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GC See MA. FS The face to face interview is waived upon request by any household which is unable to appoint an authorized representative and which has no household member able to come into the service center because they are 60 years of age or older or are mentally or physically handicapped. The Department may also waive the face to face interview on a case by case basis for any household which is unable to come to a service center because of transportation difficulties or similar hardships which the Department determines warrant a waiver of the office interview. Hardship conditions include, but are not limited to: • illness, • care of an ill or incapacitated household member, • hardship due to prolonged severe weather, or • work or training hours which preclude an in office interview. (Note, however, that such customers should be encouraged to use extended hours services available at specific service centers.) The Department determines if the transportation difficulty or hardship reported by a household warrants a waiver of the office interview and documents in the case file why a request for a waiver was granted or denied. Waiver of the face-to face interview is considered only after the exhaustion of all other measures such as rescheduling the interview. Households for whom the face to face interview is waived will receive a telephone interview. Waiver of the face to face interview does not exempt the household from the verification requirements discussed in Part IV: Non-Financial Eligibility, Part V: Program Requirements and Sanctions, and Part VI: Financial Eligibility). IMA staff may use alternative verification procedures to assure timely receipt of benefits in these cases. Applicants may substitute a collateral contact in lieu of documentary verification. Waiver of the face to face interview will not affect the length of the household's certification period.

SCREENING FOR THE PROGRAM ON WORK, EMPLOYMENT, AND RESPONSIBLITY 1.9

MA N/A TANF At the point of TANF application, the Preliminary Assessment form should be used by the SSR to identify heads of households who face physical and/or mental incapacities that interfere with their ability to participate in countable work activities. If the head of household in a single- parent unit or if either parent in a two-parent family appears to have incapacities that preclude work, the first step is to request a medical evaluation. MA eligibility should be established or verified as soon as possible so that a medical evaluation can be completed quickly. Neither TANF applicants nor recipients can apply directly for POWER. Eligibility is based on the SSR's identification of a possible incapacity and subsequent referral of the individual for a medical evaluation. The TANF application should be processed following normal application processing procedures while the individual completes (or decides not to complete) the medical evaluation form and the MRT's decision is pending. If the individual is found eligible for POWER, the case will be converted at that point. Individuals should be exempted from work participation pending a POWER eligibility decision. If