MEMORANDUM

DISCUSSION:

In December 2011, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) awarded Missouri Department of Social Services (DSS) a demonstration grant to allow DSS to continue the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer for Children (SEBTC) project and expand to include more children from the Kansas City area and add children from the St Louis area.  Memorandum IM-#17, dated 2/29/2012 discusses the 2012 SEBTC Demonstration Project.

NOTE: This memorandum is for informational purposes only. Local county office staff will not be able to issue benefits or take applications. However, because there will be information displayed on the Payment History and Payment Maintenance screens in FAMIS this information is being shared with all staff.

This memorandum discusses:

• FAMIS screens impacted by SEBTC;
• SEBTC case creation;
• SEBTC benefit issuance;
•  SEBTC benefit expungement;
• EBT cards; and
• SEBTC case maintenance and contacts.

FAMIS Screens

SEBTC benefit information will appear on the Payment History (FM5F / PAYHIST) screen, with Payroll Type of SFP for the Kansas City project area and SFL for the St. Louis project area.  A new field "Program" is added to the screen to filter for SEBTC benefits.  To view SEBTC payments on the Payment History screen:

• Type FM5F or PAYHIST on the command line, or using menus from the Main Menu:
  • type 4 and press enter;
  • type 2 and press enter; and
  • type 1 and press enter.
• To find the payments using the head of household DCN, enter the DCN in the DCN field and press enter.
• To find the payments using a DCN of any eligible child in the SEBTC household, type the DCN of the child in the DCN field.  Prompt for or enter "SEBT" in the Payment Type field and "FS" in the Program field.  Press enter.  Any payment for which the child has been included will display.

SEBTC benefits will display on the Payment Maintenance (FM5J /PAYMAINT) screen.  To view the benefits on this screen, from the Payment History screen, select the payment to be viewed and press F16=PAYMAINT.  The head of household information will appear on this screen.  If a child received in more than one household in the SEBTC program period, inquiring on the Payment Maintenance screen will show on which case each benefit was issued for the child.  No actions to cancel or modify the benefit can be made from this screen by field staff. 

SEBTC cases will not appear on the FAMIS Participation (FM0D / FAMISPAR) screen.

SEBTC Case Creation for Information Only

Households can not apply to participate in SEBTC. The Center, Hickman Mills, Kansas City, and St. Louis Public school districts will be providing information regarding free and reduced lunch children within their districts. From these files, children will be randomly selected to receive SEBTC benefits.  FAMIS will use the file of randomly selected children to automatically create the SEBTC cases in FAMIS.  Not all cases can be automatically created by FAMIS.  Those cases will be manually created by SEBTC staff following a review and investigation of information.

SEBTC Benefit Issuance for Information Only

After all the cases are created, in May 2012, the first payroll for SEBTC will run.  SEBTC benefits are prorated for May and will be posted to EBT accounts, dependent on the date the first school district is out in the project area.

• For Kansas City, the prorated benefit amount for May is $18 per child and will be available on May 22, 2012, at 6:00 p.m.
• For St. Louis, the prorated benefit amount for May is $14 per child and will be available on May 24, 2012, at 6:00 p.m.

Households selected for participation in SEBTC will receive $60 per child per month for June and July. Benefits for June 2012 will be made available on May 31, 2012, at 6:00 a.m.  Benefits for July 2012 will be made available on June 30, 2012, at 6:00 a.m.

SEBTC benefits for August will be made available on July 31, 2012, at 6:00 a.m.  August benefits will be prorated based on the date the first school resumes in each project.

• For Kansas City, the prorated August benefit amount is $28 per child.
• For St. Louis, the prorated August benefit amount is $26 per child.

SEBTC benefits cannot be reissued because of loss due to household misfortune or a lost/stolen EBT card.

EBT Cards for Information Only

Households who currently have an existing EBT card in EBT Edge will receive the SEBTC benefit on their existing cards.  Households who do not have a current EBT card will have one sent to them.

If a household participated last year but does not have its EBT card anymore, the household will call the ARCHS call center or LINC to have the card reissued.

ARCHS 1-314-373-5499 (for St. Louis)
LINC 1-816-410-8367 (for Kansas City)

SEBTC Benefit Expungement for Information Only

SEBTC benefits will be expunged at 11:59 p.m. the night before the first school district resumes in each project area.

• For Kansas City, the benefits will be expunged at 11:59 p.m. on August 14, 2012.
• For St. Louis, the benefits will be expunged at 11:59 p.m. on August 13, 2012.

Once the SEBTC benefits are expunged, they cannot be restored.

SEBTC Case Maintenance and Contacts

During the benefit period, SEBTC households who need to report address changes or other information will be calling a call center in St. Louis or LINC in Kansas City at the telephone numbers listed above.

If a SEBTC household also receives other Income Maintenance assistance from FSD, SEBTC staff will notify the county office of the change, but will not make the change in FAMIS. Local FSD staff will make appropriate changes to the FAMIS case.

If a SEBTC only household reports a change of address to the FSD office, refer the household to the ARCHS or LINC call centers.

NECESSARY ACTION:

• Review this memorandum with appropriate staff

RT