Arkansas Administrative Code › Agency 016 - DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES › Division 20 - Division of County Operations › Rule 016.20.98-009 - Transitional Employment Assistance (TEA) Extended Support Services - Employment Bonus

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 adult to maintain his or her employment.
The Employment Bonus will not count toward the adult's maximum
				twenty-four month limit.
6.6
Diversion Payment
A diversion payment may be provided to an otherwise eligible
				TEA family in certain specified circumstances so that the family does not come
				on to regular TEA cash assistance. To qualify for diversion, the adult
				caretaker must meet the following conditions:
(a) Have a minor child living in the
			 home;
(b) Be currently employed but
			 having a problem that jeopardizes the employment; or
(c) Be promised a job but needs help in order
			 to accept the job (e.g., needs car repairs, uniforms, etc.)
(d) Has never received a diversion
			 payment;
(e) Agree to forego any
			 TEA benefits for a period of 100 days.
5130 Employment Bonus
An Employment Bonus cash payment will be made to any family who
				becomes income ineligible due to employment, or who requests the cash
				assistance case to be closed due to employment, unless such family has already
				received an Employment Bonus within the preceding twelve (12) months. The
				purpose of the payment is to help the employed adult meet work-related expenses
				during the first full month of employment following the termination of regular
				cash assistance to better enable him or her to retain the job.
The amount of the bonus payment will be equal to the amount of
				the last regular TEA cash payment and it will
not
count toward the
				adult's twenty-four month time limit.
When a case is closed for payment on ACES with one of the close
				codes specific to the Employment Bonus, the system will automatically issue the
				bonus payment to the family in the month following the effective month of
				closure. (Refer to the DCO Users' Manual for the appropriate closure codes.) If
				a system generated notice of closure is not sent, the county should include the
				information regarding the Employment Bonus in their manual notice of closure so
				that the adult will know its purpose and be expecting it. (The system generated
				closure notice for an Employment Bonus closure code will include that
				information.)
Only one Employment Bonus may be authorized to a family within
				a twelve (12) calendar month period. Therefore , if a family who received an
				employment Bonus returns to TEA cash assistance, such family cannot receive
				another Employment Bonus for at least twelve (12) months even if the case
				closes due to employment before then.
EXAMPLE:
Ms. Jones started to work in January and
				requested her case be closed due to her new employment effective for February.
				Her case was closed on ACES on January 18 with an Employment Bonus close code.
				The bonus payment was issued to Ms. Jones in February. The following November,
				Ms. Jones loses her job, reapplies for TEA cash assistance, and is recertified
				in December. She finds another job in January and again her case is closed due
				to employment effective for February. However, she cannot receive an Employment
				Bonus this February because she received one within the twelve months preceding
				this month (i.e., the prior February).
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