Obsoleted by FOM 2005-1A.

Obsoleted by FOM  2007-17.

Effective January 2005, Social Security benefits and SSI payments increased by 2.7 percent. The base level Medicare Part B premium increased from $66.60 to $78.20. The Medicare Part B penalty premium also increased, as identified in the 2005 Medicare Part B Surcharge Premiums chart (see Attachment A).

Because of missing or incorrect information transmitted by Field Operations Memo 2005-2, this memo is being issued to clarify and correct the information.

This memo provides instructions for implementing the Medicare Prescription Drug Discount Program in 2005. Field Operations Memo 2004-43, dated November 2, 2004 is now obsolete. The instructions in that memo were inaccurate as a result of subsequent USDA guidance. Based on those instructions, there may be AUs containing MPDDP participants which were processed incorrectly. Central Office is reviewing these AUs and if further action is necessary, instructions will be issued in a future Field Operations Memo.

The Combined Application Project (Bay State CAP) was developed through the cooperative effort of the DTA, SSA, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The project is part of DTA’s continued effort to increase participation in the Food Stamp Program. DTA and SSA realize that SSI recipients are an underserved population. It is estimated that 68,000 SSI recipients in Massachusetts are eligible for but not receiving food stamp benefits. Nutritional assistance in the form of food stamps would be a vital benefit to this elderly and disabled population. Approximately 20,000 current SSI/FS recipients will be converted to Bay State CAP for February 2005 benefits. See Initial Bay State CAP Conversion section of this memo for details.

Field Operations Memo 2004-36, dated August 27, 2004, outlined a one-year pilot program instituted by the legislature for FY05 entitled Residential Assistance for Families in Transition, or RAFT. Due to fiscal constraints, the Department of Housing and Community Development has recently announced that Monday, January 31, 2005, will be the last day for families to apply for the Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT) program during this fiscal year.

Field Operations Memo 2005-8, page 3 reminded AU Managers to enter the Food Stamp Attributed Amount before Authorizing the pending Work Program Sanction on the Interview Wrap-up window.

Field Operations Memo 2004-27 informed TAO staff of the increased Work Program requirement hours for certain recipients. Effective with the returned March Participation and Response forms, Work Program required recipients must meet the increased hours. A notice (Attachment A) will be mailed during the first week of February to all Work Program required recipients telling them about this change.

TAFDC AUs that meet certain criteria are transferred to the Centralized TAFDC Office (formerly transferred to the Quincy Centralized Unit). Although this has been the procedure for many years, it has become evident that the procedure needs to be reissued as the criteria used to determine the appropriateness of transfers have changed.

To comply with the mandate of segregation of duties for significant case activities, the process of initiating and approving specific case actions has been clarified. To ensure that the correct processes are followed, Managers will be required to review and confirm appropriateness of specific transactions initiated and authorized by one individual. The Transactions Authorized By One Individual Report has been developed for this purpose.

This Field Operations Memo reissues the procedures found on pages 2 and 3 of Field Operations Memo 2005-11: Benefit Authorization and Segregation of Duties that identify when a Supervisor may initiate and  authorize an action(s) without sending it to another Supervisor or Manager.

A new option entitled Online Forms has been added to the Policy Online Menu. The first form added to this new feature is the Interpreter Request Form (Attachment A). Additional forms will be available in the near future. The Interpreter Request Form was issued in February and referenced in the February 2005 Transitions-From the Forms File. TAO staff were instructed to fax the completed document to Central Office. The form is being reissued with the instruction to e-mail the completed form to Central Office. The name and e-mail address of the person in Central Office are identified at the bottom of the form.

Throughout the past year, the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) in partnership with the Department of Mental Health (DMH) has tested a simplified application process for DMH clients. Beginning in March 2004, the Fitchburg TAO began receiving and processing FS applications from DMH clients in Western Massachusetts. Given the success of this initiative, DTA is now expanding this streamlined process to FS applications from DMH clients statewide.

This Field Operations Memo reinforces DTA field instructions for processing applicants who have previously used the 60-day work search period.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts has announced Medex premium rate changes to the following non-group plans: Basic, Bronze, Gold, Standard, Core, and Silver. These changes were effective on March 15, 2005.

Based on internal concerns, suggestions from Central Office staff, Transitional Assistance Office (TAO) staff, advocate groups and other issues over the past year, the food stamp application form was recently revised and issued to TAOs. This memo identifies specific changes to the food stamp application form. [Note: the application has again been updated since this time.]

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Combined Application Project (Bay State CAP) was implemented on February 1, 2005. Field Operations Memo 2005-4 provided detailed information about the Bay State CAP project, including the responsibilities of Social Security Administration (SSA) and Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) staff. The memo also described the conversion process, in which BEACON converted eligible food stamp Assistance Units (AUs) in receipt of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) to BayState CAP. This memo transmits information regarding issues/concerns that have been raised in connection with the implementation of Bay State CAP. The format is a series of questions and answers and is divided into two sections: conversion issues and process issues.

In response to new availability of unleased apartments, the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) is now issuing vouchers to people on its Section 8 voucher waiting list until capacity is again reached, which DHCD predicts will be in June or July.

ESP vendors need to know the number of hours a recipient is required to participate in an activity to meet the TAFDC Work Program requirement. The ESP Referral and Response form (ESP-16) is used to refer recipients to an ESP component. Field Operations Memo 2004-42 instructed TAO Staff to annotate the number of Work Program hours on the form until a change is made in BEACON to include the hourly requirement.

In February 2004, the Department automated the Disability window. As part of this automation, BEACON began closing EAEDC AUs for not applying for SSI, and not appealing an SSI denial. In May 2004, the Department stopped the automated closings of these AUs in order to implement a warning notice informing these AUs about the potential closing before it took place.

This is very comprehensive guidance designed to advise DTA workers on how to handle applications from battered non-citizens and their children. DTA drafted this guidance with the extensive input from MLRI and Greater Boston Legal Services. Also attached is an MLRI summary of important points regarding battered noncitizen eligibility.

Participating in an education or training activity meets the Work Program requirement for up to 12 months (see 106 CMR 203.400(A)(2)(i)). The 12 months may be a calendar year or may be a series of non-consecutive months.

Field Operations Memo 2005-23 told TAO Staff about a notice telling the recipient that at least nine of 12 months had been used in an education or training activity. The notice would be mailed in a batch job processed on the 25th of each month. Due to a BEACON design change, the notice will now be mailed in a batch job processed on the 1st business day of the following month.

"Toolbox" money is now available as a Housing Assistance Program (HAP) service resource to Emergency Assistance (EA) eligible families. While a family does not have to be eligible for EA shelter to receive this or any other HAP service, they must be eligible for EA under 106 CMR 309.020. TAO staff will make a preliminary determination of financial eligibility before referring a family for HAP services. If the HAP determines that the family could benefit from access to the toolbox, the family will be referred to the TAO to complete an EA application on BEACON.

HAP Providers work collaboratively with the DTA in homelessness prevention by providing critical housing-assistance services to eligible Massachusetts families.

The Department, in collaboration with the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), has renewed and expanded the Local Housing Authority Placement Program under the name Local Housing Authority Transitional Housing Program II (LHATHP II). Eligible families may participate in this shelter program for six to twelve months. At the end of this period, each family may assume tenancy of their unit or of another unit at the LHA site.

This memo updates the information in Field Operations Memo 2005-25 that addressed the expansion of the Local Housing Authority Placement Program. This memo notifies staff how to enter the LHA information in BEACON for EA AUs who are placed in one of the LHA units as a shelter placement under the Local Housing Authority Transitional Housing Program II (LHATHP).

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Combined Application Project (Bay State CAP) created a new and simpler way for eligible Supplemental Security Income (SSI) applicants/recipients to apply for food assistance. The Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) implemented the project on February 1, 2005. As part of the initial implementation, DTA converted existing eligible Food Stamp Assistance Units (AUs) to Bay State CAP.

Distance Learning refers to a video- and computer-based educational activity available on the Internet. The Department has identified six Distance Learning sites funded by the Massachusetts Department of Education (DOE) that help recipients get their GED or high school equivalency diploma and that meet the Work Program requirement through education for up to 20 hours per week.

Obsoleted by FOM 2008-53.

This Field Operations Memo informs TAO staff about a change in responsibility regarding who manually recalculates non-fraudulent overpayment amounts for Unintentional Program Violations (UPVs) based on appeal decisions.

Conversion from the current EBT vendor to Affiliated Computer Services, Inc, State and Local Solutions (ACS) is scheduled to take place on Sunday 8/21/05. The EBT system will be unavailable and recipients will not be able to access their benefits from approximately 12:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. on Sunday 8/21/05 while the database conversion takes place.

The purpose of this memo is to notify TAO staff about sending child support payments to the Child Support Enforcement Unit (CSEU) of DOR when the child support payments are received by the TAFDC recipient directly from the noncustodial (absent) parent; or a child support check is incorrectly sent to the recipient from DOR. If DOR’s files were not updated with the current TAFDC active status, DOR sends the child support payment to the recipient. The recipient aware of the TAFDC child support rule, returns the check from DOR to the TAO.

This memo provides additional Bay State CAP process information as well as Phase One outreach issues. The format is a series of questions and answers, and is divided into two sections: ongoing process issues and outreach issues.

THIS FOM WAS MADE OBSOLETE BY FIELD OP MEMO 2008-16.

Obsoleted by FOM 2007-11.

This Field Ops Memo explaoins that the parenal deprivation factor is eliminated as a categorical eligibility requirement for TAFDC. As a result, the EAEDC regulation providing categorical eligibility for some two-parent families who are not eligible for TAFDC based on work history is also eliminated, as these families should now be eligible for TAFDC.

Beginning in October of 2005, the Department will change the child support sanction rule for AUs who fail to cooperate with child support. In most cases, this sanction rule change will result in a larger decrease of the recipient's TAFDC benefits. Detailed information about this change will be issued in a separate Field Operations Memo in the near future.

Obsoleted by FOM 2006-49.

Obsoleted by FOM 2006-49.

When a family is found to be presumptively eligible for shelter placement, this information must be entered on the Emergency Placement Request (TESEPR-1) form prior to submitting the form to Central Office Housing and Homeless Services Unit (H&HS).

State Letter 1299 eliminated the categorical requirements of TAFDC Deprivation Factors and EAEDC Parental Family. Field Operations Memo 2005-36 gave TAO Staff information about BEACON changes and the importance of completing the “Absence” and “Disability” windows on BEACON.

There are three types of “Alternative” SSN identifiers used by the Department to identify recipients who cannot be identified with valid SSNs. The first two numbers of these “Alternative” SSNs are always “99.”

The FY06 budget has been approved. As a result, effective July 1, 2005, the EA Eligibility Standard has been increased to 130% of the Federal Poverty Level. As of July 26, 2005, the July 1, 2005 EA Eligibility Standard was used in the EBC in BEACON for applications and reevaluations.

The Warrant Match Unit (WMU) currently processes returned Warrant Match mail by sending a copy of the returned mail envelope via FAX to all appropriate managers in each TAO. Current procedures require verification of address and notification of changes to the WMU. TAOs are also expected to follow existing procedures for AU closings when appropriate.

Obsoleted by FOM 2007-8.

Obsoleted by FOM 2005-46A.

This memo gives TAO Staff further instructions for processing requests for TAFDC, EAEDC and Food Stamp (FS) assistance from Hurricane Katrina evacuees. These procedures apply to evacuees at Otis Air National Guard Base (ANGB) as well as evacuees who appear at TAOs requesting assistance.

The Massachusetts Legislature approved and the Governor signed legislation that created the Residential Assistance for Families in Transition Program (RAFT). The appropriation is $5,000,000. The Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) contracts with the regional nonprofit housing agencies that operate the Housing Consumer Education Centers. RAFT benefits will provide short term, limited financial assistance which will enable families to retain housing, obtain new housing or otherwise avoid homelessness.

State Letter 1303 issues policy revisions implementing cost-of-living changes in the Food Stamp Program, effective 10/1/2005.

A new form has been developed to obtain applicant/recipient permission for the Department to use collateral contact for the purpose of obtaining TAFDC, EAEDC, EA and Food Stamp verifications. The Voluntary Authorization to Release Information form (see Attachment A) is to be used in situations where verification must be made through collateral contact because documentary evidence is unavailable. One form must be completed for each contact to preserve the confidentiality of each organization, employer or individual. It is not a standard form to be signed by all applicants/recipients for all situations, but must be used only when the applicant/recipient agrees to collateral contact.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Combined Application Project (Bay State CAP) created an easier way for eligible Supplemental Security Income (SSI) applicants/recipients to apply for food assistance. The Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) implemented the project on February 1, 2005. As part of the initial implementation, DTA converted existing eligible Food Stamp Assistance Units (FS AUs) to Bay State CAP.

Field Operations Memo 2005-50 provided information about Bay State CAP  Phase Two Outreach activities. Instructions for processing an application for regular food stamp benefits for a pending Bay State CAP Outreach AU are found on pages 7 and 8.

Effective with Increment 2.1.17, changes are being made to BEACON functionality. These changes are occurring on the Employment Status window and on the TAFDC tab of the Work Requirements window. Additionally, functionality is changing for when ESP activities are terminated. These changes are being made to ensure the Department has accurate recipient employment information.

Effective with BEACON Increment 2.1.17:  a recipient who is sanctioned for noncooperation of child support (without good cause) would be removed from the grant. The grant would be reduced by 25% of the grant he or she would have received prior to not cooperating.  When the AU Manager enters the child support sanction and authorizes the sanction on the Interview Wrap-up window, EBC Results will automatically apply the sanction and send out a notice telling the recipient how the child support sanction affects the grant.The sanction will remain in effect until the recipient cooperates with child support in accordance with 106 CMR 203.710. This change is being made to conform to Federal Welfare Reform regulations.

Two previous Field Operations Memos provided information concerning issues that have arisen since the implementation of Bay State CAP. Field Operations Memos 2005-18 and 2005-33 addressed conversion issues, ongoing process issues, and outreach issues. This memo provides information concerning additional process and outreach issues. The format is a series of questions and answers.

Over the past several years, the Department of Public Health F.O.R. Families(Follow-Up Outreach Referral) has been available to EA families in certain areas of the state. The F.O.R. Families Program provides assessment and case management services to homeless families. The primary goal of F.O.R. Families is to help families transition from homelessness to stable permanent housing. Services are free and participation is voluntary.

DTA Online, the Department’s Intranet site, has been redesigned and is being deployed in January. Staff from various units within DTA participated in redesigning the site and also in the testing and review process with the goal to develop a site that would provide current and useful information to DTA staff, be user-friendly and easy to navigate.

As part of a pending agreement with the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), the Department must provide TAFDC applicants and recipients with the opportunity for screenings and in-depth assessments for learning disabilities. This agreement will help TAFDC applicants and recipients with learning disabilities obtain equal access to participation in DTA's Employment Services Program (ESP). DTA will be entering into the agreement to ensure that TAFDC applicants and recipients with learning disabilities are helped in overcoming barriers to reach self-sufficiency.

Employment Services Program (ESP) activities are being expanded to address the need for more ESP activity slots. These activities are designed to help recipients become self-sufficient.