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TANF TANF TANF TANF TANF TANF SNAP SNAP SNAP SNAP SNAP

Division of Welfare and Supportive Services A-827.21 Eligibility and Payments Manual EMPLOYMENT & TRAINING 17 Mar 01 MTL 02/17 Action for Non-Compliance

827.2 Action for Non-Compliance When a TANF-NEON Program household

fails to comply with the terms of their Personal Responsibility Plan (PRP), case managers may attempt to contact participants to determine if a resolution is possible without having to implement a conciliation/sanction action. When the case manager attempts to contact the client at a valid telephone number and has to leave a message, the case manager should, at a minimum, give the client until the end of the next regular work day to contact the case manager to resolve the issue of non-compliance. All attempted contact must be documented. When there is no known phone number or the case manager attempts to contact the client at their known telephone number(s) and is unable to leave a message, the case manager may choose to send a letter to the client requesting them to contact the case manager OR document the attempt to contact the client and initiate non- compliance conciliation. Use prudent worker judgment when initiating a sanction. The case worker is expected to weigh such factors as the client’s past cooperation history, their known barriers to participation, the administrative time available and the goal of developing a positive working partnership with the client. If the case manager sends a letter requesting contact to resolve the issue of non-compliance, the client should be provided at least five (5) calendar days to respond to the mailed letter before initiating non-compliance conciliation. Prior to imposing a three (3) month sanction, caseworkers must staff the case with a supervisor. SNAP The SNAPET case manager issues a "Notice of Non-Compliance" (NOCO) within five (5) working days from date of discovery advising the participant of the specific requirement which was not met. The participant is allowed ten (10) days (the day following the notice date is the 1st day of the 10-day period) to contact the SNAPET case manager and to claim good cause (see manual section A-829). If there is no response or good cause is not substantiated, the SNAPET case manager notifies eligibility within five (5) working days and whether it is the 1st, 2nd, 3rd or subsequent occurrence. This notification must be documented. Within two (2) working days of receiving the notice of non-compliance from the SNAPET case manager, eligibility disqualifies that member as follows: First Violation - a minimum of one benefit month and until compliance;

Second Violation - a minimum of three benefit months and until compliance;

Third or Subsequent Violation - a minimum of six (6) benefit months and until compliance.

If the non-complying member moves to a new household, disqualify the member for the remainder of the penalty period. Note: A benefit month is not a 30-day period; the disqualified month may be a prorated month.