Arkansas Administrative Code › Agency 016 - DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES › Division 20 - Division of County Operations › Rule 016.20.98-015 - Transitional Employment Assistance (TEA) 3410 - Transportation Payments

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 6, June, 2024
Work Activity Supportive Services Transportation
3410
Transportation
Each TEA cash assistance recipient may receive payments or
				reimbursements for transportation expenses incurred during the calendar month.
				Payment for transportation is limited to expenses associated with required TEA
				activities.
Payments which exceed a total of $200 per month must be
				approved by the County Administrator prior to being paid. Such payments will be
				allowed only when there is a direct connection between the excessive
				transportation expense and whether the client will be able to accept, or
				retain, ajob. (See TEA 3410.1.)
Transportation payments or reimbursements will normally be made
				to employed persons only until the first full paycheck has been received. The
				County Administrator may approve a continuation of transportation assistance
				past the first full paycheck in limited situations. (See the discussion below
				concerning employed individuals and TEA 3410.1).
Payment for transportation will normally be based on the lower
				of:
(1) a mileage reimbursement rate
			 equal to the rate available to State employees; or
(2) actual expenses. However, the County
			 Administrator may approve higher actual expenses on a case-by-case basis in
			 situations in which it is deemed appropriate. (See TEA 3410.1.) The minimum
			 mileage reimbursement payment will be $3.00 for a one-way trip.
It is expected that the client will make his or her own
				transportation arrangements, if the person does not have access to
				transportation, he or she will be encouraged to seek rides with family members
				or other persons at no cost. If other arrangements cannot be made, assistance
				with transportation costs may be provided.
Persons who are employed will be expected to arrange and pay
				for their transportation expenses to and from work from their paychecks. The
				earned income deductions allowed from a person's gross earnings in determining
				eligibility are intended, in part, to cover those expenses. However, a newly
				hired person will not have a paycheck available immediately. Therefore,
				transportation payments or reimbursements may be provided to a newly hired TEA
				client until he or she has received his or her first full paycheck. However, in
				situations in which the lack of transportation assistance will result in a
				recipient having to terminate his or her employment, the County Administrator
				may approve payments or reimbursements to continue past the first full
				paycheck. See TEA 3410.1 for an example of such a situation.
Payments to providers for transporting more than one
				participant at the same time will be at the mileage reimbursement rate for each
				person and will be based on the pick-up point for each one. The provider will
				complete a separate billing form, DCO-1430, for each person.
Providers of transportation will be given a DCO-1427,
				Authorization Form. Customers and providers claiming payment or reimbursements
				from TEA will use form DCO-1430 to document expenses.
If the individual is unsuccessful in arranging transportation,
				assistance will be provided in securing transportation. If transportation
				cannot be secured after ail efforts have been exhausted, the customer can be
				temporarily deferred from participation. However, since the time-limit clock
				continues to run, other appropriate activities should be considered.
Alternative Transportation Arrangements
County offices may develop alternative methods of providing
				transportation assistance to clients. These may include developing and entering
				into agreements, contracts, Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs), etc. with
				local transit systems or other transportation providers whereby transportation
				is purchased or arranged other than on an individual client basis. For example,
				bus tokens or tickets could be purchased and then distributed to individual
				clients as the need arises. If a county office develops alternative methods,
				the TEA Support Center, Office of Program Planning & Development, should be
				contacted for assistance in developing the agreement, contract,
				etc.