| TO: | ALL COUNTY OFFICES |
| FROM: | JANEL R. LUCK, DIRECTOR |
| SUBJECT: | FAMIS NON-CITIZEN INFORMATION SCREEN (FMML) CHANGES FOOD STAMP MANUAL REVISION #24 1105.10.00 TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE MANUAL REVISION #25 0205.040.05 |
DISCUSSION:
Effective November 13, 2006 the FAMIS Non-Citizen Information (FMML) screen is changed due to the integration of the new FAMIS model. The changes allow for collection of verification of qualified and non-qualified alien status as required by Family Medical Assistance programs. The following changes have been made to this screen:
- “Agree to Contact Sponsor (Agree to Cont spon)” is added;
- “SAVE Verification (Save Ver)” field is added;
- NOC (Did Not Agree to Sponsor Contact) code is no longer available for use;
- History function is added; and
- Citizen “Y” or “N” is added to the header.
Agree to Contact Sponsor field
Food Stamps:
Sponsored immigrant(s) have the option to not give consent for the Family Support Division to contact their sponsor. The eligibility specialist needs to advise sponsored immigrant applicants about sponsor liability and sponsor deeming prior to completing the application for food stamp benefits.
If the sponsor information is not provided for the sponsored immigrant(s), the eligibility specialist cannot ask the sponsored immigrant(s) any further information regarding their citizenship status and the immigrant(s) will not be eligible to receive food stamp benefits.
- For sponsored immigrant(s) that provide the sponsor information enter the appropriate status code in the status field and prompt (F4=PROMPT) or enter “Yes” in the “Agree to Contact Sponsor” field on the Non-Citizen Information (FMML) screen.
The sponsor information (FM85) screen immediately follows the Non-Citizen Information (FMML) screen for all EU members who have a “Yes” in the “Agree to Contact Sponsor (Agree to Con spon)” field in the controlled flow. Refer to the ADDING AND UPDATING IMMIGRANT SPONSOR INFORMATION User Guide for instructions on entering the sponsor information. The user guide has been revised to add Temporary Assistance and Family Medical Assistance applications to the process.
- For sponsored immigrant(s) who do not consent to contact sponsor for food stamp only cases, prompt (F4=PROMPT) or enter the status code “DTD” and Prompt (F4=PROMPT) or enter “No” in the “Agree to Contact Sponsor” field on the Non-Citizen Information (FMML) screen and client statement (CS) in the verification field. FAMIS will calculate the prorated share of income of the individual(s) to be counted to the remaining EU members. Any combination cases with Temporary Assistance or Family Medical Assistance programs will need the appropriate status code entered on the Non-Citizen Information (FMML) screen. Temporary Assistance and Family Medical Assistance programs require the individual to give his/her status.
- If the immigrant does not have a sponsor, prompt (F4=PROMPT) or enter “N/A” in the “Agree to Contact Sponsor” field.
Applications
During the next application, the “NOC” code needs to be changed on the Non-Citizen Information (FMML) screen. If the “NOC” code is not changed, an error message “Code table value not found” will display and the eligibility specialist will not be able to flow forward. Change the code to “DTD” if the sponsored immigrant(s) does not agree to contacting the sponsor and the case is a food stamp only case and enter “No” in the “Agree to Contact Sponsor” field and client statement (CS) for verification.
Active Cases
When the EU reports a change, enter the change into FAMIS; review the Non-Citizen Information (FMML) screen to determine if any sponsored immigrant(s) has a “NOC” code that needs to be changed. If the code is not changed when the eligibility determination is run, the PEND code displays on the Supercase Eligibility Unit Summary (FM30) screen for technical. Select the budget month and press F14=Tech to resolve the PEND code. If no change is made to the “NOC” code an error message “Code table value not found” will display. Change the code to “DTD” if the sponsored immigrant(s) continues not to provide sponsor information. Enter the appropriate code in the “Agree to Contact Sponsor” field, client statement (CS) for verification, and re-run the eligibility determination.
Temporary Assistance/Family Medical Assistance:
Verification of qualified or non-qualified alien status is required for Temporary Assistance and Family Medical Assistance programs. The immigrant must provide the required information to be eligible for Temporary Assistance or Family Medical Assistance.
Applications:
For sponsored immigrants who provide the sponsor information:
- Enter the appropriate status code in the status field; and
- Prompt (F4=prompt) for “Yes or No” Agree to Contact Sponsor (if combination with Food Stamps) or N/A (Temporary Assistance/Family Medical Assistance only application) in the Agree to Con Spon field in the controlled flow. This will approve the Temporary Assistance/Family Medical Assistance case on this factor of eligibility.
NOTE: Sponsor information is entered on the Sponsor Information (FM85) screen. This field can be accessed by pressing F15=Sponsor from the Non-Citizen Information (FMML) screen or by typing SPONSOR on the command line. Refer to the ADDING AND UPDATING IMMIGRANT SPONSOR INFORMATION User Guide for instructions on entering the sponsor information.
For sponsored immigrants who decline to declare sponsor information:
- Enter the status code DTD in the status field; and
- Enter “CS” for client statement in the verification field.
This will fail the Temporary Assistance and Family Medical Assistance case.
For immigrants who do not have a sponsor:
- Enter the appropriate status code in the status field; and
- Prompt (F4=prompt) or enter “N/A” in the Agree to Contact Sponsor field.
Active Cases with NOC code:
When the EU reports a change, enter the change into FAMIS; review the Non-Citizen Information (FMML) screen to determine if any sponsored immigrant(s) has a “NOC” code that needs to be changed. If the code is not changed when the new eligibility determination is run a “PEND” code will display on the Supercase Eligibility Unit Summary screen for technical details. Select the budget month and press F14=Tech to resolve the “PEND” code. If no change is made to the “NOC” code an error message “Code table value not found” will display. Change the code to “DTD” if the sponsored immigrant(s) continues to not provide sponsor information. Enter “N/A” in the “Agree to Contact Sponsor” field, client statement (CS) for verification, for Temporary Assistance/Family Medical Assistance only cases and re-run the eligibility determination (EDRES).
NOTE: If the sponsored immigrant provides the sponsor information, access FMML screen and “F15” Sponsor to add the sponsor information. Refer to the ADDING AND UPDATING IMMIGRANT SPONSOR INFORMATION User Guide for instructions on entering the sponsor information. Wording of the user guide has been changed to add Temporary Assistance and Family Medical Assistance applications to the process.
The SAVE verification (Save ver) field has been added to allow for the eligibility specialist to document if the immigrant status was verified by SAVE (S1) or secondary verification initiated (S2). Prompt (F4=PROMPT) or enter the appropriate code in the Save Ver field. Family Medical Assistance policy requires INS documents to be verified by Save 1 or Save 2.
If there is a Medicaid application with the SAVE verification field blank, an alert “Save verification not entered” will be sent the next day. The alert will elevate to the IM Supervisor after 5 days.
If the immigrant status is verified by SAVE, enter (S1) and supporting comments. If SAVE indicates that secondary verification is required, initiate secondary verification as appropriate and enter (S2) on the Non-Citizen Screen (FMML). If the verification is not received, a reminder “Save-2 verification pending” is set for 6 months in the future for Temporary Assistance/Family Medical Assistance cases. If Save-2 verification is not received by the time of the reminder, send a second request for the Save-2 verification.
NOTE: The alerts/reminders are not set for food stamp only cases. Policy is not changed, SAVE verification is required for food stamp cases, but the lack of a SAVE verification code will not cause the food stamp case to pend.
History Function is added to Non-Citizen Information (FMML) screen to assist in tracking. The eligibility specialist can view an immigrant's history by selecting the immigrant and pressing F16=History.
Citizen “Y” or “N” is added to the header of the Non-Citizen Information (FMML) screen. This is a display only field that is populated by the citizenship driver question.
Manual Revisions
The manual revisions are updated as follows:
- Allowable FAMIS Verification Codes
chart is updated to remove the NOC (Did Not Agree to Sponsor Contact) code and add Family Medical Assistance programs;
- 1105.010.00 Citizenship and Immigrant Status is updated to remove the NOC (Did Not Agree to Sponsor Contact) code and add procedures regarding the “Agree to Contact Sponsor (Agree to Cont spon)” field; and
- 0205.040.05 Eligibility Determination, #3. Aliens with Sponsors is updated to say that comments to support verification supplied must be recorded on the Non-Citizen (FMML) screen. Also, if the sponsor is not meeting the financial obligation, contact IM Program and Policy at 573-751-3507.
NECESSARY ACTION:
- Review this memorandum with appropriate staff.