135.42 Reviewing for Good Cause

When reviewing an individual’s situation to decide if there is good cause for non-compliance:

55 Pa. Code § 165.52(b)

Consider all the facts including circumstances beyond an individual’s control;

Allow an individual to offer evidence of good cause to avoid sanction, even if the sanction process has begun and the CAO has made a preliminary determination that the individual did not have good cause for non-cooperation; and

Review the case record and narrative to ensure that barriers were discussed and accommodations were offered to the individual. If the case record or case narrative does not reflect that barriers were discussed and accommodations were offered, then good cause may exist for non-compliance.

EXAMPLE: If an individual needs childcare while participating, the AMR should state that childcare was discussed and a referral for childcare assistance through the Early Learning Resource Center (ELRC) was offered. If not, the individual would have good cause for non-compliance if the reason for non-compliance is due to childcare .

Schedule a compliance review if a mandatory RESET participant is non-compliant with E&T requirements. This is a meeting between a caseworker and participant to discuss participation requirements, the consequences of not participating and any good cause that the individual may have for not participating. At the compliance review, the CAO determines:

Willful non-compliance if the individual had the opportunity and ability to participate, but chose not to participate.

Good cause if the circumstances causing non-compliance were beyond the control of the individual. See Section 135.7 .