Page 31

Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program Division 10 Service 415 Program 415 Chapters 05 - 65 North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services

Worker Responsibilities 415-05-11-15 (Added 10/1/20 ML #3588) View Archives

The policies and procedures throughout this manual are guides for LIHEAP eligibility determination and are written within the limits imposed by the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program’s statute and regulations. Policies allow workers to exercise reasonable judgment in executing their responsibilities. It is impossible to write a procedure that will cover every possible contingency that specific cases may present to the worker.

The concept of the “prudent person” is helpful to a worker. The term refers to the reasonableness of the judgments made by a worker in a given situation. In making an eligibility determination, a worker should ask if this judgment is reasonable based on their experience and knowledge of the program.

Examples: 1. If the client’s rent expenses, as they state them, are out of line with rentals charged in the community, the worker must ask for an explanation or additional verification such as a lease agreement. 2. The worker is responsible to exercise reasonable judgment in determining if a given number of individuals who apply for LIHEAP as a single household fit the program’s concept of a household.

If a worker encounters a problem in a specific case, it should be referred to the immediate supervisor or the state office Policy and System Support Unit.