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Volume III | Chapter 10

10107 MISSISSIPPI [ TANF WORK PROGRAM - PAYMENT

Revised 02 - 01 - 11 mutilated checks, improper payments, recoupment procedures, and fraud. FACTS ABOUT TANF WORK PROGRAM PAYMENTS The TANF Work Program utilizes two processes to issue TANF supportive service payments. TANF supportive service payments to TANF Work Program participants (TWP and TRN) are issued electronically. Vendor/merchant payments are issued by check. Authorizing TANF supportive service payments is the responsibility of the case manager. If a supportive service payment is not received by the participant or provider, the case manager will handle the complaint at the local level. County staff will never instruct a participant to contact State Office staff (Economic Assistance or Budgets and Accounting.) Refer to Chapter 10, Handling Client Complaints, for further information. All TANF supportive service payments (work program and transitional) are authorized by county personnel and processed for payment by the JAWS system. Client payments are posted electronically to the participant’s MasterCard account, according to the benefit month for which the supportive service is issued. Benefits authorized for a prior month or the current calendar month will be available to the participant the following day. Benefits authorized in the current calendar month for the following month will be paid on the last day of the month and available to the participant on the first day of the benefit month. Vendor/merchant payments for work-related expense items/services are processed every Friday. Checks for payments authorized Monday through Friday will be generated after the close of business each Friday and mailed to the payee from State Office the following week. The payee must allow ten (10) working days from the date the check is generated for receipt of the check. Valid Checks A check is valid for only 120 days. Checks older than 120 days will automatically be cancelled when the JAWS file and bank tape interface process occurs. The issuance status of checks cancelled for this reason is “EX-expired” which can be viewed on the Check History Inquiry (ICHI) screen in JAWS. Checks must be endorsed by the payee. PROCESS: PAYMENT PROCESS]

PAYMENT PROCESSES Miscellaneous Payment Processes Appropriate Division of Budgets and Accounting staff can access JAWS to inquire on a provider's payment history; reissue a check that was lost, stolen, mutilated or destroyed. The Division of