Arkansas Administrative Code › Agency 016 - DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES › Division 20 - Division of County Operations › Rule 016.20.98-014 - Transitional Employment Assistance (TEA) Extended Support Services - Transportation Assistance - To provide and additional 2 months of transportation assistance to families who leave the regular TEA program due to employment of the adult.

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 6, June, 2024
6.5
Extended
			 Support Services
For those families who become ineligible for continued TEA
				benefits due to employment, or who choose to no longer receive cash assistance
				due to employment, extended support services will be available as provided for
				by federal and state law. Such services will include one year of extended
				Medicaid coverage for those who meet the eligibility criteria under federal law
				for such coverage and one year of extended child care assistance at no cost
				with an additional two years of child care assistance based on a sliding fee
				scale.
6.5.1
Extended
			 Support Services - Employment Bonus
For those families who become ineligible for continued TEA cash
				assistance benefits due to employment, or who choose to no longer receive cash
				assistance due to employment, an Employment Bonus cash payment will be made to
				such family provided a bonus payment has not already been made to the family in
				the preceding twelve (12) months. The purpose of such payment is to help the
				employed adult meet employment related expenses, such as transportation,
				clothing, and other miscellaneous work-related expenses, until he or she has
				received a full month's earnings. It is expected that this one-time bonus
				payment will help enable the aduh to maintain his or her employment.
The Employment Bonus will not count toward the adult's maximum
				twenty-four month limit.
6.5.2
Extended Support Services -
			 Transportation
For those families who become ineligible for continued TEA cash
				assistance benefits due to employment, or who choose to no longer receive cash
				assistance due to employment, two months of Extended Support Transportation
				assistance will be made to the family. These payments will assist the family in
				meeting transportation costs in the first two months following termination of
				TEA cash assistance.
The Extended Support Transportation payments will not count
				toward the adult's maximum tweiity-four month limit. This assistance will be
				funded by all state monies.
5140
EXTENDED SUPPORT SERVICES -
				TRANSPORTATION
TEA cases which close due to employment (by agency
				determination or at client request) will automatically be eligible to receive
				two months of Extended Support Transportation assistance. These payments will
				assist the family in meeting transportation costs in the first two months
				following termination of TEA cash assistance.
The Extended Support Transportation benefit will be in the
				amount of $200 each month. Because the ESS-Transportation assistance is funded
				by all State monies, it will not count toward the 24 month time limit.
When a case is closed due to earnings, the worker will use the
				close codes specific to allowing this Extended Support Service. Verification of
				earnings is not required. (See examples below). The system will automatically
				issue to the client's EBT account the Extended Transportation benefit beginning
				with the month following the month of case closure. There is no limit to the
				number of times an individual may receive Extended Support Service
				Transportation assistance.
Please refer to the DCO-Users Manual for specific codes and
				keying procedures.
The following are examples of situations in which
				ESS-Transportation assistance will be authorized.
Example 1
: Ms. Manning reported that she found a
				job and requested her TEA case be closed. The client's statement that she is
				employed may be accepted without verification.
Example 2:
An anonymous telephone call is received
				in the county office reporting that Ms. Smith is working. A 10-day notice is
				sent to Ms. Smith requesting that she contact the county office concerning the
				report. Ms. Smith calls the county office and states that she is working and no
				longer wants TEA benefits. Ms. Smith's case will be closed and Extended Support
				Transportation assistance will be authorized.
Examples:
Ms. Davis reported that she was
				employed. Based on her earnings, she was no longer eligible for TEA cash
				assistance. The TEA case was closed and ESS Transportation benefits were
				authorized.
In the following example, ESS-Transportation assistance will
				not be authorized.
Example 4:
A telephone call was received in the
				county office reporting that Mr. Jones was employed. A 10-day notice was sent
				to Mr. Jones to contact the county office concerning the report. Mr. Jones did
				not contact the county office. The TEA case was closed for failure to respond
				to the notice. Even though this was a report of employment, ESS-Transportation
				assistance will not be authorized because Mr. Jones did not confirm that he was
				employed.