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VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT

OF SOCIAL SERVICES ENERGY ASSISTANCE

10/17 VOLUME IX, CHAPTER G, PAGE 1

1. PURPOSE

Federal law (Section 2604(c) of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 [Title XXVI of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981, Public Law 97-35, as amended]) requires each state to provide energy crisis intervention. This intervention must resolve the energy crisis of eligible applicants within 48 hours, or 18 hours in a life-threatening situation. A crisis situation is considered life-threatening if 1) the temperature is projected to be 32 degrees or less and 2) the household includes at least one vulnerable person (an individual who is under age 6, age 60 or older, or disabled). Temperatures of 32 degrees or less for the current and following day are established by verifying the projected temperature through a weather service (The Weather Channel, etc.).

An energy crisis is defined as a situation in which the household has no heat or is in imminent danger of being without heat. Unlike an entitlement program with the ability to serve all eligible applicants, funding for Crisis Assistance is discretionary and limited. In Virginia, the Crisis Assistance component is designed to help households meet energy emergencies that cannot be met by other resources.

2. ADMINISTRATION

a. Contracting

LDSS may contract with other agencies to take and/or prepare for processing Crisis Assistance applications. If the contract is for taking applications only, the maximum cost per application is $8. If the contract is for taking and preparing applications for processing, the LDSS will negotiate a cost per case based on that agency's maximum amount of administrative funds available. The LDSS will retain responsibility for all case payments. See Chapter A. 8 for LDSS responsibility when contracting.

b. Program Dates

LDSS are required to take applications for Crisis Assistance and provide Crisis Assistance from November 1st through March 15th of the following year unless funds are depleted earlier. Home Office will notify LDSS if funds are not available to continue program operations.

c. Outreach and Public Information

Home Office will provide general information to the public via a media release prior to the beginning of the component. This information will include eligibility criteria.

TRANSMITTAL # 17-1