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West Virginia Income Maintenance Manual Chapter 14

West Virginia Income Maintenance Manual Page 26 Chapter 14 Work Requirements

Once the beginning of the sanction period has started, it cannot be stopped until the appropriate time has elapsed. When two or more offenses, by the same or different participants, occur in the same month, it is treated as if only one offense has occurred. All offenses must be addressed in the client notification and only one sanction is imposed. If an additional offense, by the same or different participants, occurs in the same month after the Case Manager has mailed the notification of the preceding offense, an additional sanction may not be imposed. The second and subsequent WV WORKS sanctions require supervisory approval. A Supervisor must confirm the sanction in the eligibility system. When a Supervisor is not available, a back-up Supervisor may confirm the sanction. If good cause is granted for the first or second sanction the Supervisor must give approval for removing the sanction and must make comments in the eligibility system. The third and subsequent WV WORKS sanctions must be approved by the Division of Family Assistance (DFA) Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Policy Unit. The Supervisor must send an email to TANF Policy Unit members and his Regional Program Manager once the prospective sanction is placed in the eligibility system with the date and time of the scheduled case staffing, along with a detailed summary on a DFA-WVW-75 outlining the reason for the sanction including: • Case name, case number, PIN numbers; • Current PRC; • Number of referrals provided to the AG for help in removing barriers; • Number of home/work site visits in the past 12 months. If a home visit has not been completed within 60 days of the third or subsequent sanction request, the Case Manager must schedule, attempt and document a home visit before a sanction approval will be considered. A site visit must not be completed for this purpose. • Any special or unusual circumstances in the family; and • Worker, Supervisor and/or Community Services Manager (CSM) decision, including reason, about whether or not the family should be sanctioned. This process is to ensure all challenges identified have been addressed. If good cause is requested, the Supervisor must notify the Policy Unit and Program Manager by email, that they are requesting the sanction be lifted, and the Policy Unit must approve the good cause. To be considered for future benefits, the individual will be required to re-apply for WV WORKS.