DHFS:

1. DHFS: Income Maintenance Outlook July 2003

2. The Department’sVISION is making wellness and safety happen. The Department’s MISSION is to lead the nation in fostering healthy, self-reliant individuals and families. DHFS Vision & Mission

3. What is Income Maintenance? • Income Maintenance (IM) Administration includes: • The Food Stamp Program • The Medicaid program, including BadgerCare and SeniorCare • The Family Care program • The SSI Caretaker Supplement program • The Funeral and Cemetery Aids program.

4. Income Maintenance Goals • To improve the health status of the people of Wisconsin • Increased program participation to provide access to nutritious food • Improved nutrition status of people on Medicaid and Food Stamps, and others • To provide excellent customer service • Increased ability to apply for and to retain eligibility, and to make well informed decisions about eligibility and health • Provision of prompt service and accurate benefits in a customer friendly way • More coordination and cooperation between the state agency, local agencies and community based organizations • To assure program integrity • Maintenance of partnerships with local IM agencies • Reduction of the Food Stamp error rate • Improved program accountability

5. Income Maintenance Goals...con’t • To reduce administrative costs • Reorganization of how work is done to simplify requirements • Upgraded automated support for eligibility functions • Alignment and simplification of IM programs • To stimulate the state’s economy through increased federal revenue • Increase in the number of people on Food Stamps to bring federal funds to the state’s businesses • Reduction of the medical costs of the public sector by improving the health status of people on the Medicaid and Food Stamp Programs

6. Reduced Change Reporting Requirements for FS Phase I

7. Current FS Change Reporting Policy All FS Households are required to report the following changes within 10 days: • Any new Source of Income • Change in salary or rate of pay • PT/FT employment status • More than $100/mo. total child support • More than $25 other unearned income

8. Current FS Change Reporting Policy continued • Total liquid assets if amount exceeds asset limit • Change in address and resulting shelter expenses • Persons moving in or out of the household • Change in the legal obligation to pay child support

9. New Reduced Change Reporting Policy for Food Stamps • Food Stamp households certified for up to 6 months will be required to report total gross monthly household income that exceeds 130% of the federal poverty level for the household size.

10. Why Change FS Policy? • Over 30 other states have already implemented some form of reduced change reporting requirements for FS households, reducing their FS error rates and driving down the national average. • The decision to implement the reduced change reporting policy for FS was made after careful consideration of all options available to states through federal regulations. • Input was gathered from local agencies, advocates, and other states before a decision was made regarding implementation of this new policy.

11. Why Change FS Policy?continued • The decision was made to implement semi-annual reporting using a phased approach. • Phase I is Reduced Change Reporting Requirements for FS. • The new policy meets all of the goals established for the Food Stamp Program by USDA and the Department of Health and Family Services.

12. Goals for IM related to FS • Reduce Workload for Local Agencies • Increase FS Participation Rate • Reduce FS Error Rate

13. Expected Impact of the New Policy Participation Rate Increase: Fewer FS cases will close for failure to verify reported changes during the certification period. Reduce Workload: Fewer changes will be reported. Fewer overpayment claims will be necessary Reduced Error Rate: Fewer client-caused errors due to failure to report changes

14. Wisconsin Food Stamp Error Types QC FFY 2002 This graph illustrates the portion of our errors which are “client-caused”. These include the errors caused by clients’ failure to report changes.

15. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

16. 12-MONTH CERTIFICATIONS No Change in Policy Change in Policy Food Stamp households certified for 12 months (all members EBD and no earnings) will continue to have current change reporting requirements.

17. INTAKE & REVIEW No Change in Policy Change in Policy All required information must continue to be gathered and verified at intake and review to determine correct food stamp eligibility and benefit amount.

18. REPORTED CHANGES No Change in Policy Change in Policy Any changes reported during the FS certification period by the client, through Data Exchange, or any other source MUST continue to be acted on promptly by the worker.

19. REDUCED CHANGE REPORTING No Change in Policy Change in Policy Food Stamp households certified for up to 6 months, including EBD households with earnings, will have a reduced change reporting requirement.

20. REDUCED CHANGE REPORTING continued During the 6 month certification period, the only change these households will be REQUIRED to report for FS is if their total household monthly gross income exceeds the gross income limit fortheir reported household size (130% FPL). This is the only change in policy!

21. PARTICIPANT NOTIFICATION • FS households with reduced reporting requirements will be notified of the new change reporting requirement through a mass mailing in July. • A new change report form for households with reduced reporting requirements will be given out at intake and review.

22. PARTICIPANT NOTIFICATIONcontinued • Enhanced CARES Food Stamp notices will include the monthly income change reporting threshold for households with reduced reporting requirements.

23. We Need You! • Cases must continue to be processed correctly at intake, review, and reported change. • The appropriate Change Report form must be given to participants at intake and review.

24. We Need You! • MA, Child Care, CTS, and W2 change reporting policies have not changed • It will be critical that FS eligibility and benefit determinations are made correctly at intake, review, and reported change • Application Processing Training will be available later this year

25. TRAINING PLAN • Application Processing Training will focus on correct FS case processing at intake, review, and reported change. Please plan to attend!

26. REDUCED CHANGE REPORTING Q&A Q1. Are FS recipients required to report changes at review? A1. Yes, all current and relevant information must be gathered, updated, and verified at every application and review. Q2. Are there any reporting requirement policy changes for the other programs (W2/CC/MA/CTS)? A2. No, customers are still required to report changes for the other programs.

27. REDUCED CHANGE REPORTING Q&AContinued Q3. If a recipient reports a change to the W2 agency, does that impact the FS benefits? A3. It could. All reported changes must continue to be acted on promptly by the FS worker. Q4. If a recipient reports an increase in income for MA, that they would not have been required to report for FS (income does not exceed 130% FPL), must the FS benefit be decreased? A4. Yes, all reported changes must continue to be acted on promptly by the worker.

28. REDUCED CHANGE REPORTING Q&AContinued Q5. Do workers still have to act on data exchange information received through an alert? A5. Yes, all reported changes must continue to be acted on promptly by the worker. This includes changes reported by the recipient, received through data exchange, or reported through another 3rd party source.

29. REDUCED CHANGE REPORTING Q&AContinued Q6. What does 130% FPL mean? A6. The gross income limit for FS households is 130% of the federal poverty level for the household size. This is the income reporting limit for FS households that are certified for 6 months. 2003 INCOME REPORTING LIMITS

30. REDUCED CHANGE REPORTING Q&AContinued Q7. Categorically eligible households are not subject to the gross income test. How are they affected by the reduced change reporting requirement? A7. If a categorically eligible FS household has already reported total household gross monthly income exceeding 130% FPL, and remains eligible for FS, the household has no further reporting requirement for the remainder of the certification period.

31. REDUCED CHANGE REPORTING Q&AContinued Q8. If a recipient reports a change (other than income exceeding 130% FPL) more than 10 days after the change occurred, and FS benefits are reduced as a result, should an overpayment claim be established? A8. No, the recipient was not required to report the change, so there would be no FS overpayment. There could, however, be an overpayment in another program.

32. REDUCED CHANGE REPORTING Q&AContinued Q9. If a recipient reports a change that causes an increase in the FS benefit more than 10 days after the change occurred, must a FS supplement be issued? A9. Not necessarily. If verification is submitted timely, and adverse action for the month has passed, a supplement must be issued for the following month.

33. REDUCED CHANGE REPORTING Q&AContinued Q10. If a household member with income moves in, and the resulting total monthly gross income exceeds 130% FPL for the old household size, must the change be reported? A10. Yes, the household is required to report when gross income exceeds 130% of the gross income limit for the household size identified at the last intake, review, or notice of decision. For example, a reduced change reporting household of mom & two kids receive FS based on $1500 gross income. The reporting threshold (130% of FPL) is $1628. Mom gets a pay raise and reports her income is now $1700/month. At the same time, mom's boyfriend moves in and wants to be added to mom's FS. Boyfriend has zero income. Even though mom had to report when her income was over 130% of FPL (based on the old household size), the eligibility worker would not terminate the case because the boyfriend would be added and the new reporting threshold is raised to $1961 for a 4-person household.

34. REDUCED CHANGE REPORTING Q&AContinued Q11.If a household member with no income moves out, and the resulting total gross monthly income exceeds 130% FPL for the new household size, must the change be reported? A11. No, the household is only required to report changes in income which exceed 130% of the gross income limit for the old household size when the household was last notified of the reporting limit (at intake, review, or notice). These households are given the 130% FPL reporting limit based on their reported household size. If their income goes above that limit, they must report it. Households may report other changes that the local agency has to act on (such as changes in household composition), but the local agency need not make it more complicated by comparing the 130% amount to the old household size vs. the new household size and wondering if the household needed to report the change. If the household reports a change, the local agency must act on it.

35. REDUCED CHANGE REPORTING Q&AContinued Additional Notes: • Clients cannot be required to report changes under reporting standards that they have not been previously advised of. This includes the 130% gross income limits that are based on household size. • Clients should be encouraged to report and verify changes such as reduction in income, or increase in expenses that will increase the FS allotment for their households. Also, clients may have more extensive change reporting requirements for other programs if they are receiving benefits as W2, MA, Child Care, or CTS.

36. Questions? Refer to Operations Memo 03-42 athttp://www.dhfs.state.wi.us/em/ops_memos/2003/default.htm Contact the CARES/Policy Call Center atcarpolcc@dhfs.state.wi.us