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TANF POLICY MANUAL
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Worker must send an increase or no change in benefits notice (whichever is appropriate) to verify receipt of the change.
2. Budgeting – Reduction in Benefits If the removal of a BG member will reduce the benefits, a timely notice must be sent. The ES Worker must remove the member and his/her income effective the month following the reported change. If this is not possible, a claim must be established.
CAUTION: If the change was not reported timely, a claim may need to be established for additional months.
8.8 Child Support Income Child support paid directly to the BG is budgeted in the TANF case until verification is received indicating that the absent parent is court ordered to pay the child support to CSSD. At this time, the court should begin sending the child support payments to CSSD.
1. Child Support Distribution Payments on a support obligation collected by CSSD are distributed to the custodial parent (CP) of a TANF case in accordance with child support regulations. This distribution includes the calculation and payment of a Gap payment.
CAUTION: If a BG is receiving child support through CSSD at TANF application, the amount distributed should not be counted as income. The automatic CHIP/CS interface will budget child support collected and distributed by CSSD as appropriate.
2. Prospective Ineligibility/Child Support When the BG starts receiving child support income through CSSD, the CSSD computer system interfaces with CHIP to determine “prospective eligibility” for TANF according to the amount collected by CSSD. If the BG’s total net income, which includes the “collected child support” amount, is greater than the need standard, the ES Worker will receive the alert, "Ineligible Due to CS Income". This alert means that the TANF case is prospectively ineligible according to CHIP, which will result in the closure of the TANF case.
3. Ineligibility Procedure If the case appears to be prospectively ineligible, the ES Worker must take the following actions:
A. Evaluate case situation B. Review prospective child support income on UNIN screen(s) C. Send timely notice as required D. Close case, if appropriate
4. Cash Benefits Terminated Due to CSSD When TANF cash benefits are terminated due to information from CSSD and the child support payment is not received, the case may be reinstated effective the month of closure.