During the mass adjustment FAMIS and Legacy will check the current GR amount and will take no action if the amount is correct.

NOTE:  As described in Email Memorandum IM-83 dated April 7, 2003, EUs with GR income that were converted to FAMIS after  March 29, 2003, have already been adjusted with the new GR grant amount.

During the mass adjustment, active Legacy food stamp EUs with GR income and no postponed verification are adjusted for May, 2003.  The GR grant amount is adjusted and food stamp benefits are reduced or the case is closed as necessary.  No adverse action notice is sent.

A notice will be sent to all active EUs with GR income in the Legacy system notifying them that their food stamp benefits may change.  A copy of the notice is shown below:

IMPORTANT NOTICE TO FOOD STAMP PARTICIPANTS FROM THE MISSOURI DIVISION OF FAMILY SERVICES

The Missouri General Relief (GR) grant increased in April 2003.  If anyone in your household receives a GR grant, your food stamp benefits may have decreased or your food stamp case may have closed.

The change in food stamp benefits is effective for May 2003.  You have the right to a fair hearing if you feel the new allotment amount is incorrect or the Division of Family Services has misapplied federal laws or regulations regarding this adjustment.

If you wish to request a hearing, please contact your local Family Services office within 10 days of receipt of this notice.

Reports

Legacy reports are generated listing active food stamp EUs with GR income that did not adjust because the GR income has ended but is still budgeted on the food stamp case, or cases in which the existing GR amount does not match the amount on the IM file.  The Legacy report is titled "FOOD STAMP CASES WITH GR NOT MATCHED TO IM".  The reports will be sent to the county office.

Review each case to determine if an adjustment is required for May. Send an adverse action notice, if necessary, to reduce benefits or close the case.

FAMIS Cases

During the mass adjustment, active FAMIS food stamp EUs with GR income and no postponed verification are adjusted for May, 2003.  The GR grant amount is adjusted and food stamp benefits are reduced or the case is closed as necessary.  No adverse action notice is sent.

FAMIS adjusts the GR grant amount for EUs that are active with postponed verification (EU status APV) only if the current GR amount is verified.  If the GR amount is not verified, the worker must enter the correct amount and verification code.  FAMIS does not create an action to adjust the food stamp benefits until all postponed verification is entered and a new eligibility determination is run.

All FAMIS food stamp EUs whose benefits are adjusted, or whose cases are closed, will receive an FA-150 CLAIMANT ACTION NOTICE notifying them of the change.  FAMIS food stamp EUs that are not adjusted or whose benefit amount did not change will not receive a notice.

FAMIS EUs in the Controlled Flow

For converted cases in the controlled flow, FAMIS adjusts the GR income.  When completing the controlled flow, review the existing GR amount and update if necessary.  If eligible for fewer benefits for May, 2003, FAMIS creates an adverse action notice when the eligibility determination is completed.  The Auth Status is set to RTA.  Complete the controlled flow and authorize the actions as soon as possible.  A listing of cases set to RTA will be sent to the county office.

For applications in the controlled flow, the GR amount is adjusted only if the controlled flow was interrupted after the income screens were accessed.  The application remains in the controlled flow.  FAMIS does not take any case action until the worker completes the controlled flow.

EUs on the Manual Conversion List (MCL)

The program to adjust the GR grants and the food stamp benefits runs after the regular programs on April 11, 2003.  Cases on the MCL that can be converted to FAMIS are converted before the GR mass adjustment.  Cases remaining on the MCL are adjusted by Legacy.

FAMIS EUs with Pending Adverse Actions

FAMIS adjusts the GR income on cases with a pending adverse action.  However, this results in a conflict of actions.  The worker receives the alert "OUTSTANDING ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATION", but no action is required by the worker.  FAMIS allows the first adverse action to expire and takes the required action.  If the EU is not closed after the first adverse action, FAMIS then re-runs an eligibility determination with the increased GR grant amount.  A new adverse action notice is sent to the EU as applicable.

The worker may choose to resolve the conflict of actions rather than allowing FAMIS to resolve the actions.  The worker can access the Action Resolution screen (FM50 or ACTRES) to resolve the actions.  The worker must void the pending adverse action. Refer to the user guide "Changing an Adverse Action Status" for instructions.  After voiding the adverse action, the worker must access the Eligibility Determination Resolution screen (FM3Y or EDRES) to run a new eligibility determination.

• If the action is a benefit reduction, authorize the new adverse action.

• If the action is a closing (AACL):
• on the Action Authorization screen (FM3H), type a "U" on the command line,
• change the action code to "WICL",
• enter the reason code "CAV",
• enter the override reason code "SUP", and
• press enter.

The GR grant change is considered verified upon receipt.  Therefore, when the GR income is updated by the mass adjustment, FAMIS takes action on the cumulative changes for simplified reporting EUs with disregarded actions.  This may result in an adverse action notice.

For some cases, such as (but not limited to) when GR income has been entered as zero rather than ended or more than one GR income source is shown for an individual, FAMIS cannot determine what action to take for the GR mass adjustment.  FAMIS may create an action, set the Auth Status to RTA, and display an Authorization Restriction of Insufficient Data or Insufficient Income Data on the Select Authorization (FM3G) screen.  The authorization restriction must be resolved by the worker before the action can be completed.  A listing of these cases will be sent to the county office.

Reports

FAMIS reports are generated listing active food stamp EUs with GR income that did not adjust because:

• the GR income has ended but is still budgeted on the food stamp case, or

• cases in which the previous GR amount still being budgeted does not match the previous GR amount on the IM file.

A report titled "FAMIS ELIGIBILITY UNITS SET TO RTA STATUS REQUIRING REVIEW" will be sent to the county office.  The report includes cases with insufficient data to complete the adjustment and cases in the controlled flow that had an action set to RTA.  Review each case on the report and resolve the issues as soon as possible.

• Review this memorandum with appropriate staff.