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Iowa LIHEAP Policy and Procedures Manual 4.00 Applications

Effective 09/01/2023

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4.00 APPLICATIONS

4.10 Application Dates Applications are taken throughout the year, as explained below.

4.11 LIHEAP Regular Assistance Season (Heating Season)

● November 1 – April 30 (priority is given to the elderly and disabled, as prescribed by the federal government, and can apply beginning October 1) ● LIHEAP customers must apply for energy assistance through their local CAA. ● Households in crisis can apply for LIHEAP in October, as it often requires the Regular LIHEAP benefit, in addition to ECIP, to resolve the crisis. ● LIHEAP customers apply for LIHEAP and the Iowa Weatherization Program in tandem during this period, using the Application/Intake Form, which can be found in the Members Only section of https://humanrights.iowa.gov/dcaa. CAAs may revise the form to fit their needs but cannot make any deletions. ● Should a LIHEAP customer be denied assistance, they may remit another application, if circumstances change, as a new application may lead to an award of benefits. A signed and dated application is an attestation by the applicant that the changed circumstances are true. A new application may be submitted multiple times throughout the year. ● The last day to submit a new application is at 11:59pm on the last day of the heating season. If the last day of the heating season falls on a weekend, any application that agencies have not yet processed, can be processed on the following business day as long as the application was clearly submitted by the deadline, or, if the customer can verify an attempt was made to submit by the deadline but was unable to do so due to office closure. ● Per the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, LIHEAP customers can move from one state to another and receive benefits in the same fiscal year. ● An application must be approved or denied, and the LIHEAP customer, and both utilities, notified in writing or electronically of eligibility by the CAA within a maximum of 30 calendar days following the date that the completed LIHEAP application is submitted. o Automatically Eligible Applications: The “date of application” is October 1st unless the application is dated and received after October 1st. The date the application is received by the agency is to be tracked. o In-Person/Online/Mailable Applications: The date the application is signed is the “date of application”. The date the application is received by the agency is to be noted (whether or not all required documentation is present). If required documentation is not received within 30 days of the date the application was received by the agency, the application is to be denied as incomplete. The denial letter is to clearly identify the missing information and must be scanned into the file, if not created electronically. If a decision has been rendered and the applicant later presents required documentation, a new application must be submitted. At the agency’s discretion, the application date can be revised when there are extenuating circumstances, which must be documented in the file. ● At the end of the heating season, although LIHEAP customers have 30 calendar days to submit required documentation, they are encouraged to submit the documentation within 2 weeks (CAAs still have 30 calendar days to approve or deny the application, even if the application was received on the last day of the season).

4.12 ECIP/Crisis Assistance – During Heating Season

● October 1 – April 30 (note – service continuity not allowed if household is moratorium protected) ● LIHEAP customers must apply for crisis assistance through their local CAA.