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West Virginia Income Maintenance Manual Chapter 18

West Virginia Income Maintenance Manual Page 13 Chapter 18 WV WORKS Activities/Requirements

The 60-Month Extension Committee only may approve an extension based on agency error if during the extension request process, either the local office or the 60-Month Extension Committee does not act in a timely manner. This must occur between months 55 through 60. No repayment is required if the extension is not approved. This extension is limited to three months.

After a participant has received WV WORKS for 55 months, a formal case review must be conducted. The purpose of this review is to assess the progress of the household members towards achieving self-sufficiency and to determine what activities the participant needs to complete during the remaining months of WV WORKS eligibility. This review is not discretionary. The Case Manager must schedule the review. The participant’s attendance at this conference should be included as an item on the last revision of the Self-Sufficiency Plan (SSP) completed before the meeting would normally be scheduled. The Case Manager must schedule the review by issuing a letter to the participant. The review includes the participant, Case Manager, Supervisor, the Community Services Manager or his designee, Social Services, and any other representatives from agencies that might be of assistance to the participant. The participant may bring his own representative(s) to the meeting and is responsible for notifying anyone he wants to be involved in the process. This group determines what can be done before the participant reaches the 60-month time limit to move the family closer to becoming self-sufficient. If the group decides an extension is appropriate and additional months are needed, all paperwork for an application for extension must be completed at this time including completion of a Request for Extension of WV WORKS 60-Month Time Limit form (DFA-WVW-100-B) and an Extension Request form (DFA-EX-1). The group will review the extension categories and their definitions to determine the appropriate category to use for the participant's request. A statement from the 55-month review group may be submitted to the 60-Month Extension Committee along with the other extension documents. In order to ensure time frames are met, if the participant indicates he would like to apply for an extension based on disability, and the case has not been submitted to the MRT, the MRT process must begin immediately so a decision may be made in a timely manner. If the participant is pursuing an extension based on disability, the Case Manager must explain that if the participant opts to receive 60 months, he will be ineligible to receive child-only benefits if he is later approved for SSI.

If the participant fails to appear at the first scheduled review, the Case Manager must call the participant and reschedule the meeting. If the participant later requests one, his request must be honored when the process can be accomplished prior to receipt of the 60th month’s benefit.