Source: http://services.dpw.state.pa.us/oimpolicymanuals/manuals/bop/le/605_LIHEAP_Eligibility_Criteria/605.3_Crisis_Benefits_Additional_Requirements.htm
Timestamp: 2013-06-18 22:50:52
Document Index: 562718605

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 601', '§ 601', '§ 601', '§ 601', '§ 601', '§ 601']

605.3 Crisis Benefits—Additional Requirements
A household is in a home-heating crisis if:
it is out of fuel,
it will run out of fuel within 15 days,
it has had its utility service stopped or
it has gotten a written notice that its utility service will be shut off within the next 60 days. 55 Pa. Code § 601.62; LIHEAP State Plan § 601.62
An applicant can get more than one crisis benefit during the heating season as long as the benefit is within the minimum and maximum amounts allowed under the current LIHEAP State Plan. 55 Pa. Code § 601.63; LIHEAP State Plan § 601.63
For utility services, the CAO must approve only the amount needed to keep utility service from being shut off or to start utility service again, subject to the minimum and maximum benefit amounts allowed. 55 Pa. Code § 601.61; LIHEAP State Plan § 601.61
For an applicant who gets fuel delivered, the CAO must approve only the amount necessary to fill the applicant’s fuel tank, subject to the minimum and maximum benefit amounts allowed.
If the applicant has no heat, the CAO must contact the energy provider to try to get a delivery or have utility service restarted within 48 hours (within 18 hours if someone’s life is at risk). If the applicant has fuel, a delivery must be made before the household expects to run out. If the applicant has a notice saying that utility service will be stopped soon, the CAO must try to resolve the situation before the date that the utility service is scheduled to be shut off. If a fuel delivery cannot be made in time, or if the crisis cannot be resolved before utility service is shut off, the CAO must refer the applicant to community organizations or a temporary shelter or resolve the crisis in some other way.
This policy does not apply to weather-related emergencies discussed in Section 601.62 (1) of the LIHEAP State Plan, including frozen pipes, broken furnaces, broken gas or other fuel lines, and broken windows. Crisis benefits for weather-related emergencies must continue to be the amount needed to resolve the emergency.
605.31 Crisis Exception
Some low-income Pennsylvanians may be without heat before the opening of the crisis program. These households may qualify for a crisis exception payment. (CEP). CAOs may begin authorizing crisis exception payments when the LIHEAP cash program opens for the season.
A household must meet the following criteria to be considered without heat:
The household must be determined eligible for a LIHEAP cash grant.
NOTE: An exception may be made in the case of a subsidized-housing household ineligible for a cash benefit because its rent includes an undesignated amount for heat and is based on a fixed percentage of the household’s income or on its source of income. If the household is responsible for paying a utility for electrical service and electricity is required to operate the heat source, the household may be deemed eligible for a CEP. The CAO must submit documentation to the LIHEAP Training and Policy Mailbox to process the CEP.
The household must verify that its main or secondary heating source has been completely shut off or that it has almost run out of its main heating fuel (coal, fuel oil, kerosene, propane, wood and so forth).
The cash benefit alone will not restore utility service or cover a minimum fuel delivery.
NOTE: Crisis exception payments are considered to be crisis grants and must be limited to the maximum crisis grant amount allowed. A household may receive more than one crisis grant per year.
A household must apply and be determined eligible for a LIHEAP cash benefit before it can be considered for a crisis exception payment.
Households that have an advance utility shutoff notice are not considered to be without heat. Utility service must already have been terminated for such households to be eligible for crisis exception payments.
If the household’s LIHEAP cash grant went to a vendor other than the one requested for the LIHEAP crisis exceptional payment, the CAO must contact the vendor that the household requests to determine the amount needed to make a delivery or reconnect. If the vendor agrees to the LIHEAP crisis exceptional payment, the vendor must make a main heating fuel delivery or reconnect the main or secondary heating source within 48 hours (or 18 hours if a life-threatening situation exists). If the vendor will not accept a LIHEAP crisis exception benefit, the CAO must refer the applicant to community organizations or a temporary shelter or resolve the crisis in some other way.
If a household applies for a crisis exception and both its primary and secondary sources of heat are shut off or out of fuel, the cash grant may be applied to one source and the exception payment to the other source as long as it is enough to resolve the situation. If the cash grant and crisis exception grant aren’t enough to resolve the emergency for both the primary and secondary sources of heat, the client would decide which vendor gets the grants and the client would be responsible for getting the other source reconnected or getting a delivery for that source.
For applications received after the start of the regular crisis season, the answer to the question “Is this a crisis exception?” on the e-CIS crisis delivery screen should be “No.”
If vendors ask for verification of a cash benefit or an authorization of a crisis exception benefit, refer them to the LIHEAP Compliance Unit at 1-877-537-9517 or e-mail RA-LIHEAPVendors@state.pa.us.
Reissued February 8, 2013, replacing November 8, 2012