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West Virginia Income Maintenance Manual Chapter 14
West Virginia Income Maintenance Manual Page 25 Chapter 14 Work Requirements
14.8 WV WORKS SANCTIONS When a member of the assistance group (AG) or non-recipient Work-Eligible Individual does not comply with requirements found on his Personal Responsibility Contract (PRC) or Self- Sufficiency Plan (SSP), a sanction must be imposed unless the Case Manager determines that good cause exists. Information about development of the SSP is found in Chapter 18. Information about the PRC and SSP as an eligibility requirement is found in Section 1.5. 14.8.1 DEFINITION OF A SANCTION Sanctions are applied in the form of termination of WV WORKS benefits. The duration of the sanction period is determined as follows: • First Offense = Ineligibility for cash benefits for 1 month; • Second Offense = Ineligibility for cash benefits for 6 months; • Third and All Subsequent Offenses = Ineligibility for cash benefits for 12 months. WV WORKS sanctions are applied to all Work-Eligible members of a WV WORKS case, not only to the member who causes the sanction. A sanction is not imposed by having the client repay all or part of the benefit he has already received. A termination of cash assistance for at least one month is the only means by which a sanction is imposed. NOTE: When the person whose actions cause a sanction to be imposed becomes a Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipient prior to imposition of the sanction, no sanction is imposed. In addition, the offense is not counted when determining the level of subsequent sanctions. If the family has already been sanctioned when the offender becomes an SSI recipient, the sanction is lifted as soon as possible. The partial sanction already served counts when determining the level of the subsequent sanctions. NOTE: If a disabled client chooses to participate, no sanction is imposed for failing to meet the work requirements if the Case Manager or Supervisor determines the participant failed to meet the SSP requirements due to his disability. WV WORKS participants who have a documented disability must be placed in the “Participant with a Documented Disability” AD component in the case management system, in addition to other component codes.