Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)/State Funded Assistance (SFA) Time Limit

Created on: 
Oct 11 2018

See ACES Screens and Online Pages for an example of pages or screens used in this chapter.

What is the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)/State Funded Assistance (SFA) time limit?

For information about TANF/SFA Time limits, see EA-Z Manual - TANF/SFA Time Limits.

What is the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)/State Funded Assistance (SFA) Time Limit Extension?

For information about TANF/SFA time limit extensions, see EA-Z Manual - WAC 388-484-0006 TANF/SFA limit extensions.

What is the length of time for Time Limit Extensions?

When a client has been approved for an extension the system defaults the length of the extension to 12 months for all categories except for the following 3 categories:

  • 09 - Family Violence 
    • Defaults to 6 months
  • 10 - Open CPS Case, First Dependency order
    • Defaults to 6 months
  • 12 - Administrative Hearing
    • Defaults to 3 months

For more information, see:

Online Processing

Where do I find the number of months a client has been on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)/State Funded Assistance (SFA)?

The number of months a client has been on TANF displays on the following pages:

  • In ACES.online, this information is on the Demographics - Client page.
  • In ACES 3G, this information is on the Time Clocks page.​

How do I manually adjust the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)/State Funded Assistance (SFA) time clock?

In some cases, the number of TANF months listed for a client may not be accurate.  When this number cannot be adjusted with historical changes to the TANF/SFA Assistance Unit (AU), the changes can be made manually.

For information about situations when the TANF/SFA time clock can be adjusted, see EA-Z Manual - WAC 388-484-0005 There is a five-year (sixty-month) time limit for TANF, SFA, and GA-S cash assistance.

To manually add months to the TANF/SFA time clock take the following steps on the active or pending TANF AU:

  1. From the Case Actions page, select the appropriate month from the Benefit Month drop down and click Start Changes.
  2. From the Navigation tree click on Time Clocks to display the Time Clocks page.  This page displays a summary of associated clients related to the TANF AU.
  3. To view and edit a client's TANF time clock details, hover and click the section under the client name to display and edit the TANF Time Clock details. From the TANF Time Clock details page:
  • Range Begin box - enter [the first mm/yyyy in the range to be adjusted].
  • Range End box - enter [the last mm/yyyy in the range to be adjusted].
  • Reason drop down - select the appropriate reason for the adjustment.
  1. To add more adjustments click the Add Adjustment link under the Time Clock Adjustments section.
  2. On the Eligibility page, click the Details link.
  3. On the Eligibility Details page, click the Confirm Benefits button.
  4. On the Eligibility page, click the Commit Changes button.
  5. On the Case Actions page click the Finalize link.

To delete months manually entered to the TANF/SFA time clock take the following steps on the active or pending TANF AU:

  1. Click the check box in the Time Clock Ranges  next to the range to be deleted.
NOTE: Months entered by the system cannot be deleted.  If  TANF/SFA months are not correct after adding or deleting month ranges, please contact ITS Customer Support at (360) 664-4560, Option 2.

Where can I find Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)/State Funded Assistance (SFA) Time Limit Extension Information?

TANF/SFA Time Limit Extension information is displayed on the TANF Month Extension page.

When a client has reached their 58th month of TANF/SFA, a Time Limit Extension Review must be completed in eJAS. The following information is sent in real time from eJAS to ACES and displays on the TANF Month Extension page:

  • Start date.
  • End date (No end date for Extension category 13).
  • 2- Digit numeric value associated with the approved Extension category. 

What happens when a client is not approved for a Time Limit Extension?

If a client has not been approved for an extension, Time Limit Extension Category 13 is completed in eJAS.  If the TANF Counter on the Demographics Clients page is greater than 60 months, benefits terminate with one of the following reason codes:

  • Exceeds TANF Time Limits (229), or
  • Exceeds Ineligible Parent TANF Time Limits (348).

The system generates Letter 006-02 (Termination of TANF/SFA) that displays in letter history.

Barcode runs a special process to print and mail the ACES and eJAS Extension Review letters together.

For a non-English speaking client, a Barcode tickler is generated to remind worker to locally print the ACES and eJAS letters, send for translation and mail them together when translation comes back.

Mainframe Processing

Where do I find the number of months a client has been on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)/State Funded Assistance (SFA)?

The number of months a client has been on TANF displays on the TICS screen.

  • For more information on the TICS screen, see <F2> Help.

How do I manually adjust the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)/State Funded Assistance (SFA) time clock?

In some cases, the number of TANF months listed for a client may not be accurate.  When this number cannot be adjusted with historical changes to the TANF/SFA Assistance Unit (AU), the changes can be made manually.

For information about situations when the TANF/SFA time clock can be adjusted, see EA-Z Manual - WAC 388-484-0005 There is a five-year (sixty-month) time limit for TANF, SFA, and GA-S cash assistance.

To manually add months to the TANF/SFA time clock take the following steps:

  1. From AMEN, select Option [R] – Interim/Hist Change in the appropriate benefit month.
  2. On the TICA screen under New Adjustments update the following fields:
  • Range Begin field - enter [the first MM/YY in the range to be adjusted].
  • Range End field - enter [the last MM/YY of the range to be adjusted].
  • Reas field - enter [the adjustment reason code].  Press <F1> for help.
  1. Only two adjustments can be entered under New Adjustments at a time. To enter more, <TRANSMIT> and repeat steps 1 through 3 until all adjustments are entered.
  2. Call Done then <TRANSMIT> to verify and commit the data.
  3. To delete an entry, enter [Y – Yes] in the Del field to delete the range:
  • Under New Adjustments if adding multiple adjustments; or,
  • Under Current / Historical Adjustments if  the adjustment has already been entered. 
  • Then, press <F24> to delete.
NOTE: Months entered by the system cannot be deleted.​ If TANF/SFA months are not correct after adding or deleting month ranges, please contact ITS Customer Support at (360) 664-4560, Option 2.

Where can I find Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)/State Funded Assistance (SFA) Time Limit Extension Information?

TANF/SFA Time Limit Extension information is displayed on the TWEP screen.

When a client has reached their 58th month of TANF/SFA, a Time Limit Extension Review must be completed in eJAS. The following information is sent in real time from eJAS to ACES and displays on the TWEP screen:

  • Start date.
  • End date (No end date for Extension category 13).
  • 2- Digit numeric value associated with the approved Extension category. 

What happens when a client is not approved for an extension?

If a client has not been approved for an extension, a Time Limit Extension Category 13 is completed in eJAS.  This automatically updates the ACES TWEP screen with category 13 – No Extension.  If the TANF Counter on the TICS screen is greater than 60 months, benefits terminate with one of the following reason codes:

  • Reason Code 229 – Exceeds TANF Time Limits, or
  • Reason Code 348 – Exceeds Ineligible Parent TANF Time Limit.

The system generates Letter 006-02 (Termination of TANF/SFA) that displays in letter history.

Barcode runs a special process to print and mail the ACES and eJAS Extension Review letters together.

For a non-English speaking client, a Barcode tickler is generated to remind worker to locally print the ACES and eJAS letters, send for translation and mail them together when translation comes back.

 

See ACES Screens and Online Pages for an example of pages or screens used in this chapter.