) can receive TANF. "In Loco Parentis" means in the place of a parent or instead of a parent. In order to decide that an adult is acting in loco parentis, the adult must intentionally take over the duties of a parent. An adult is acting in loco parentis when: The child's parents are absent; The adult is not a legal guardian or custodian; and The adult has taken over the daily care and control of the child. EA-Z Manual Can I get TANF or SFA benefits for the child living with me? - WAC 388-454-0005 Can the adult get TANF benefits as well? No, the adult must be a relative of specified degree to a child in the assistance unit to get benefits for themselves. How do we treat requests from adults acting in loco parentis before March 1, 2001? Because the rules do not take effect until March 1, 2001, case managers must request an exception to rule (ETR) to approve benefits for these children. We expect to approve all ETR requests. Since staff did not have the information to decide if an adult is acting in loco parentis before this memo, We will review the ETR and ACES file to see if this has been decided before they approve an ETR. If the reviewer can't tell if the adult is acting in loco parentis from the file, they may contact the case manager for more information. How do we code this in ACES? We have asked for an ACES change to add a relationship valid value for children who live with adults acting in loco parentis. Until this change is promoted, use the following processing alternative: For applications with a January date of request screen both an AF and GH assistance unit. If the ETR is approved, process the approval for January benefits. Use CU - Unrel Chld Undr Parent Ctrl - for the relationship code on the STAT screen of the child in both assistance units. Deny the GH assistance unit February through the ongoing month using reason code 587. Deny the AF assistance unit in January using reason code 587. If eligible approve February through the ongoing month. Until a new valid value is available use CG as the relationship code for these children and document on the REMARKS screen behind the (STAT) which child the adult is acting in loco parentis for.

Pregnant Women With No Other Children EA-Z Manual  Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF) or State Family Assistance (SFA) eligibility for pregnant women - WAC 388-462-0010 All cases will be opened on AF-P A deprivation code must be entered on the pregnant woman's (DEM1). The <F1> Help screen has deprivation codes.

Processing A TANF Application When (DCA) Has Been Previously Issued When Diversion Cash Assistance (DCA) has been previously issued, how do I process a TANF application? I always get the edit indicating the client cannot receive benefits from two AU's. Take the following steps: Close the DCA AU in each month that you need to authorize TANF. NOTE: When the closure is made in a historical month, ACES calculates the overpayment for just that month. If the closure is made for the ongoing month, ACEScalculates the overpayment for that month and the remaining twelve months. Before closing the DCA, ensure the client is eligible for TANF. Process the TANF AU through finalize until the Dual Participation Edit is received. If the client is eligible for TANF, return to Option P. Process each Dual Participation month with the following action: Enter [reason code 585] on the DCA (STAT). Enter [O] in the Concurrent Receipt Cash  field on the (DEM1) for each person in the AU who is now being opened in the TANF AU Enter  [reason code DCA] for the BEG on (CAFI) Finalize the TANF AU. Process the DCA overpayment.  See Diversion Cash Assistance (DCA) - Overpayment

20% Extension What are the Extension Categories on the TWEP Screen? The 3 extension categories are as follows: Category 1 - Exempt. Category 1 is used to identify a household that is exempt from participating in the WorkFirst program. Category 2 - Approved Full-time WorkFirst Participation. Category 2 is used when the client is fully participating in the WorkFirst program. Category 3 - Sanction After 60 Months. Category 3 is used when a client is not participating in the WorkFirst program. What Category do I use when a Household meets multiple Extension reasons? The Categories should be entered in the following priority: Category 3, 1, and then 2. For example, if a household member who is participating in WorkFirst (Category 2) but has a spouse who is exempt (Category 1), the TWEP screen needs to be coded with Category 1. How do I Update the TWEP Screen? On the AMEN, select Option R - Interim/Hist Change. On the TWEP screen, under the New Extensions section, In the Range Begin and Range End fields, enter a date [date] In the Category field, enter [1, 2, or 3] Press <Enter> and commit data. NOTE: When updating the TWEP screen, it maybe necessary to modify the Range Begin and Range End dates under the Current/Historical Extensions section so that the extension time frame does not overlap with the new extension time period. When the (TICS) counter is greater than 58 the following fields display on this screen as follows: Client ID field:  Displays the client ID s of all adults associated with this TANF AU. New Extensions - Range Begin field  Enter [first month and year (MM YY) of the extension], The range begin date month and year must be greater than the 60th month but cannot be greater than the projected closure date. The projected closure date is determined by subtracting number in the Ctr field from 60 and adding that many months to the ongoing benefit month or by adding one month to the end month of the current extension if one already exists. If the date entered does not fit the criteria a soft Edit Error 2073, EXTENSION BEGIN DATE MUST BE 61ST MONTH EXPECTED CLOSING MONTH displays. The date must be reviewed for accuracy. If the begin month of the extension is within the range of an existing extension, Edit error 2077, EXTENSION PERIODS CANNOT OVERLAP displays. To continue to the next screen the date must be adjusted accordingly. New Extensions - Range End field:  Enter [last month and year (MM YY) of the extension].  The month and year of the range end date should not be less than three months or cannot be greater than one year after the month and year of the range begin date. If the date entered does not fit the criteria the following edit displays: End date is less than 3 months = Edit 2076, Hardship Extension Should Not be Less than 3 Months. End date is more than 1 year = Edit 2075, Hardship Extensions Cannot Exceed 12 Months. When there is an existing extension on the TWEP screen and the client is being moved to a different extension category, the user will type over the end date of the existing extension with the corrected date. The user will then enter the new extension. New Extensions - Category  field:   Enter [hardship category code]. (See <F1> for valid values). New Extensions - Del Ind   field:   Enter [Y] in the Del field and press <F24> to remove a range of dates. Extensions should only be deleted from the TWEP if the entry is truly incorrect.

TANF PROCESSING FOR SPECIAL IMMIGRANTS How do I process an application for an Iraqi or Afghan Immigrant who was granted Special Immigrant status under section 101(a)(27) of the INA?   ·         Follow the steps in the Interview, Process Application Month and Finalize Application chapters.   ·         Special Immigrants fromIraq  are eligible for Federal assistance for up to eight months from their date of entry into the United States .   ·         Special Immigrants from Afghanistan are eligible for Federal assistance for up to six months from their date of entry in the United States.   ·         The Special Immigrants will be coded as [RF] – Refugee for the first six or eight months.   ·         See EAZ Manual – WAC 388-424-0010 Citizenship and alien status – Eligibility restrictions for the temporary assistance for needy families program and medical benefits, including non-emergency Medicaid and the state children’s health insurance program (SCHIP).   ·         Users must set Alert 450 as a reminder to change the coding on the ALAS screen at the end of the six or eight month eligibility period to allow federal assistance to trickle to state assistance.   1.       On the ALAS screen, take the following steps:       o        In the INS Stat field, change [RF] – Refugee to [PA] –Permanent Resident Alien.   o        In the Initial INS Stat field, change [RF] – Refugee to [NR] – Not Refugee.

TANF Closed Due To Receipt Of Tribal TANF Benefits What happens when a TANF client starts receiving Tribal TANF Benefits? When an F01 AU closes due to receipt of Tribal TANF benefits, will it trickle to categorically needy medical? What happens to an associated Basic Food Assistance Unit when the TANF AU closes for receipt of Tribal TANF benefits? What happens when [TT] income is coded on an F04 AU? What happens when [TT] income is added to other cash programs? What happens when a TANF client starts receiving Tribal TANF benefits? If you are a client in a household which is eligible for a Tribal TANF program, you cannot receive state and tribal TANF in the same month. See EAZ Manual - WAC 388-400-0005 Who is eligible for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families?. When Tribal TANF income [TT] is entered on the UNER screen, the system automatically closes the TANF assistance unit for Reason Code 112 – Receiving Tribal TANF Benefits. When an F01 AU closes due to receipt of Tribal TANF benefits, will it trickle to categorically needy medical? When an F01 AU is closed for Reason Code 112: F01 will trickle to F04 medical. AF-P will trickle to P02 medical. What happens to an associated Basic Food Assistance Unit when the TANF AU closes for receipt of Tribal TANF benefits? Basic Food will not transform to Transitional Food Assistance (TFA) when there is [TT] income coded on the UNER screen. If the [TT] income is coded on a client that is listed as a non-member [NM] on the Basic Food AU, it will transform to TFA. The Basic Food AU will remain categorically eligible as long as there is [TT] income coded on theUNER screen. For more information of TFA, refer to the Transitional Food Assistance (TFA) Chapter (in Basic Food Program). What happens when [TT] income is coded on an F04 AU? When [TT] income is coded on an F04 AU, the clients will remain F04 eligible regardless of other income or resources. What happens when [TT] income is added to other cash programs? Tribal TANF [TT] income added to any other cash program will not result in termination. It will be budgeted as unearned income. See EAZ Manual - Treatment of Income.

Kinship Care Dual TANF What is Kinship Care Dual TANF?   Who is eligible for Kinship Care Dual TANF?   How long is the Kinship Care Dual TANF certification period?   What medical benefits are Kinship Care Dual TANF children eligible for?   How do I screen a Kinship Care Dual TANF AU?   How do I process a Kinship Care Dual TANF AU?   What if the custodial caregiver does not comply with the family re-unification services through the Division of Children & Family Services (DCFS)?     What is Kinship Care Dual TANF?   ·         Kinship Care Dual TANF benefits are for families whose child or children have been temporarily placed with another relative caregiver or other adult caregiver. This program requires that the custodial parent/caregiver is working with the Division of Children and Family Services (DCFS) on a Family Re-unification Plan.    ·         These children are identified as having a living arrangement code of FC – Foster Care Non-Title IV-E or FE - Foster Care Title IV-E on their DEM1 screen.    ·         The Custodial Parent/Caregiver can continue to receive a TANF grant for up to 180 days while they work with DCFS on their Family Re-unification Plan.  During this time the temporary caregiver can also receive a TANF grant for the child or children.

NOTE: Basic Food rules remain unchanged. See EAZ Manual – Program Summary Washington Basic Food Program.

Who is eligible for Kinship Care Dual TANF benefits?   ·         A child who has been temporarily removed from the home of their custodial parent/caregiver, placed with an unlicensed relative caregiver or adult acting in loco parentis, while the family works with DCFS to resolve the family reconciliation issues.   ·         There must be a clear expectation that the AU member will return to the family home within 180 days. Verification must come from Children’s Administration (CA).  See EAZ Manual – WAC 388-454-0015 Temporary Absence from the home.   How long is the Kinship Care Dual TANF certification period?   ·         The system defaults to a 12 month certification period.   ·         The system will use the Temporary Placement End Date on the DEM1 screen to track the temporary placement of the child receiving dual TANF/SFA benefits.     ·         The 180 day period begins on the date the child actually left the home.   ·         The worker of record for the custodial parent/caregiver’s TANF/SFA AU where the child’s financial responsibility code is a RC - Recipient of Cash Only will receive Alert 108 – TEMP PLACEMENT OPEN FOR 180 DAYS – REVIEW HH STATUS. This alert displays 60 days prior to the temporary placement end date and again in the month in which the temporary placement is scheduled to end.   What medical benefits are Kinship Care Dual TANF children eligible for?   ·         The child is eligible for F01 – Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Medical Program.   ·         If a D01/D02 is already open workers need to contact the Foster Care Medical Team (FCMT) at 1-800-547-3109 to coordinate closing the D01/D02.   How do I screen a Kinship Care Dual TANF?   ·         To screen a Kinship Care Dual TANF AU, take the following steps:   1.    From the Welcome Back page in aces.online, click the Screen New Application link at the top of the page. The Applicant page displays in a new window.   2.    On the Applicant page:   o    Enter the head of household’s Name, Residential and Mailing Addresses.    o    Click the AREP/Payee checkbox if you will be entering an Authorized Representative or Payee to the case.  For instructions to add an Authorized Representative, see Screening – aces.online, Authorized Representatives.   o    Click the Next button.   3.    Complete the address validation process.   o    See Screening – aces.online, Address Validation for additional instructions on this process.   4.    On the Programs page:   o    Click the checkbox next to Cash.   o    Click the Next button.   5.    Continue the screening process until you reach the Finalize page.   o    See Screening - aces.online, Screening a Client for additional information on completing screening.   6.    On the Finalize page:   o    Click the checkbox next to TANF (AF).   o    Click Next, and the Finalize – Programs Details page closes.   o    Click Commit.   How do I process a Kinship Care Dual TANF AU?   ·         To process a pending AU, take the following steps:   1.    From the AMEN, select Option O – Interview.   2.    On the STAT screen, complete the Finl Resp fields as follows:   o    [PN] – Applicant for the applicant.      o    [NM] – Non-member for any non-applying household members.     o    Enter the [appropriate code] in the Optional AU Memb field.   3.    On the DEM1 screen:   o    In the Living Arrangement field, change the child(ren)’s living arrangement code from AH – At Home to the [appropriate valid value based on the client’s situation FE or FC].  See <F1> Help.   o    Enter the [placement end date] in the Placemnt End Date field. The 180 day period begins on the date the child actually left the home.

o    In the NCPs For Child, field do not increase the count to include the custodial caregiver.   4.     On the NCPS screen:   o    Enter a [Y] in the TP – Temporary Placement field, on the temporary caregivers F01 AU. This stops ACES from sending a referral to SEMS while the family is working with DCFS and receiving Family Re-unification Services.   ♦    This coding will allow the children to receive Basic Food in the temporary caregiver’s assistance unit if eligible.

NOTE: If a user attempts to open a third TANF AU for the same child or children, hard Edit 2260 – CHILD ALREADY ACTIVE IN TWO TANF AUS, REVIEW CLIENT STATUS displays and prevents the user from finalizing the AU.

What if the custodial parent/caregiver does not comply with the family re-unification services plan through the Division of Children & Family Services (DCFS)?   ·         Take the following steps on the custodial parent/caregiver case:   1.    On the STAT screen, at the client level enter reason code 570 – Child’s Temporary Placement has ended. This will close the child off of the custodial parent/caregiver’s TANF AU and reduce the grant or close the AU if there are no other eligible children in the home.   ·         Take the following steps on the Temporary Caregiver’s case:   2.    On the child’s DEM1 screen take the following steps:   o    Change the child’s living arrangement code from [FC] or [FE] to [AH] – At Home.   o    Remove the [placement end date] from the Placemnt End Date field.   o    Update the child(ren’s) NCPs For Child to now include the custodial parent/caregiver that is non compliant with DCFS.   3.    On the NCPS screen, remove the TP – Temporary Placement code from the F01 AU. This generates a child support referral to DCS.

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Modification Date: January 16, 2009

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