Policy Directive                                                             Issuance Number: TEA 99-10

Transitional Employment Assistance Manual      Issuance Date: July 1, 1999

From: Ruth Whitney, Director                                       Expiration Date: Until Superseded

Subj: Various Policy Revisions

Pages to be Deleted               Dated                                      Pages to be Added                 Dated

TEA 2000 – 2004                    7/1/97                                      TEA 2000 – 2004.2                 7/1/99

       (pages 7-10)                                                                                 (pages 7-10a)

TEA 2011 – 2011                    7/1/97                                      TEA 2011 – 2011                    7/1/99

       (pages 15-16)                                                                               (pages 15-16)

TEA 2110.2 – 2110.2              7/1/97                                      TEA 2110.2 – 2110.2              7/1/99 

       (pages 19-22)                                                                               (pages 19-22)

TEA 2120 -2122                     7/1/97                                      TEA 2120 -2122                     7/1/99

       (pages 23-24)                                                                               (pages 23-24)

TEA 2130 -2143.1                  7/1/97                                      TEA 2130 – 2143.1                 7/1/99              (pages 29-34)                                                                                    (pages 29-34)

TEA 2143.4 – 2150.1              7/1/97                                      TEA 2143.4 – 2150.1              7/1/99

       (pages 37-40)                                                                               (pages 37-40)

TEA 2160 – 2162                    7/1/97                                      TEA 2160 – 2162                    7/1/99

       (pages 43-44)                                                                               (pages 43-44a)

TEA 2220 – 2230                    7/1/97                                      TEA 2220 – 2230                    7/1/99

       (pages 51-54)                                                                               (pages 51-54)

TEA 2262 – 2262.1                 7/1/97                          TEA 2262 – 2262.1                 7/1/99

       (page 56a)                                                                       (page 56a)

TEA 2400 – 2513                    7/1/97                          TEA 2400 – 2513                    7/1/99

       (pages 89-96)                                                                   (pages 89-96)

TEA 3201 – 3260                    7/1/97                          TEA 3201 -3260                     7/1/99

       (pages 105-110)                                                               (pages 105-110(g))

            (11pages)                                                                                 (13 pages)

TEA 3500 – 3522                    7/1/97                          TEA 3500 – 3522                    7/1/99

       (pages 129-132)                                                               (pages 129-132)

TEA 4134 – 4153.1                 7/1/97                          TEA 4134 – 4153.1                 7/1/99

       (pages 143-150)                                                               (pages 143-150)

            (8 pages)                                                                                  (11 pages)

Implementation Procedures

Act 1058 of 1997, the Arkansas Personal Responsibility and Public Assistance Act was amended by Act 1567 of 1999 requiring changes in the current TEA program policy and procedures to be effective July 1, 1999.  Revisions have been made to the policy and a summary of those changes and implementation procedures are below.  Other changes that are not a result of Act 1567 are also included in this issuance. 

Specific changes as a result of the Act and implementation procedures are as follows:

·         Aliens (TEA 2220)

Ø      Aliens who entered the United States on or after August 23, 1996 and have been in “qualified alien” status for at least five (5) years may be eligible for cash assistance.  This group of aliens is identified in the policy. 

·        Time Limit (TEA 2130, 2430, 2430.1, 4141)

Ø      Any month in which an individual is deferred or exempt from work activity participation will not count towards the 24-month time limit.  Such months will continue to count toward the individual’s federal 5-year limit.

Ø      A new extension was added regarding individuals who are participating in education and training activities and have reached the end of the twenty four-month time limit (4141).

¨      Implementation Procedures

Ø      The appropriate code for a deferral or exemption must be used in the months an individual is deferred or exempt in order for the system to not count the months toward the time limit. 

Ø      Please see the discussion under “Deferrals” regarding the deferral codes.  Also, see DCO Users Manual, Appendix A, dated 7/1/99 for the list of work activity status codes.

Ø      This change is retroactive to July 1, 1998.  A printout identifying cases that had a deferral code in any given month retroactive to July 1 will be sent to the counties within the next few weeks.  The county will review these cases to determine if the deferral code was appropriate for those months.  Instructions will be provided for submitting the information to the ACES Systems Unit.

·        Applicant Job Search (TEA 2160)

Ø      In reference to Applicant Job Search, policy was revised to state that an individual who meets Applicant Job Search Requirements must have available child care and transportation of his own, otherwise this requirement will be delayed until after the application is approved.

¨      Implementation Procedures

Ø      Applicants will no longer be referred to DCC solely for applicant job search.

·        Deferrals & Exemptions (TEA 2430)

Ø      A new deferral, parent or caregiver over sixty years of age (#8) was added.

Ø      The word “immediate” was removed from the domestic violence deferral (#5) in accordance with the Act.

Ø      Deferral reason #1 and #3 were reworded to agree with the wording in Act 1567 of 1997.

Ø      New mandatory and deferral codes have been added.

Ø      The mandatory codes are:

¨      1G – Accepted for Rehabilitation Services – Education Track

¨      1L – Accepted for Rehabilitation Services – Employment Track

The above codes will be used when a TEA recipient has been referred to ARS and been accepted to receive services.  The code will identify the type of service being provided i.e., education or employment services). 

Ø      The deferral codes are:

¨      1B -   Adult age 60 or over

¨      1R – Adult referred for Rehabilitation Services for Disability Assessment

·        Non-Compliance Sanction (TEA 2121, 2140, 2145, 2160, 2161, 2262.1, 2511.1)

Ø      The non-compliance sanction for failure to meet the Personal Responsibility Agreement requirements (i.e., immunization, work activity participation and child support requirements) is a 25% reduction in the cash assistance payment.  This also includes the failure of a minor parent to sign the PRA. 

Ø      No 3-month sanctions

Ø      Sanction is lifted at any point the individual has complied.

¨      Implementation Procedures

Ø      An individual whose case was closed due to non-compliance may re-apply at any time.  If the individual is willing to comply, he or she will be given an opportunity to comply, before the application is approved.  If the person fails to comply, then the application may be approved with the non-compliance sanction (25% reduction) imposed.

Ø      When keying a sanction on ACES, a “y’ will be keyed in the sanction field on WACE.

·        Work Activities (TEA 3221-3222)

Ø      The definition of Unsubsidized Employment was revised to agree with the wording in Act 1567 (“TEA funds” was changed to “federal or state funds”.)

Ø      The definition of Subsidized Employment was revised to agree with the wording in Act 1567 (“TEA funds” was changed to “federal or state funds”.)

·        Education and Training (TEA 3250 – 3254)

Ø      This section was revised to provide more flexibility in allowing TEA recipients to participate in education and training whenever possible.

Ø      The title for section 3250 was changed to “Basic Education”.  Information has been added to state that when an individual is participating in basic education activities, work requirements cannot exceed 15 hours per week.

Ø      The “Note” regarding the participation rate was removed.

Ø      Information identifying what Vocational Education can consist of was added in TEA 3252.  The requirement that vocational training must meet the “Demand Occupation” criteria identified in TEA 3252.1 was added.

Ø      The “Note” regarding the participation rate was removed.

Ø      The “Demand Occupation” requirements for Vocational Training were incorporated in 3252.1.  A copy of the “Guide to Educational Training Program for Demand Occupations” which is one of the listed requirements (#1), will be provided to each county office.

Ø      A new section allowing for participation in other post-secondary education was added.

Ø      A statement was added that requires a Job Skills placement to meet the Demand Occupation criteria in TEA 3252.1.

Ø      The requirement for a commitment to hire from the employer was removed from the Job Skills Training activity (TEA 3254).

¨      Implementation Procedures

Ø      Instructions for coding Educational Activities for reporting purposes will be issued separately. 

Ø      The “Demand Occupation” requirement” will be applied to individuals who begin participation in the Vocational Training Activity effective July 1, 1999 or later.

Summary of Other Changes

TEA 2003 – The information regarding the Personal Responsibility Agreement was moved to a separate section (2004.1) with more information provided.

TEA 2004 – The assessment information was revised and moved to a new section (2004.2).

TEA 2004.1 – This is a new section providing information regarding the Personal Responsibility Agreement.  A portion of the information was removed from TEA 2003.

TEA 2004.2 – This is a new section to incorporating assessments that are conducted during the application interview.

TEA 2011 - A procedural step was added (completion of DHS-187, Billing & Routing Sheet).  This change was made to agree with current procedures and is not a result of legislation.

TEA 2110.2 (#2 & #3) – This section has been revised to provide procedures for obtaining a social security number for a non-U.S. citizen who is not authorized to work in the U.S. Prior to obtaining an SSN, the individual must be determined eligible for assistance before SSA will assign a SSN.  The DCO-12 has been revised to include a check box under #1.

TEA 2143.5 – The procedure that allowed contact of the non-custodial parent when determining good cause for non-cooperation with child support enforcement requirements was removed. 

TEA 2150.1 – Clarified that a child born at anytime after approval of TEA will not be added unless the case closes for a period of six continuous months.

TEA 2160 – Changed “Skills Assessment” to “form DCO-1402, TEA Skills, Employability & Intake Assessment Background Information”.

Added the statement regarding the requirement of supportive services being available to comply with applicant job search requirements.

Changed the reference “Act 1058 of 1997” to “Act 1567 of 1999” and added another provision when developing written contracts for subsidized employment.       

Changed the minimum # of participation hours from “25” to “minimum # specified in TEA 3201.  This prevents various sections from having to be revised when the minimum requirement changes. 

TEA 3240 – Added participation in work-study, training-related practicums and internships are considered as work experience training.  Also provided an example.

Revised the paragraph regarding minimum # of hours in an activity from stating the specific number to “as specified in TEA 3201.  This prevents several sections from having to be changed when the minimum # of hours change.  When the hours change, TEA 3201 will be revised and referenced in other sections. 

TEA 3245 – A definition of Community Service was added to this section.

TEA 3260 – This section was revised to require case management follow-up on TEA recipients who enter employment but remain on cash assistance.  The policy was revised to state that the TEA case manager or designee will make the follow-up instead of the Marketing Specialist  A note was added to refer to TEA 5161 for follow-up procedures on cases that close due to employment.

TEA 3501 – Formatting change only.  There are no policy changes.

TEA 3521.1 – This is a new section.  Procedures for contacting the client during the first three months of a sanction encouraging compliance have been incorporated.

TEA 4142 – 4148 – The policy regarding cooperation with Quality Assurance was moved from 4142 to 4154.  Incorporated in this section and new sections is a process to review time-limited cases to determine if closure at the end of the 24-month time limit is appropriate.  A review will occur in the sixth, twelfth, eighteenth and twenty-second months.  TEA 4143 identifies who the review team composition should be composed of.

TEA 4152 – The statement concerning income to count for a child who does not meet school attendance requirements was revised to state that the unearned income and resources will be counted.

Formatting change.

TEA 4154 – The policy regarding cooperation with Quality Assurance was moved to this section.  There are no policy changes.

Inquiries to:       Lorie Williams, TEA Unit, 682-8256                Ron Johnson, TEA Unit, 682-8182

                        Gerry Reed, TEA Unit, 682-8253                    Renee Green, TEA Unit, 682-8266