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West Virginia Income Maintenance Manual Chapter 18

West Virginia Income Maintenance Manual Page 141 Chapter 18 WV WORKS Activities/Requirements

• Payments must be made by vendor payment when possible. A vendor may be a private individual or a licensed business. Each vendor must be assigned a number to allow payment to be made through the eligibility system. Self-employed participants who render services to other participants are also assigned a vendor number to be paid for those services. When using vendor payments, the Case Manager must protect the participant’s confidentiality. No referral form to a vendor may specify that the participant is a recipient or how the goods or services obtained with the vendor payment are used. Agreements with some employers or other activity providers may require that this information be included and the terms of that agreement must be followed. However, it is expected that vendor payments and referrals for goods or services not associated with employers or activity providers will protect the participant’s confidentiality. The system pulls down vendor payments once a week on Friday after the close of business. Payments are processed and batched through OASIS the following week. Checks are printed the following Friday. In situations where a payment must be made directly to the WV WORKS participant, the individual’s personal identification number (PIN) is the vendor number. In these situations, the Case Manager must also document why the payment must be made to the WV WORKS participant. For support service payments issued to the participant, benefits are added to the EBT card during overnight batch once the payment has been approved. Payments that have been available for 365 days from the date of last use are expunged. See Section 10.3.3. • All payments are requested in the eligibility system. • Any payment made to a vendor requires an itemized invoice or written estimate of the charges. The invoice must be on the vendor’s invoice form, or on his business letterhead. The invoice is filed in the case record. • When payment is made to a vendor, the invoice or estimate must not include sales tax. When payment is made to reimburse the participant, sales tax is included. • Recoupment of overpayments is accomplished by entering the category code as ADCW on the Benefit Recovery Referral Screen and explaining in the comments section that the referral is for a Support Service Payment. • Misdirected, lost or stolen checks are handled according to Section 12.3. • Support service payments cannot be made by direct deposit.