Page 1297

COMBINED MANUAL

ISSUE DATE 01/2015

SAFE AT HOME PROGRAM

0029.29

Safe At Home (SAH) Program is a Minnesota address confidentiality program that assists survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking by providing a substitute address for people who move or are about to move to a new location unknown to their aggressors. The Minnesota Secretary of State’s office administers this program.

SAH provides a free confidential mail-forwarding service and optional absentee voter registration. SAH participants will share a common P.O. Box but each participant will be assigned a unique Lot number. When mail is received for a participant, the Secretary of State is required to forward the mail to the participant’s actual residence.

SAH participants who apply for or are receiving public assistance programs administered at the county agency are considered participants when they declare they are SAH participants or provide the county with their unique Lot number with PO Box 17370 assigned to them by the Secretary of State’s office. They are not required to provide the county with a Safe At Home Identification Card. Once the applicant or participant declares they are participating in the SAH program, determine eligibility following the SAH policy. SAH participants may use the PO Box address along with the unique Lot number assigned to them by the Secretary of State’s office as the address on the Combined Application Form (CAF) (DHS-5223) (PDF) and the Authorization for Release of Information About Residence and Shelter Expenses (DHS-2952) (PDF). Safe at Home participants can be confirmed by contacting the Safe at Home office and providing the full name and lot number, but this should only be done if there is inconsistent information.

SAH participants MUST also tell the county agency the county where they actually live. There may be a delay in the mail- forwarding process. Participants may not receive public assistance program notices when anticipated which may affect the ability of the participant to respond timely. County workers will need to make exceptions for these situations.

Case information for Safe At Home participants MUST be protected as PRIVILEGED data. For the definition of PRIVILEGED, see 0002.49 (Glossary: Permanent...). For information on coding MAXIS screens for Safe At Home participants, see TEMP Manual TE02.08.173 (How to PRIV a Case), TE02.13.74 (Safe At Home).

For more information about the Safe At Home Program, call 651-201-1399 or 1-866-723-3035 or TTY 1-800-627-3529 or 711.