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Effective October 1, 2008, the Department of Human Services has
clarified the steps that caseworkers must follow before a household’s FAP can
be affected by noncompliance with work- or self-sufficiency-related
activities. The policy is in the DHS
Program Eligibility Manual (PEM) 233B.
The DHS PEM is available online at http://www.mfia.state.mi.us/olmweb/ex/pem/pem.pdf.
FOR FAP
APPLICANTS AND RECIPIENTS WHO ARE NOT RECEIVING CASH ASSISTANCE,
An individual will be disqualified from receiving FAP if s/he is not
deferred (exempt) from work requirements and has refused, reduced, or quit
work without good cause. Deferrals
are explained in PEM 230B and good cause is defined in PEM 233B. Other family members will not be
disqualified, but the income and expenses of the disqualified individual will
continue to be counted when determining the household’s FAP eligibility and
FAP grant amount.
DHS must give the individual an opportunity to claim good cause BEFORE
it makes a decision to disqualify the individual. The opportunity to claim good cause may be
provided at the time the individual calls to report the job loss or reduction
in hours, if the DHS caseworkers speaks directly with the individual. Otherwise, the caseworker must send a
notice to the individual, asking him or her to provide information about good
cause. If the individual does not
claim good cause within the time allowed, or DHS decides that good cause does
not exist, then the caseworker will issue a negative action notice explaining
the disqualification the fact that the individual can reapply and receive FAP
before the end of the disqualification period if s/he becomes deferred.
FOR FAP
RECIPIENTS WHO ALSO ARE RECEIVING FAMILY INDEPENDENCE PROGRAM (FIP) CASH ASSISTANCE
No increase
in FAP due to 3- or 12-month loss of FIP
Even though their income will decrease because their FIP is terminated
for 3 or 12 months, a family subject to a penalty for noncompliance with FIP
work- or self-sufficiency –related requirements under PEM 233A will not
receive an increase in their FAP grant based on the loss of FIP until the 3-
or 12-month FIP penalty period has expired. PEM 233B.
This penalty will ALWAYS be
applied when the FIP penalty is applied – even if the noncompliant individual
is deferred under FAP policy (PEM 230B) or has good cause under FAP policy
(PEM 233B).
Disqualification
of noncompliant individual
The individual who has been noncompliant with FIP requirements also
will be disqualified from receiving FAP if the individual is not deferred
from FAP work requirements (see PEM 230B) and does not have good cause –
under the FAP good cause definitions in PEM 233B -- for the
noncompliance. Both the deferrals and
the good cause reasons are broader for FAP than they are for FIP.
Under the policy effective October 1, 2008, DHS will send out a
negative action notice, regarding the family’s FAP, before it holds a triage meeting and
determines whether the individual had good cause for the noncompliance. This appears to violate federal law, which
does not authorize a termination of FAP unless the state agency has first
determined that the noncompliance was “without good cause.” See
7 USC 2015(d)(1) and 7 CFR 273.7(f)(1)(i). Negative action notices are not supposed
to be sent until the agency has “determine[d] that the noncompliance was
without good cause.
The length of the individual disqualification from FAP will be
different than the full family disqualification from receiving FIP, as shown
in the table below.
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1st noncompliance
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2nd noncompliance
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3rd noncompliance
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FIP
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3
months
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3
months
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12
months
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FAP
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1
month
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6
months
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6
months
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In addition, the number of instances of noncompliance may be different
for purposes of determining the length of the FIP and FAP disqualifications,
(because (1) a noncompliance is counted for purposes of FIP disqualification
only if it occurred after March 31, 2007; (2) an instance may occur when the
individual was receiving one type of benefits (FIP or FAP), but not the
other; (3) instances are counted on a cumulative, family basis for FIP but on
an individual basis for FAP; and (4) an instance may be counted for purposes
of FIP but not FAP because of the differences in deferrals and good cause for
the two programs).
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