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1000.20 TANF MANUAL 10/18 PAGE 75

H. Documentation Required for Termination of Employment, Reduction in Wages or Refusal of a Bona Fide Offer of Increased Work Hours

1) Description of the job, including OJT employment, and circumstances surrounding the termination of employment, reduction in earnings or refusal of increased work hours.

2) Contact log documenting all contacts with the participant.

3) A copy of the communication sent to the EW to sanction the case.

I. Advance Notice of Proposed Action to Sanction

1) This notice is sent to participants who do not comply with the VIEW program requirements. It provides notification that the TANF benefit will be suspended. This notice is required prior to sanctioning.

2) Upon determination to sanction the client for noncompliance, the ESW must take action to begin the sanction process. Based on agency procedures, the ESW will either send the client VIEW Notice of Sanction/Termination (032-02-0307) or the Advance Notice of Proposed Action within three business days of the missed appointment. Alternately, the ESW will immediately notify the EW who will send the ANPA within three business days of receipt of the notification.

3) The ANPA will inform the participant of the specific requirement which was not met, and advise the participant to contact the ESW within 10 days from the date the Notice was mailed in order to establish good cause and prevent suspension of the TANF payment.

a) The Notice will give the participant at least 10 days from the date the ANPA is mailed to provide good cause. If the participant does not respond to the ANPA by the date given, she will be sanctioned.

b) If the participant responds to the ANPA, the information becomes part of the documentation needed to determine if the sanction will be imposed. If the participant does not present good cause, she will be sanctioned.

J. Sanction Procedures

1) In agencies in which both the VIEW program and TANF benefits are not managed by one case manager, the ESW will advise the EW that a sanction is required, when to impose a sanction, and which sanction to impose. An automated message is sent to the EW via the automated system to impose the sanction and a manual communication form should be sent. The EW will send the participant the Advance Notice of Proposed Action to affect payment which explains the reason for the sanction, the amount of benefit reduction to be imposed, and the duration of the sanction. At agency option, the VIEW Notice of Sanction/Termination may be sent prior to referral of the case to the EW for sanction.

2) For the purposes of recording and establishing sanctions, the sanction period begins on the date the participant was in noncompliance. This date is recorded in the ESP module in VaCMS as the date of referral for sanction. The effective date on the Advance Notice of Proposed Action is the beginning of the sanction period for purposes of suspending assistance.

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