MEMORANDUM

DISCUSSION:

Effective October 1, 2008, Transitional Employment Benefit (TEB) must be explored for any Temporary Assistance case with earned income that closes due to excess income of the parent(s). TEB is a fifty dollar ($50.00) payment to families for up to six (6) months when the family loses eligibility for Temporary Assistance benefits due to an increase in income, removal of an earnings disregard or an allowable expense deduction, or a household composition change which causes ineligibility due to income guidelines for Temporary Assistance. Missouri Code of State Regulations 13 CSR 40-2.390 establishes TEB eligibility guidelines. TEB helps to support working families during their transition into employment and the loss of eligibility for Temporary Assistance.

The Temporary Assistance section of the Income Maintenance Manual has been updated to add Sections 0245.000.00 – 0245.080.00 for Transitional Employment Benefit.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

TEB payments to families are made when the family loses eligibility for Temporary Assistance benefits due to:

• an increase in income of the parent(s);
• removal of an earnings disregard or an allowable expense deduction; or
• a household composition change which causes ineligibility due to income guidelines for Temporary Assistance.

TEB payments are not prorated and may be received for up to six (6) consecutive months as long as a family continues to meet the requirements listed below. There is no limit on the number of times a family may receive TEB as long as they lose eligibility for Temporary Assistance as stated above and the following guidelines are met:

1. The family must have received Temporary Assistance cash benefits for at least one (1) month. This includes a month in which the amount may have been prorated.

2. Work eligible parents in the family must continue to meet the required work participation hours. The required hours must be met through employment only. The following chart displays applicable hours of participation for household composition.

   Household Type	Minimum Number of Hours Required
   Single parent, or two-parent where one parent is disabled, with child(ren) age six or older.	30 hours
   Single parent or two-parent where one parent is disabled, with child(ren) under age six.	20 hours
   Two-parent households	55 hours

3. The family must meet all Temporary Assistance eligibility requirements with the exception of income.

4. The family must have been eligible for and received Temporary Assistance in October 2008 or later.

   NOTE: TEB is determined by work eligible parents in the household meeting the work requirements. Parents who are ineligible aliens are the only parents that are not considered work eligible. See the examples below for different household compositions and TEB eligibility.

Single Parent Households:

• Parent is work eligible and is working the required number of hours for TEB; the family may receive TEB.
• Parent is work eligible and is not working the required number of hours for TEB; the family does not qualify to receive TEB.
• Parent is an ineligible alien; the family does not qualify to receive TEB.
• Parent is disqualified for Temporary Assistance due to being a fugitive felon, a drug related felony conviction or fraudulent receipt of assistance conviction and is working the required number of hours for TEB; the family may receive TEB.
• Parent is a work eligible parent who meets an exemption or exclusion from Temporary Assistance work requirements and is working the required number of hours for TEB; the family may receive TEB.

Two-Parent Households:

• Both parents are work eligible and working the required number of hours for TEB; the family may receive TEB.
• Both parents are work eligible, but only one parent is working and the number of hours is not met for a two-parent household for TEB; the family does not qualify to receive TEB.
• One parent is an ineligible alien, the other parent is not an ineligible alien and is working the required number of hours for TEB; the family may receive TEB.
• One parent is an ineligible alien, the other parent is not an ineligible alien and is not working the required number of hours for TEB; the family does not qualify to receive TEB.
• One parent is disqualified for Temporary Assistance due to being a fugitive felon, a drug related felony conviction, or fraudulent receipt of assistance conviction, one is not, and both parents are working the required number of hours for TEB; the family may receive TEB.
• One parent is disqualified for Temporary Assistance due to being a fugitive felon, a drug related felony conviction, or fraudulent receipt of assistance conviction, one is not, only one parent is working and the number of hours is not met for a two-parent household, the family does not qualify to receive TEB.

Families will not be eligible to receive TEB if they voluntarily close their Temporary Assistance case to prevent exhaustion of the sixty (60) month lifetime limit. TEB does not count toward the sixty (60) month lifetime limit for Temporary Assistance.

FAMIS SYSTEM CHANGES

The eligibility unit (EU) cannot apply for TEB. However, the system does create an "application" and will authorize it if the EU is eligible for TEB. TEB is a sub program of Temporary Assistance. TEB will show as a separate Temporary Assistance Eligibility Unit on FAMISPAR, with a sequence number of "010" (TA00xxxxxxxxTAC010).

TA WORK REQUIREMENT (COMPACT/FM8B) SCREEN

Families that receive TEB must work a certain number of hours per week as outlined above. The weekly work hours, method of verification (VER), and verification date (VER DATE) must be recorded on the TA Work Requirement (COMPACT/FM8B) screen in order for a family to receive TEB. Hard copy (HC) and telephone call to the employer (TC) are the only verification codes that will allow a family to receive TEB.

NOTE: Any time a change in work hours is reported for Temporary Assistance or TEB, the TA Work Requirement (COMPACT/FM8B) screen should be updated with the current information. This information is used for federal reporting requirements of work participation rates.

INCOME (FMX0) SCREEN

When the Income (FMX0) screen is updated to end the income source on a Temporary Assistance or TEB case the following message displays at the bottom of the screen: "Press F17=COMPACT to update 'Weekly Hours' field if HOH/2nd parent". The eligibility specialist may press F17 to flow to the TA Work Requirement (COMPACT/FM8B) screen to update the weekly work hour information when in maintenance mode. During the controlled flow the eligibility specialist can add/update the hours worked per week on the TA Work Requirement (COMPACT/FM8B) screen when it appears during the flow.

INCOME AMOUNT (FMX3) SCREEN

When the Income Amount (FMX3) screen is updated on a Temporary Assistance or TEB case the weekly work hours, method of verification (VER), and verification date (VER DATE) must be recorded on the TA Work Requirement (COMPACT/FM8B) screen. FAMIS displays the following message at the bottom of the Income Amount (FMX3) screen: "Press F15=COMPACT to update 'Weekly Hours' field if HOH/2nd parent". The eligibility specialist may press F15 when in maintenance mode to add/update the hours worked per week on the TA Work Requirement (COMPACT/FM8B) screen. During the controlled flow the eligibility specialist can add/update the hours worked per week on the Work Requirement (COMPACT/FM8B) screen when the screen appears during the flow.

NOTICES TO THE ELIGIBILITY UNIT (EU)

The Adverse Action (FA-510) notice for Temporary Assistance closings due to earned income only informs the family of the possible eligibility for TEB and asks for verification of work hours. The closing of the Temporary Assistance case initiates the eligibility determination for TEB. Once the Temporary Assistance case is closed, if the required verification for hours worked has been recorded on the TA Work Requirement (COMPACT/FM8B) screen, FAMIS approves the TEB case in the overnight batch process the night after the Temporary Assistance case closes. An Action Notice (FA-150) is generated to the participant notifying him or her of the approval for TEB. This notice also specifies begin and end dates for TEB. Therefore, an Adverse Action Notice (FA-510) is not required when the household has received six (6) consecutive months of TEB. The TEB case automatically ends in FAMIS.

If work hours are not verified and entered on the TA Work Requirement (COMPACT/FM8B) screen when the Temporary Assistance case closes, the eligibility specialist must send a Request for Information (FA-325) asking the EU to provide verification of hours worked per week. If the requested verification is not received and entered on the TA Work Requirement (COMPACT/FM8B) screen within ten (10) days, the TEB case is rejected. A TEB case may be cancel rejected within 30 days of the rejection if it was rejected in error; e.g., verification of work hours was provided timely, but was not entered and the TEB case rejected.

EXAMPLE: Temporary Assistance case closes Tuesday night, and shows closed in FAMIS on Wednesday. TA Work Requirement (COMPACT/FM8B) has the hours worked information entered and verified. The TEB case is approved in the overnight batch process on Wednesday, and shows open in FAMIS on Thursday.

EXAMPLE: Temporary Assistance case closes Tuesday night and shows closed in FAMIS on Wednesday. TA Work Requirement (COMPACT/FM8B) does not have the hours worked information entered and verified. The eligibility specialist must send a Request for Information (FA-325) asking the EU to provide verification of hours worked per week.

TEB REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

Families receiving TEB have the same reporting requirements as for Temporary Assistance. When a family is active TEB and an INCREASE in income is reported and entered on the Income Amount (FMX3) screen, a message displays at the bottom of the screen "Press F15=COMPACT to update 'Weekly Hours' field if HOH/2nd parent" as a reminder to update the work hours, date verified, and how the hours were verified. The eligibility specialist should update the TA Work Requirement (COMPACT/FM8B) screen with the correct work hours, date verified, and how the hours were verified. If the eligibility specialist fails to update the information, the family continues to receive TEB since this is an increase in income.

When a family is receiving TEB and a DECREASE in income is reported and entered on the Income Amount (FMX3) screen, a message displays at the bottom of the screen "Press F15=COMPACT to update 'Weekly Hours' field if HOH/2nd parent" as a reminder to update the work hours, date verified, and how the hours were verified. When an income source is ENDED on the Income (FMX0) screen, a message displays at the bottom of the screen "Press F17=COMPACT to update 'Weekly Hours' field if HOH/2nd parent" as a reminder to update the work hours, date verified, and how the hours were verified. FAMIS removes the work hours verification code and date verified on the TA Work Requirement (COMPACT/FM8B) screen. The eligibility specialist must update the information or generate a Request for Information (FA-325) asking the EU to provide verification of hours worked per week. The case “pends” and if the information is not entered timely, an Adverse Action Notice (FA-510) is generated and the TEB case will close once the Adverse Action Notice expires because FAMIS is unable to determine if the eligibility unit continues to meet the required number of hours worked. If the work hours are verified and entered but do not meet or exceed the required work hours identified in the chart above, an Adverse Action Notice is generated to inform the family they no longer meet eligibility criteria and their TEB case will close.

RETURN TO TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE

A new application is required for a family who wishes to receive Temporary Assistance benefits. If a family applies for Temporary Assistance and is currently receiving TEB, FAMIS will close the TEB case upon approval of Temporary Assistance and an Action Notice (FA-150) is generated to the participant. No Adverse Action Notice (FA-510) is required for the TEB case.

When a Temporary Assistance application is approved for a month in which the family has received TEB, the fifty ($50.00) dollar TEB is included as unearned income on the Temporary Assistance budget and the cash grant is adjusted accordingly. The Income Summary Detail (INCSUMM/FM33) shows the TEB grant as a source (SRCE) TA. The TA Budget Summary (FM4D) screen has a new field titled "Grant Amt Reduced by TEB" to show why the GRANT AMOUNT field is different than the MAX ALLOWED field.

TEB displays on the Budget Summary (TABUDSUM/FM4D) screen and the Payment History (PAYHIST/FM5F) screen.

TEB ISSUANCES

The first TEB payments will be made in November 2008 for families who lose eligibility for Temporary Assistance in October 2008 and meet TEB eligibility requirements. Payments for TEB will be the same as current TA policy and made by electronic benefits transfer (EBT) to an account accessed by a benefit security card or by direct deposit to the participant’s checking or savings account. See EBT Manual 0150.000.00 ELECTRONIC BENEFIT TRANSFER (EBT) SYSTEM/DIRECT DEPOSIT for additional information.

A new option "Include TEB (Y/N)" has been added to the Payment History (PAYHIST/FM5F) screen. When a "Y" is entered in this field for the TA cash case, the system displays both TA Cash and TEB payment history. When an "N" is entered in this field, the system displays TA Cash only payment history.

TEB CLAIMS

If a change is not reported timely and results in an eligibility unit receiving TEB to which it is not entitled, a claim referral may be necessary. Staff will be advised of the claim procedures and code to use for TEB claims at a later date.

BUDGETING TEB FOR FOOD STAMP AND CHILD CARE PROGRAMS

TEB is included as unearned income for the Food Stamp and Child Care programs. The system budgets the $50.00 benefit as unearned income automatically, completes the eligibility determination, and generates notices to the eligibility unit. No additional entry is required by the eligibility specialist.

TEB displays as TA income on the FS budget summary. For the Food Stamp Program an action on the TEB benefit is treated the same as an action on a Temporary Assistance benefit, and must be acted upon for eligibility units subject to simplified reporting requirements. Do not disregard the action.

BUDGETING FOR MO HEALTHNET PROGRAMS

TEB, like the Temporary Assistance grant, is not considered as income for MO HealthNet program eligibility.

CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT (CSE)

Child support is not assigned to Child Support Enforcement (CSE) when a family receives TEB. The family will receive child support payments owed to the family after the Temporary Assistance case closes.

HEARINGS

Hearing requests for TEB will be handled by the Family Support Division using normal hearing procedures.

FAMIS USER GUIDES

The Case Management section of the FAMIS User Guides has been revised. The section titled: COMPONENT ACTIVITY SCREEN has been renamed and updated. It is now called: TA WORK REQUIREMENT SCREEN. Procedures for adding weekly hours and verification are added.

NECESSARY ACTION:

• Review this memorandum with appropriate staff.

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ATTACHMENT:

TA WORK REQUIREMENT (COMPACT/FM8B) USER GUIDE