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[PROGRAM COMPONENTS: TANF WORK ACTIVITES

MISSISSIPPI Revised 08-01-1210-01-21

The case manager must determine the amount, if any, of the TANF payments that will be recovered by the child support collection prior to calculating the maximum number of hours a participant may be required to participate in an Alternative Work Experience Program (AWEP) or community service (COM) activity. Once the amount of current child support recovery is established, the case manager must determine the amount of TANF payments the participant will receive for the month of placement then subtract the amount of child support recovery. The remaining amount, if any, will be used in the FLSA calculation. The methodology used to net out the child support recovery and the actual calculation must be clearly documented on the PACR screen. Determining the Amount of Child Support Recovery The case manager will request, from a IV-D worker or a IV-A staff member who has METSS access, the amount of child support recovery for the month prior to the month the FLSA calculation is completed. After inquiring on the recipient on PERS, the METSS user should review the PFIN screen for one of the METSS case numbers. If the PFIN screen lists an amount in the IV-A Recovery field, further investigation is required to determine the amount of current and past recovery. Accessing the CUST screen will provide information as to which absent parent/parents paid support. By accessing the FBAL screen for each case number showing a payment, the user can identify the amount of current recovery which is shown on FBAL as CURR MO RCT (Current Month Receipt.) Obtain the total amount of recovery by totaling the amounts listed on the FBAL screens. Note: If the IV-A recovery amount listed on PFIN is significantly different from the amounts listed for other months in the last 6 months, the worker should investigate further to determine the recovery amount to use prospectively in the FLSA calculation. Determine the prospective recovery amount just as a worker would when determining the amount of child support to use in the SNAP budget. Determining the TANF Payment to Use in the FLSA Calculation Once the amount of current child support recovery has been determined, the case manager will subtract the anticipated TANF grant from the amount of current child support recovery. If the difference is more than zero, subtract the TWP work (transportation) stipend from the remaining current child support recovery until TANF payments are recovered. FLSA Calculation The case manager will enter the family’s combined monthly benefits on the FLSA calculation “popup window” in JAWS when making the component assignment. The JAWS system will automatically calculate the family’s total monthly benefits and divide the total by the federal minimum wage to determine the maximum FLSA hours the participant may be required to participate in AWEP or community service activities. If there are two TWP participants in the