4 CRISIS ASSISTANCE

Eligibility - 2604(c), 2605(c)(1)(A) 4.1 Designate the income eligibility threshold used for the crisis component Add Household size Eligibility Guideline Eligibility Threshold 1 All Household Sizes State Median Income 60.00% 4.2 Provide your LIHEAP program's definition for determining a crisis. If you administer multiple crisis assistance programs (winter, summer, and/or year-round), Include all program definitions. A crisis situation is an energy emergency when there is a potential disconnection or depletion of the energy sources but is not considered a life threatening crisis. Non-life threatening crisis situations must be mitigated within 48 hours. A crisis situation is an energy emergency when there is a potential disconnection or depletion of the energy sources but is not considered a life threatening crisis. Metered Utilities: The household has received a disconnection notice for the residence's primary heating fuel service and/our electric service • The household is currently enrolled in an arrearage management agreement/payment plan in order to avoid disconnection of primary heating fuel service and/or electric service and has a current outstanding balance on the agreement • The household's primary heating fuel service and/or electric service is disconnected, but the household does not meet the criteria for life- threatening crisis • Bulk Fuel: Households who heat with a deliverable bulk fuel (e.g., LP, oil, coal, corn, wood, pellets, or other biofuel) or who have prepaid electricity service will automatically be considered to be in crisis at the time of application in order to ensure the benefit is sufficient for minimum delivery amounts and delivery fees. • Prepaid Electric Service: A household with prepaid electric service is considered to be in crisis if it has less than 10 days worth of service in available balance when considering average daily usage for the past 30 days • Inoperable heating equipment: Households who report that their heating equipment is not operable will be assessed for eligibilty for the Emergency Repair and Replace benefit. • 4.3 What constitutes a life-threatening crisis? A life-threatening crisis situation must be mitigated within (18) hours. The (18) hour timeframe begins at the point in time the life- threatening situation is communicated to LSP staff. A life threatening crisis situation is defined when there is at least one at-risk individual (adult age 60 or over, child age 5 or under, person with a disability, or veteran) and any of the following criteria is met: A life threatening crisis situation is defined when there is at least one vaulnerable population factor (adult age 60 or over, child age 5 or under, person with a disability, or veteran/active duty military) and any of the following criteria is met: Household's primary heating and/or electric service is disconnected or inactive • Household is out of bulk heating fuel when bulk fuel is the primary heating fuel • There is a documented medical need where there is an extreme safety concern • There is a need for a propane tank safety inspection. • Crisis Requirement, 2604(c) 4.4 Within how many hours do you provide an intervention that will resolve the energy crisis for eligible households? 48Hours 4.5 Within how many hours do you provide an intervention that will resolve the energy crisis for eligible households in life-threatening situations? 18Hours Crisis Eligibility, 2605(c)(1)(A) Winter Crisis Summer Crisis Year-Round Crisis 4.6 Do you have additional eligibility requirements for Crisis Assistance? 4.7 Check the appropriate boxes below to indicate type(s) of assistance provided 0 Do you require an Assets test? Do you give priority in eligibility to: Older Adults (60 years or older)? Individuals with a disability? Young Children? Households with high energy burdens? Other (Specify): veterans/active duty military In Order to receive crisis assistance: Must the household have received a shut-off notice or have a near empty tank? Must the household have been shut off or have an empty tank? Must the household have exhausted their regular heating benefit? Must renters with heating costs included in their rent have received an eviction notice? Must heating/cooling be medically necessary? Must the household have non-working heating or cooling equipment? Other (Specify): Do you have additional/differing eligibility policies for: Renters? Renters living in subsidized housing? Renters with utilities included in the rent? Explanations of policies for each "yes" checked above: Households in which the electric and/or primary heating service is included in the rent are not eligible to receive a crisis benefit on the utility that is included in their rent. If the regular and crisis benefit are insufficient to guarantee continuation of service, the benefits may be deferred pending a client contribution to ensure continuous service. Renters are not eligible for Emergency Heating Repair or Replacement benefits. Determination of Benefits 4.8 How do you handle crisis situations? Separate component Benefit Fast Track, no separate amount of crisis funds is issued. Rather benefits are issued to crisis customers within crisis response time frames. Other - Describe: Our service delivery model is actually a hybrid of these two - a household presenting as being in an energy crisis is given priority in its application processing and is also eligible for an additional benefit. 4.9 If you have a separate component, how do you determine crisis assistance benefits? Amount to resolve the crisis. $400 Other - Describe: For metered utilities: The exact amount needed to cancel a pending disconnection, restore disconnected service [less any security deposit], or to resolve an outstanding balance on an arrearage management payment agreement is awarded, up to a total of $400 per utility. • If a household has an electric furnace installed as its primary heating source, it is eligible for both the electric service allotment as well as the heating service allotment, i.e., $800 maximum crisis. • Crisis is determined at time of eligibility detemrination. If a household does not use its entire crisis allotment at the time of application and they experience an energy emergency from March 1 through the end of the application period, they may be eligible for one additional round of crisis. An additional round of crisis will not be administered prior to March 1. • For deliverable bulk heating fuels: The entire $400 crisis benefit is awarded at time of approval in order to ensure sufficient benefit to provide for minimum delivery amount, delivery fees, and sufficient heating fuel for the winter season. • For pre-paid electric service: If the household presents with a prepaid electric account that is within ten days of depleting its available balance (assessed by using the average daily usage for the last 30 days), the household will be awarded the full eligible crisis amount ($400 for electric service with a different heating fuel/$800 if the primary installed heating source is an electric furnace) • Crisis Requirements, 2604(c) 4.10 Do you accept applications for energy crisis assistance at sites that are geographically accessible to all households in the area to be served? Yes No Explain. We expect our subrecipients to maintain physical locations to accept applications in all 92 counties of Indiana, either through direct administration or through community partnerships. During the winter season, we expect all of these locations to be open. We also expect all our of subrecipients to accept telphonic applications durign their business hours. The online application portal is accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 4.11 Do you provide individuals who are individuals with a disability the means to: Submit applications for crisis benefits without leaving their homes? Yes No If No, explain. Travel to the sites at which applications for crisis assistance are accepted? Yes No If No, explain. We expect our subrecipients to provide home visits to applicants who are homebound or otherwise have mobility issues to conduct home visits upon request, but we do not otherwise provide for travel. Our subrecipients may on a case-by-case basis have partnerships with local transit companies to provide for such travel. We also expect our subrecipients to accept telephonic applications during business hours. If you answered "No" to both options in question 4.11, please explain alternative means of intake to those who are homebound or physically disabled? Benefit Levels, 2605(c)(1)(B) 4.12 Indicate the maximum benefit for each type of crisis assistance offered. Winter Crisis $800.00 maximum benefit Summer Crisis $0.00 maximum benefit Year-round Crisis $0.00 maximum benefit 4.13 Do you provide in-kind (e.g. blankets, space heaters, fans) and/or other forms of benefits? Yes No If yes, Describe 4.14 Do you provide for equipment repair or replacement using crisis funds? Yes No If you answered "Yes" to question 4.14, you must complete question 4.15. 4.15 Check appropriate boxes below to indicate type(s) of assistance provided. Winter Crisis Summer Crisis Year-round Crisis Heating system repair Heating system replacement Cooling system repair Cooling system replacement Wood stove purchase Pellet stove purchase Solar panel(s) Utility poles / gas line hook-ups Other (Specify): 4.16 Do any of the utility vendors you work with enforce a moratorium on shut offs? Yes No If you responded "Yes" to question 4.16, you must respond to question 4.17. 4.17 Describe the terms of the moratorium and any special dispensation received by LIHEAP clients during or after the moratorium period. the customer's request. This law, which first became effective in 1983, states that utility (Municipally-owned, privately-owned or cooperatively-owned) may not, during the period from December 1 through March 15 of any year, terminate residential utility service to any customer who is eligible for and who has applied for the Energy Assistance Program. The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) later promulgated regulations under the authority of IC 8-1-2-121 at 170 IAC 4-4-16.6 and 170 IAC 5-1-16.6. The Indiana General Assembly has enacted Indiana Code 8-1-2-121 governing the termination of natural gas and electric service without the customer's request. This law, which first became effective in 1983, states that utility (Municipally-owned, privately-owned or cooperatively- owned) may not, during the period from December 1 through March 15 of any year, terminate residential utility service to any customer who is eligible for and who has applied for the Energy Assistance Program. The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) later promulgated regulations under the authority of IC 8-1-2-121 at 170 IAC 4-4-16.6 and 170 IAC 5-1-16.6. Under Indiana state law and regulations, utilities may not disconnect service to customers if: The customer has submitted a complete application and eligibility is being determined by the local LSP or its subcontractor. • The customer has furnished proof to the utility provider of his/her application to receive EAP benefits; or IHCDA, the local LSP or the LSP's subcontractor has notified the utility provider. • Electric or gas utility providers, including a municipality owned, privately owned, or cooperatively owned utility, qualify as a "utility" for the purposes of the moratorium law. "Municipally owned utility" is a utility owned or operated by a city or town in Indiana. Any household who has applied for EAP on or after October 1st cannot have its service disconnected between December 1 and March 15. A "qualified" household is defined as a household that has active service and has submitted a completed application to the LSP, and a staff person at the agency has determined or is determining that eligibility. If a utility provider has negotiated a payment arrangement with a client who has qualified for EAP and the client violates that payment arrangement before December 1, the utility has the right to disconnect that client prior to December 1, because that client is not yet protected by the moratorium. If the same client has active service as of December 1, the utility may not disconnect that client until March 16. A utility vendor may refuse EAP benefit at any time during the heating season. Benefit refusal does not prevent moratorium protection. A client who has submitted a complete application and is being deemed or has been deemed EAP eligible and has active service on December 1 will receive moratorium protection through March 15. Circumstance may arise where landlords and tenants must create a utility payment arrangement to ensure that the utility bills are paid on time. Moratorium protection applies in the following way when the payment between the landlord and client is breached: If the utility is listed in the landlord's name, but the client has breached payment agreement with the landlord, the landlord may request service disconnection during the moratorium period. Though the client was deemed eligible for EAP assistance, the landlord is the customer of record • on the utility bill. If the utility is listed in the client's name, but the landlord had breached the payment agreement, then the client is protected under the moratorium because the client is the customer of record on the utility bill. • Regulations allow the utility to disconnect the utilities for a customer otherwise covered under the moratorium in the following circumstances: If a condition dangerous or hazardous to life, physical safety or property exists. • Upon order by any court, the IURC, or other duly authorized public authority. • If fraudulent or unauthorized use of electricity or gas is detected, and the utility has reasonable grounds to believe the affected customer is responsible for such use. • If the utility's regulating or measuring equipment has been tampered with and the utility has reasonable grounds to believe the affected customer is responsible for such tampering. • If a household is denied during the moratorium period but appeals their denial, moratorium protection shall be reinstated while the appeal is being considered. 4.18 If you experience a natural disaster, do you intend to utilize LIHEAP crisis funds to address disaster related crisis situations? Yes No If yes, describe If any of the above questions require further explanation or clarification that could not be made in the fields provided, attach a document with said explanation here.