Arkansas Administrative Code › Agency 016 - DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES › Division 28 - Division of County Operations › Rule 016.28.24-001 - Transitional Employment Assistance and Work Pays updates pursuant to Acts 226 and 832 of 2023

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 6, June, 2024
2005
Obtaining Information to Determine Eligibility
The applicant is the primary source of information and is
				responsible for providing necessary verifications, as requested, to establish
				initial and ongoing eligibility. However, if the applicant is unable to provide
				essential information, or is having difficulty in obtaining it, the eligibility
				worker will assist in obtaining required information.
The applicant is expected to provide information as requested.
				Although the Department of Human Services (DHS) may assist the applicant, when
				necessary, the applicant should be encouraged to obtain as much information as
				they can, on their own, before requesting assistance. Such assistance may range
				from simply advising the applicant about how or where to get the information,
				to actually obtaining the necessary documents (for example, accessing the
				Department of Health birth records through ARIES).
2010
Diversion Assistance
Diversion Assistance is intended to help a family through a
				financial problem which jeopardizes employment and which, if not solved, could
				result in the family requiring regular ongoing cash assistance. Diversion
				Assistance is a replacement for, not a supplement to, regular
				assistance.
Diversion Assistance is a one-time payment to or on behalf of
				the family, which will resolve a financial problem so that the adult can
				maintain or obtain employment. Diversion Assistance is only available to an
				adult once during their lifetime.
The eligibility requirements for Diversion Assistance are as
				follows:
1. A minor child must live in
			 the home.
2. The adult has never
			 received a Diversion Assistance payment.
3. The Diversion Assistance amount will
			 alleviate the crisis.
4. The adult
			 (a) is currently employed but having a problem that jeopardizes the employment;
			 or (b) has been promised a job but needs help in order to accept the job (for
			 example, they need car repairs or uniforms).
5. The adult agrees to forego regular
			 Transitional Employment Assistance (TEA) cash assistance for a period of one
			 hundred (100) days from the date of application and signs a Diversion
			 Assistance Agreement, DCO-182, to that effect.
The regular TEA income and resource requirements do not have to
				be verified and established. If the family's resources are obviously over the
				resource limit, then Diversion Assistance will not be authorized.
The Diversion Assistance payment will be the actual amount
				needed in order to resolve the crisis for up to a maximum of three (3) months
				of maximum grant payments for the household (for example, a household of 3 =
				$204 x 3 months = $612 maximum diversion payment). If the amount needed to
				resolve the problem is more than the maximum payment, and there are no other
				resources available to assist with the cost, it will be determined whether the
				maximum will alleviate the crisis in any way. If not, the payment will not be
				authorized.
Under Arkansas state law, a Diversion Assistance payment is a
				loan which the client should repay to the State of Arkansas when able to do so.
				Repayment, though, does not entitle the individual to another Diversion payment
				in the future.
A Diversion Assistance payment counts as a TEA month or months
				for purposes of the twelve-month time limit, if the adult later applies for TEA
				assistance, unless the payment has been repaid. If not repaid, the diversion
				payment counts for up to three (3) months of the time limit (based on the
				amount of the diversion payment), divided by the maximum grant for the family
				size. The number of months will be rounded up to the next higher number. (See
				TEA 2130.)