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West Virginia Income Maintenance Manual Chapter 18

West Virginia Income Maintenance Manual Page 39 Chapter 18 WV WORKS Activities/Requirements

• The participant has the primary responsibility for obtaining the verification needed to establish good cause. Refer to Chapter 7. The participant must provide the verifications within 20 days of the date good cause is claimed. • In certain situations, it is acceptable to make a determination of good cause without verification. These situations are: o The claim of good cause is based on the anticipation that cooperation will result in physical harm to the specified relative or the child; and o The Case Manager believes, from the information provided by the participant, that: ▪ The claim is credible without corroborative evidence; ▪ Corroborative evidence is not available; and ▪ The Case Manager and Supervisor agree that good cause exists. • The Case Manager must determine if good cause exists within 45 days of the date good cause is claimed. • If good cause is established, the Case Manager must refer the case to the Child Support Specialist in writing (DHS-1) and indicate the basis for good cause. The case is not acted on by BCSE. At each redetermination of eligibility, the Case Manager determines if good cause still exists. If good cause no longer exists the Case Manager must notify the participant and take appropriate action. • If good cause is not established, the Case Manager initiates the PRC penalty by sending the participant a DFA-NL-C. The Case Manager notifies the Child Support Specialist that good cause was claimed, but not established, and that the penalty or sanction for refusal to cooperate has been applied. 18.6.2.C Data System Pending Good Cause A letter is automatically generated to the absent parent(s) from the BCSE data system as soon as the case is referred through the eligibility system. Therefore, it is important that the participant be given the opportunity to establish good cause for not cooperating prior to the exchange between the two data systems. When the participant refuses to cooperate or when the participant claims good cause before the BSCE referral, the claim of having good cause that is pending verification will prevent the automatic production of a notice to the absent parent. If the case is approved or benefits are added to an existing case, prior to verification of the good cause claim, the claim of having good cause that is pending verification will prevent the