Arkansas Administrative Code › Agency 016 - DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES › Division 20 - Division of County Operations › Rule 016.20.97-016 - Transitional Employment Assistance Program Policy, Procedures and Form: This rule is required to comply

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 6, June, 2024
The Transitional Employment Assistance (TEA) manual is used by
				staff implementing the Transitional Employment Assistance (TEA) program.
Purpose of the Manual
The purpose of the manual is to provide policy consistent with
				federal and state law and the TEA State Plan for the implementation of the TEA
				program. The manual also provides information to DCO staff to help them produce
				the outcome of putting people in jobs as a means of moving families from
				welfare to work.
Preparation of the Manual
The Office of Program Planning and Development, Division of
				County Operations, has primary responsibility for the preparation of the TEA
				manual. However, policy and procedure to be included in the TEA manual may
				originate with any member of the Department staff.
Policy and procedure are prepared in draft form. Developers
				must have the draft approved by the Assistant Director, Office of Program
				Planning and Development, and the Division Director. Upon final approval, the
				developers will ensure that the promulgation requirements of the Arkansas
				Administrative Procedures Act are met, if applicable, prior to issuance of the
				policy or procedure. The final draft will be sent to the Office of Program
				Planning and Development for publication and distribution.
Manual Format
and Maintenance
Structure
The
majority of the TEA manual (Sections
				2000-5000) is structured to follow, as reasonably as possible, the flow in
				which county staff would be dealing with a TEA family. That is, it begins with
				the Application Process (interview, eligibility determination, and disposal -
				TEA 2000 sections), followed by the delivery of Employment Services and other
				changes and issues which may arise while the family is receiving TEA cash
				assistance (TEA 3000 and 4000 sections), and ending with the termination of
				cash assistance (TEA 5000).
The other sections (TEA 1000 and TEA 6000-8000) provide general
				administrative policy and procedures regarding the program and its
				implementation.
Format
The manual is formatted so as to clearly distinguish policy
				statements from other procedural types of information,
This is an example of a policy statement. Policy statements are
				easily identified by the shadow box border around them.
Policy statements must be adhered to by all Division
				staff.
All of the information outside of the policy statement boxes
				are procedural guidelines or information. These describe the procedures for
				applying the policy or provide information to help explain the policy or
				procedure.
"Procedures" are identified by a 1/4" indentation from both the
				right and left margins. A "procedure" may be either a mandatory procedure or a
				flexible procedure.
Mandatory procedures must be followed by staff and usually
				involve the actual authorization or delivery of benefits or are for the purpose
				of maintaining program integrity. Mandatory procedures use verbs such as "must"
				and "will."
Flexible procedures allow the county office staff to use their
				own judgment or discretion in applying a policy or procedure. In conjunction
				with the intent stated in TEA 1020, the intent of these procedures is to enable
				the County Administrator to develop county procedures, through training and
				supervision, so that individual case decisions are made at the lowest possible
				level. Flexible procedures are identified by verbs such as "may" or
				"should."
Procedural information and examples are provided to help
				explain a policy or its application. Text that is not indented from either
				margin is strictly informational.
Examples are labeled
EXAMPLE
and are indented 1/2"
				from each margin.
Numbering
A decimal numbering system will be used to organize policy
				material in the manual. The manual will have a Table of Contents to be filed at
				the front of the manual to assist in locating policy and procedure. This will
				be updated periodically.
Transmittal
Material issued for inclusion in the body of the TEA manual,
				including policy revisions, deletions, etc., will be accompanied by a Manual
				Transmittal cover memo explaining the filing of the material. Each issuance
				will be coded (e.g., TEA 97-1). In addition to filing instructions, the cover
				memo may contain a policy summary and specific Implementation procedures for
				new or revised policy. At the bottom of the cover memo will be an inquiry line
				which will give the name and telephone number of the Central Office staff
				person responsible for answering questions regarding the issuance.
Cover memos and Policy Directives will be filed at the front of
				the manual in numerical order with the most recent memo/directive filed at the
				front.
At least once a year, a checklist will be issued containing a
				complete list of material which should be included in the manual in the order
				in which it should be filed. This checklist will enable each person maintaining
				a TEA manual to check his or her manual to ensure that all material is filed in
				the proper order. After a manual has been checked against the checklist, cover
				memos for all issuances prior to the checklist which do not contain specific
				implementation procedures may be removed from the manual. Those containing
				implementation procedures may also be removed provided the procedures are no
				longer in effect. Policy Directives will be removed only when specific
				instructions to delete a directive are issued to the manual.
Requests for
Manuals
All requests for manuals are to be directed to the Office of
				Program Planning and Development, Division of County Operations.
Distribution
of Manual Issuances
The Office of Program Planning and Development (OPPD), Division
				of County Operations, will maintain the master distribution list for the
				Transitional Employment Assistance manual. Changes in distribution such as
				changes in address, additions, deletions, and changes in the number of copies
				should be requested by memo to the Assistant Director, OPPD. If the proper
				number of copies of manual is not received, additional copies may be requested
				from OPPD.
1000 General Provisions
1010
Purpose of Transitional
			 Empioyment Assistance (TEA)
The purpose of the Transitional Employment Assistance (TEA)
				program is to help economically needy families become more responsible for
				their own support and less dependent on public assistance. Central to this
				purpose is helping adults and minor parents increase their employment
				potential, helping to reduce out-of-wedlock births, and promoting family
				unity.
Through employability assessments, employment planning, and the
				provision of employment related services, the TEA program helps recipients
				recognize their employment possibilities and helps direct them into jobs as
				soon as possible. Minor parents are encouraged and supported In completing a
				high school education or equivalency so that they are better prepared to enter
				the job market as adults. Since TEA benefits are time-limited, emphasis is
				placed on short-term goals so that the recipient enters employment before the
				end of his or her time limit.
In addition to case management and employment related services,
				the TEA program provides monthly cash assistance to eligible families to help
				meet the family's basic needs while the parent or other adult relative works
				toward increasing his/her earning potential.
TEA cash assistance is also available to help meet the needs of
				children who are being cared for by non-parent adult relatives. Assistance to
				such relatives may be provided without regard to a specified time limit.
TEA Diversion Assistance provides a one-time lump sum payment
				in lieu of other TEA services or assistance to help a family accept or retain
				employment.
1020
Administration
The Transitional Employment Assistance program is governed by
				federal law (Title IV-A of the Social Security Act), State law (Arkansas Act
				1058 of 1997), and the state's Transitional Employment Assistance Program State
				Plan.
The program is jointly funded by the State and Federal
				governments. The federal funding source is the Temporary Assistance for Needy
				Families (TANF)
block grant under Title IV-A of the Social Security Act. State
				general revenues also fund the program.
The TEA program is administered by the Department of Human
				Services with primary responsibility for the day-to-day operation of the
				program vested with the Division of County Operations.
An individualized approach to the delivery of TEA services is
				paramount to the program purpose of moving families to self-sufficiency in a
				short timeframe. To promote this approach, the program is administered with a
				high degree of flexibility provided to the county office, or front-line,
				staff.
1030
Personnel
The Division of County Operations is responsible for the
				provision of personnel to determine eligibility, authorize payments, and
				provide case management services to eligible families.
DHS County Administrators will develop procedures within their
				individual offices, through training and supervision, whereby decision-making
				occurs at the lowest possible level.
1040
Volunteers
Volunteers are subject to the rules, regulations, and policies
				of the office where they are assigned. This includes the policies which govern
				the disclosure of information concerning DHS and its clients. The volunteer's
				supervisor in the DHS County Office is responsible for informing the volunteer
				of the disclosure policy for each program in which the volunteer works.
Volunteers may perform any duty in the DHS County Office as
				determined appropriate by the County Administrator. However, a paid DCO
				employee, as designated by the County Administrator, must review and approve
				any certification or benefit
determination decisions recommended by
				a non-paid volunteer.
___________________
1050
Disclosure of
			 Information
Information concerning an applicant, recipient, or other
				persons known to the agency will not be made available without the written
				consent of the client except to authorized employees of the Department of Human
				Services, the Office of Child Support Enforcement, the Social Security
				Administration, the federal Department of Health and Human Services, or for
				purposes directly connected with the following:
1. Any investigation, prosecution, or
			 criminal or civil proceeding conducted in connection with the administration of
			 any program administered by the Department of Health and Human
			 Services.
2. The administration of
			 any other Federal or federally assisted program which provides assistance, in
			 cash or in-kind, or services, directly to individuals on the basis of
			 need.
3. The certification of
			 receipt of TEA cash assistance to an employer for purposes of claiming the Work
			 Opportunity Tax Credit.
4. Any
			 audit or similar activity, e.g., review of expenditure reports or financial
			 review, conducted in connection with the administration of any such program by
			 any governmental entity which is authorized by law to conduct such audit or
			 activity.
In addition, the current address of a recipient may be
				disclosed to a state or local law enforcement officer at his/her request
				without the recipient's consent provided the law officer provides the
				recipient's name
and
Social Security number and
				satisfactorily demonstrates that (1) the recipient is a fugitive felon, a
				probation or parole violator, or is fleeing prosecution for a felony offense,
				(2) the location or apprehension of such person is within the taw officer's
				official duties, and (3) the request is made in the proper exercise of those
				duties. A felon is defined as a person who has been convicted of a crime which
				was termed a felony by the court which heard the case.
1060
Coordination
			 witti Other Programs
The County Administrator will establish procedures to insure
				coordination between the TEA program and other programs administered by the
				County Office.
1070
Maintenance of Case Records
The maintenance of DCO case records is the responsibility of
				the County Administrator. In order to facilitate the processing and review of
				case actions and participant activity, a uniform case organization system will
				be adhered to for all
TEA
cases.
The
TEA Face Sheet
(Form DCO-186) will be filed on
				top of the case record with the Social Security card copies or SS-5's attached
				to or filed immediately behind the face sheet. A divider sheet will be used on
				the bottom of the case record with the brad inserted from the bottom.
The case record will be divided into three sections - Case
				Summary; Overpayment/Fraud; and Documents. All information within each section
				will be filed with the most recent on top.
Case Summary Section
-
This section will immediately follow the Face Sheet. It will contain
				all case actions including applications, assessments, Employment Plans and
				updates, certification and denial information, etc. The most current case
				action with any supporting documentation will be filed on top.
Overpayment/Fraud Section
- This
				section will be filed following the Case Summary Section with a divider sheet
				identifying it. It will contain all claim and fraud documents, including
				Administrative Disqualifications decisions. Information received or submitted
				about a specific claim will be filed together.
Documents
- This section will
				follow the Overpayment/Fraud Section with a divider sheet identifying it. It
				will contain all documents related to the case such as birth certificates,
				marriage licenses, divorce decrees, deeds, etc.
1080
Disposition of Records
TEA records may be destroyed when the case has been closed
				continuously for three years unless an audit is being conducted at that time or
				there is an outstanding overpayment claim. In this context, "case closure"
				refers to the closure of the case for purposes of TEA program services,
				including Extended Support Services (and therefore does not refer to "closure"
				of the cash assistance aspect of the case). When a TEA case record, or any of
				its contents, is to be destroyed, it will done by burning or shredding to
				ensure the confidentiality of the material.
The three year timeframe will apply to cases in which the
				adult's lifetime maximum period to receive TEA benefits has been reached. This
				is to ensure case record information is available should an audit be conducted
				on the case during those three years following closure.
A printout identifying cases which have been closed
				continuously for three years is sent to county offices monthly. This printout
				may be used to identify cases for destruction.