CHAPTER 3.

Certification Processing

**IHL CERTIFICATION PROCESSING**

The Chapter 1606 system is designed for "pay by cert" payment
processing. This is the same process as found in Chapter 30. In that
design, the payee is required to complete and return the Monthly Student
Verification of Enrollment form before payment is issued.

However, the regulation to enact monthly verification of enrollment in
Chapter 1606 was not finalized at the time the system was installed.
Therefore, an interim process was developed. This process requires no
special operator action, but will generate transactions of which you
should be aware.

NCD monthly certification processing in the Chapter 1606 system is the
same as that in the Chapter 30 system and will not be addressed in this
Guide. Note, however, the changes in the 317 Certification screen,
discussed in Part III, Chapter 6 of the Guide.

**[Monthly Verification of Enrollment (The Current Chapter 30
Process)]{.underline}**

To understand how the interim process for payment in Chapter 1606 works,
you must first understand how the monthly verification process works in
the Chapter 30 system.

**1.** **Selecting Cases for Verification.** Monthly verification forms,
VAF 22-8979, are actually letters that are generated from letter
processing. There are two sources for the letter, depending on the type
of payment. The on-line award system generates monthly verification
letters when an award is authorized for retroactive benefits that are
due. Full File Pass, run near the end of each month, generates monthly
verification letters for recurring (monthly) payments.

a\. Retroactive Certifications. Retroactive certifications are
certifications that would issue payment immediately for a previous
period. In other words, they are for periods that would have already
been paid had an award existed and a certification processed. For
example, if you entered an award on March 13 for the period January 3
through May 25, the amount due from January 3 through February is a
retroactive period.

When that award is processed (if the 317 screen is not completed), the
system will recognize that it could immediately pay the period through
February and will issue a certification letter for that period during
nightly letter processing.

b\. Recurring Certifications. Recurring certifications are the "normal"
monthly verification resulting from a running award. A verification
letter must be sent in order for the certification transaction to be
processed that will release the payment.

Full File Pass, which runs each month, usually about a week before the
end of the month, reviews all awards and issues a certification form for
all awards in which the Date Last Paid is the first of the month of the
Full File Pass (or earlier) and whose termination date is later than the
Date Last Paid. For example, if an award has a Date Last Paid of
03-01-00 and a termination date of 05-25-00, Full File Pass on March 24
will release a certification form asking for verification for the period
03-01-00 through 03-31-00. When that verification is processed, either
by input to the 317 screen or by "wanding" the barcode on the
verification form, payment will be issued for that period.

**2. Creating the VAF 22-8979 Verification of Enrollment Forms
(Letters).** Whenever a transaction is processed, whether an award or
full file pass, or fiscal transaction, the system determines if a letter
should be sent. A file is created for each type of letter that is to be
generated in nightly letter processing. For example, there is one file
of Original Award letters, another for amended award letters, etc. The
files contain all of the information necessary to complete the
particular letter.

Since the VAF 22-8979 is really a letter, a file is prepared containing
all the information for all the verification forms to be issued that
night. The file is printed and the forms mailed by Hines in order to
reach the claimant in about 5 days.

**3. Processing the Verifications**. When the VAF 22-8979's are
returned, a certification transaction (35 transaction) is processed.
This is done by scanning the barcode on the form for verifications with
no change, or by 317 screen input. The certification transaction then
results in payment being generated.

**4. Payment Processing**. The certification transactions are processed
for payment each night. The system calculates the amount due the
claimant and creates a payment voucher that contains the amounts due
each individual payee. This voucher is audited for accuracy by Hines
Finance and released to the Treasury Department for payment. The voucher
is normally released to Treasury within 3 days of the payment process
that created the voucher. When the voucher is released, TINQ is updated
(note that TINQ is actually updated before Treasury gets the voucher and
issues payament).

**[Interim Process for Payment in the Chapter 1606
System]{.underline}.**

Because the Regulation permitting monthly verification of enrollment for
Chapter 1606 is not final, the new Chapter 1606 system cannot issue IHL
Monthly Verification forms and payment must be made on a recurring basis
without input from the payee.

To accomplish this, the letter file for Chapter 1606 monthly
verification forms (step 2 above) is used to "create" certification
transactions rather than to prepare forms. Certification transactions
are built from the letter file and processed as "no change"
certification transactions, using a program similar to the scan software
used in "wanding" certification forms. However, no "human" activity is
necessary.

The exact process is as follows:

a.  On the night that an award is processed (or full file pass is run to
    determine "recurring" certifications) the "monthly verification"
    file is generated, just like in Chapter 30. However, it is not sent
    to be printed into forms.

b.  On the same night, a certification transaction is "built" for each
    record on the file.

c.  The certification transaction (35) will show on the history screen
    (M22) as if it was processed the day after it was built.

d.  That night (the night after the file is processed), the
    certification transaction will go through payment processing as if a
    cert action had been processed that day.

The net effect of this processing will be that a certification will
appear in the master record to have been processed. However, the
processing is entirely behind the scenes. The claimant will be unaware
that any "special" processing was done and should continue to receive a
check on or about the first of each month.

The master record will indicate that a certification has been issued and
processed.

When the Regulation is finalized and monthly verification is required in
Chapter 1606, the transition can be done with minimal system changes,
since all that is necessary is to use the letter file to actually print
VAF 22-8979's rather than to build 35 transactions.

**[Using the 317 Screen]{.underline}**.

Although payment will be generated in the interim process without
completing the 317 screen for IHL cases, it is still recommended that
the Chapter 30 procedure of entering the certification when an award is
done be used in Chapter 1606. For example, if an award that begins in
August is entered in October, it is appropriate to enter the
certification through September 30 as part of the award transaction.