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Iowa’s TANF State Plan

12 programs actively coordinate with Medicaid and SNAP and other activities to ensure that families receive benefits to which they are entitled.

As described below, the Iowa HHS makes a concerted effort to develop or revise policies and procedures that encourage consistency between the various programs.

 Effective September 1999, FIP program policy was changed to match policy in the Iowa SNAP, and to the extent possible in the Medicaid program, in the following areas:

 treatment of late review forms;  failure to timely report changes;  recurring lump sums;  earnings in-kind; and  non-homestead property.

 Effective October 1, 2002, SNAP policy was changed to no longer consider educational income a resource.

 Effective November 2003, the Iowa HHS implemented privacy policies to align with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996. The following two HIPAA policies were extended to all Iowa HHS programs:

 Workforce members who are crime victims may disclose confidential information to law enforcement for identification and location purposes.  Iowa HHS staff may refuse to treat a person as a personal representative if staff have a reasonable belief that doing so could endanger the Iowa HHS customer, such as a person who has subjected, or may subject, an Iowa HHS customer to domestic violence.

 Effective July 2004, the Iowa SNAP changed policy to exclude, without regard to its value, one motor vehicle per household.

 Effective January 2007, the Iowa HHS implemented the following changes in FIP policy to align with SNAP or Medicaid program policies. These changes improve administrative efficiency, eliminate confusion, and provide better customer service for participants.

 The method of determining the FIP monthly grant amount was changed from retrospective budgeting (setting the next month’s grant according to a prior month’s income) to prospective budgeting (setting the amount based on anticipated income).

 The list of changes participants are required to report for FIP was revised to make it easier for participants to understand what information must be reported and allow Iowa HHS staff to focus on obtaining the information that is necessary to correctly determine eligibility and benefits.

 Recoupment does not apply when a change in income is timely reported and timely acted upon by the local office, but the Iowa HHS’ timely notice requirements delay the action until the second calendar month following the month of change and eligibility for FIP continues. This change prevents imposition of small overpayments incurred through no fault of the participant or the worker.