137.53 Application Process

Every budget group member, age 18 or older, must sign the PA 600 and be requested to sign the Authorization for Release of Information (PA 4). As a first step, the CAO reviews the application for cash assistance eligibility.

REMINDER: To be eligible for Diversion, a budget group must be eligible for TANF.

NOTE: There are no child support requirements for Diversion therefore the 25% reduction to a TANF grant would never be applied to a Diversion payment.

Screening Process

Screening helps to determine eligibility for Diversion or TANF benefits. At the application interview (or screening interview), the CAO will:

1. Ask the applicant these questions:

Why are you applying for cash benefits?

What happened to create a need to apply for cash assistance?

2. Narrate the response.

3. Based on the response, determine if the budget group has a specific episode of need or crisis situation that can be resolved with the Diversion Initiative, including :

T hreat of homelessness, eviction, and/or utility shut-off.

NOTE: Evaluate for ESA first to eliminate or reduce the threat.

Employment, school, or training needs, such as tools or automobile repair.

Recent loss of a job.

4. If the budget group meets TANF non-financial eligibility requirements; is income and resource eligible for TANF; and, indicates a specific episode of need or crisis situation – take the following action:

Review Diversion eligibility requirements, including recent work history or job skill’s training.

Evaluate exceptions in Section 137.521 .

Narrate the episode of need or crisis situation.

NOTE: The CAO will consider all available supplemental benefits, which can cover part of the financial gap and make a Diversion payment possible. Only if supplemental benefits plus a Diversion payment do not meet the family’s needs during a Diversion period, should the CAO count income expected to arrive within the Diversion period.

5. If the applicant meets Diversion requirements:

Discuss with the applicant the option of a Diversion payment using the Diversion and TANF Comparison Desk Guide

Determine how many months of Diversion are necessary to meet the temporary episode of need. Diversion may be authorized for one, two or three months of the Family Size Allowance (FSA). The Diversion benefit is issued for calendar months and begins on the application date if found eligible in the month of application or the first day of the following month if found eligible in the month following the month of application.

Authorize Diversion, if appropriate.

EXAMPLE: The CAO narrates reasons that the Range family applies for cash assistance. After the couple exhausted unemployment compensation benefits, they started temporary part- time jobs, which have ended their plan to start work at a new factory opening in three months. The CAO determines the family eligible for TANF and Diversion. After the CAO explains Diversion, the couple chooses Diversion. The CAO authorizes a three-month Diversion payment and narrates.

6. If the applicant is not eligible for Diversion or opts not to receive Diversion: Authorize TANF.

EXAMPLE: Ms. Banks, with two children, applies for cash benefits. The CAO asks the reason/specific needs prompting the application; determines TANF eligibility; and, narrates. For the past eight months, the children’s other biological parent beat and stalked Ms. Banks, Ms. Banks has not worked. Ms. Banks moved the family to another town but is afraid to work because the stalking continues. Ms. Banks’ parents cannot continue providing funds. Ms. Banks meets Diversion criteria, but chooses to receive TANF benefits, the CAO authorizes TANF and narrates accordingly.

COLLECT VERIFICATION

Verification to determine Diversion eligibility should clearly define the short-term needs of each applicant family. For this reason, the CAO should provide the applicant a detailed verification checklist/due date -- and stress th at Diversion benefits cannot be authorized without these items. Acceptable verification includes, but is not limited to:

For Income or Current/Recent Work History: Check stubs for earned/ unearned income; checking/savings account statements; Domestic Relations child support statement; dated check stubs to show wages; employer statement to pinpoint recent/current employment or show date of end of maternity leave.

F or Financial Needs: Work expenses, such as uniforms or tools; transportation expenses, such as car repairs, inspection, car payment, insurance premiums; childcare costs; housing expenses, such as mortgage payments, rent, home repairs, utilities; costs to relocate to secure employment.

It is important for the CAO to require third-party statements from relatives or community organizations assisting the family during the Diversion period. This assistance, covering specific financial gaps, can pinpoint what remains to be covered with a Diversion payment.

NOTE: The CAO is not required to verify a family’s anticipated self-sustaining income expected at the end of the Diversion period. However, a family’s voluntary verification may help determine the length and nature of a short-term need. This verification can include employer statement with date of return/start of work; date/amount of first check or expected pay.

EXCEPTION: In rare situations, the CAO may count income expected to arrive after the maximum three-month Diversion period. For example, a family with a financial crisis spanning four months would not be eligible for Diversion because a maximum three-month Diversion payment cannot meet their entire need. However, if the family verifies that a third-party will cover the needs for the fourth month, a three-month Diversion payment may meet their needs.

EXAMPLE: The CAO interviews Ms. Stover, who requests Diversion for self and child. As Ms. Stover explains, their needs extend four months, from July through October, until employment starts in early November. The CAO tells Ms. Stover a maximum Diversion period, covering three months, can meet the household’s July, August, and September needs – but not the October needs. For this reason, the CAO cannot authorize Diversion unless Ms. Stover finds a way to cover the October expenses. Ms. Stover contacts the new employer, who provides a statement that, on October 1, Ms. Stover will receive a signing bonus, enough to meet October needs. The CAO can authorize Diversion.

OFFER PROGRAMS AND SERVICES

The CAO will review advantages of programs, supplemental benefits, and services available to Diversion applicants – plus employment and training requirements for all benefits. When a Diversion payment alone cannot cover the applicant family’s financial needs during the Diversion period, this additional help may fill the remaining financial gap and enable the CAO to authorize Diversion. See Chapter 138 , Allowances and Benefits; Chapter 183 , Child Care.

Before deciding if supplemental benefits from a community agency are viable, the CAO must receive verification of the date, exact nature, and quantity of benefits.

Special allowances for RESET are not available to a Diversion recipient; however, SNAP participants who receive a Diversion could be served in SNAP E&T and eligible for special allowances through SNAP ETP for the duration of the Diversion period.

EMERGENCY SHELTER ALLOWANCE (ESA) for rent or emergency shelter. See Section 138.8 .

NOTE: The CAO can authorize an ESA to an individual/family who already received a Diversion payment to resolve a housing crisis within the 12-month period prior to the request for ESA.

LOW-INCOME ENERGY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (LIHEAP) for help with heating fuel and utility bills. See LIHEAP Handbook .

SNAP BENEFITS to assist with grocery bills. When a family applying for Diversion considers SNAP benefits, the CAO must explain that Diversion recipients would not be considered exempt from participation in SNAP Employment and Training since they are not subject to work requirements under TANF. Individuals participating in SNAP E&T may be eligible for special allowances under the SNAP employment and training program during the Diversion period.

Medical Assistance to help pay medical bills or prevent medical debt. See Medicaid Eligibility Handbook . Diversion can be opened without closing an MA budget. While processing a Diversion NCE payment, the CAO should not delay a medical assistance eligibility determination or disrupt medical coverage.

J OB SEARCH assistance is available at no cost and without referral to all residents of Pennsylvania by contacting the local PA CareerLink Office.

CHILD CARE SUBSIDY to help pay childcare, through the Early Learning Resource Center (ELRC) . See Letter of Potential Eligibility for Child Care Subsidy ( PA 1696 ) and Chapter 183 ,Child Care. Diversion recipients are treated as "Former TANF" for childcare.

NOTE: Adding other benefits can reduce a three-month FSA to a two-month FSA or a two-month FSA to a one-month FSA.

EXAMPLE: In mid-September, Ms. Landers and toddler twins apply for a Diversion payment for September and October needs until Ms. Lander's November 1 st job start. The family receives SNAP and already paid September rent, plus a few bills. A Diversion payment must meet remaining September needs and all October needs, including rent, due October 1.The landlord stressed that another late rent payment means eviction. The CAO authorizes an ESA for October rent, enabling a September Diversion payment to meet all needs until the November job start.

OFFER OTHER COMMUNITY RESOURCES

The CAO discusses community services with the applicant to assist with short-term needs and prevent another family financial crisis. Community referrals and CAO recommendations include but are not limited to: Consumer Counseling and Budgeting Services; Child Care Network; Domestic Relations; Homeowner’s Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program (HEMAP) at (800) 342-2397; Housing Authority; Legal Services; Women Infants and Children Program (WIC), etc. Services that will benefit the family should be noted on the Diversion Agreement Form ( PA 1793 ).

DIVERSION VS. TANF

With information from the CAO during the personal interview, an applicant family must make an informed decision about which benefit best covers specific needs during the financial gap. The Diversion and TANF Comparison Desk Guide lists and compares the differences between the two types of cash benefits.