0285.000.00 CONCILIATION

Conciliation is a period of time when the non-compliant Temporary Assistance (TA) recipient is given an additional opportunity to comply with the Missouri Work Assistance (MWA) program participation requirements.  The following MWA services must be provided prior to recommending sanction:

• Help in eliminating barriers to participation;
• Assistance in participating in work activities as soon as possible;
• Aid in preparing for work; and
• A thorough explanation of the MWA compliance requirements.

  NOTE: Refer to the MWA Conciliation/Sanction Checklist in the forms manual to ensure policy is followed.

0285.005.00 ALLOWABLE REASONS FOR NON-PARTICIPATION

TA recipients may have good cause for not participating in work activities, and/or not responding to the call-in letter.  If the recipient responds at any point prior to or on the date of the sanction appointment, s/he must be evaluated to determine if the criteria for an exemption, temporary exclusion, or another good cause reason(s) is met.

0285.005.05 Exemptions

If the participant states s/he meets an exemption, allow her/ him five business days to provide the documentation or information indicating the request for the documentation. The paperwork proving the exemption must be sent to FSD MWAExclude@dss.mo.gov the same day the MWA System sends the applicable participant alert. Exemptions include:

• Age 60 or over;
• Single parent households with a child under 12 weeks;
• Claiming or receiving permanent or total disability and have applied for, or are receiving, Old Age Survivor’s and Disability Insurance (OASDI) benefits, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, Supplemental Security Disability Income (SSDI) benefits, or are disabled as determined by the state Medical Review Team; or
• Needed in the home to care for a disabled individual that lives in the same household.

0285.005.10 Temporary Exclusions/Waivers

FSD will code a participant as Mandatory but temporarily excluded. The MWA Contractor will determine if the participant meets the exclusion.

Temporary exclusions include:

• Active in Children’s Division (Exclusion Code 3)

  When an M3 Active Case with CD referral is received, MWA Contracted staff will:

  • Generate the Call-In letter, MWA.001 to the participant.
  • Assess the participant, if the participant responds to the call-in.
  • E-mail DISTI@dss.mo.gov to request verification from the CD, when the participant states during the assessment that their participation with the CD prevents them from complying with the MWA work requirement. The TA Processing Team will provide the information to the MWA Contractor when received.
  • Do not continue to grant the exclusion when verification from CD states the participant may comply with the required hours.
  • Grant exclusion when verification from the CD states the participant will not be able to comply with the required hours. Re-evaluate every 30 days

• Temporarily Disabled (Exclusion Code 4)
  • Generate the Call-In letter, MWA.001 to the participant.
  • Assess the participant, if the participant responds to the call-in.
  • Obtain verification of their disability with an expected end date. The temporary disability must be determined by a physician, psychiatrist or psychologist. The temporary disability must be expected to continue for at least 30 days and at the most 6 months.
  • Maintain a minimum of one contact each 30 days with the participant during the disability exclusion period.

  NOTE: If it is medically determined anytime during a pregnancy that the baby or mother is at risk, the Temporarily Disabled code is used.

• Victims of Domestic Violence (Exclusion Code 5)

  NOTE: No referral is sent for exclusion code 5

• Lack of Child Care (Exclusion Code 8)

  When an M8 Lack of Child Care referral is received, MWA contracted staff will:

  • Generate the Call-In letter, MWA.001 to the participant.
  • Meet with and assess the participant.
  • Treat the participant as a mandatory referral. The participant will need to provide the contractor with documentation supporting his/her efforts to obtain childcare, including information such as dates, contacts and outcomes.
  • Maintain a minimum of one contact each 30 days with the participant during the exclusion period.
  • End the exclusion when the barrier is resolved.
• Lack of Transportation (Exclusion Code 9)

  When an M9 Lack of Transportation referral is received, MWA Contracted staff will:

  • Generate the Call-In letter, MWA.001 to the participant.
  • Meet with and assess the participant.
  • Treat the participant as a mandatory referral. The participant will need to provide the contractor with documentation supporting his/her efforts to obtain transportation, including information such as dates, contacts and outcomes.
  • Maintain a minimum of one contact each 30 days with the participant during the exclusion period.
  • End the exclusion when the barrier is resolved.

  NOTE: Teaching Work Habits is available in the MWA Manual to assist participants with child care or transportation barriers.

• When a participant with an M3/M4/M8/M9 referral code doesn't respond to the call-in letter, or doesn't cooperate with the MWA requirements, follow current conciliation processes to allow for participation or sanction. To begin the conciliation process, the MWA Contracted staff will send the lift exclusion alert. When the exclusion is lifted/ended, the MWA Contracted staff can begin conciliation with the participant the following day.

  NOTE: A task will be received showing the participant has changed from Mandatory-Temporary Exclusion (M3/M4/M8/M9) to Mandatory.

• MWA Contracted staff will e-mail documentation for exclusions such as verification of pregnancy, temporary disability, etc.to FSD.MWAEXCLUDE@dss.mo.gov.

0285.005.15 Good Cause for Non-Participation

If the recipient is not participating because of the following good cause reasons, the MWA case manager must work with the recipient to resolve these good cause reasons prior to recommending sanction:

• Court required appearance or incarceration.
• Emergency family crisis or sudden change of immediate family circumstances that renders participation unreasonable.
• Breakdown in transportation arrangements with no readily accessible alternate means of transportation.
• Breakdown in childcare arrangements including:
  • Availability of childcare is not suited for the special needs of the child for whom it is intended; or
  • Childcare necessary for participation is unavailable.
• Lack of identified social services necessary for participation.  Examples include:
  • A drug and/or alcohol abuse problem and cannot obtain counseling;
  • A medical and/or mental health issue and cannot receive medical attention; and/or
  • No shelter and cannot receive the necessary help to obtain shelter.
• The employment results in the recipient’s family suffering from a net loss of cash income.  Net loss of cash income exists if the family’s gross income (less necessary work-related expenses and any childcare costs paid by the recipient) is less than the cash assistance the TA recipient was receiving when the employment offer was made.  (The MWA service provider must work in a coordinated effort with local FSD to make this determination.)
• Other good cause reasons such as inclement weather or personal illness.

  NOTE:  When the MWA case manager disagrees with the recipient on good cause, a supervisor must review the case and make the determination.  If good cause is not granted, the reason(s) should be explained to the recipient and documented in the case record.

0285.010.00 VOLUNTEERS

Temporary Assistance (TA) recipients who meet certain exemptions may choose to volunteer in the Missouri Work Assistance (MWA) program.  These volunteers may meet one of the exemption reasons listed in 0285.005.05 Exemptions.

Volunteers are sent a ‘Voluntary Call-in Letter #1’ if necessary.  Volunteers should not be placed into Conciliation until they are not participating at all; then send the free-form ‘Voluntary Pre/Post Conciliation’ letter.  Refer to MWA Forms Manual.

Volunteers cannot be sanctioned.  If the volunteer chooses not to participate, the ‘Volunteer Not Participating’ alert should be sent to the Family Support Division (FSD).  FSD enters the appropriate exemption code in FAMIS which closes the case in MWA system.

0285.015.00 HOURS OF PARTICIPATION

Refer to Section 0270.000.00 Hours of Participation to determine the number of hours each household is required to participate in order to be in compliance with the Missouri Work Assistance (MWA) program.

0285.020.00 PROCEDURE FOR CONCILIATION

The Conciliation period begins when a conciliation letter scheduling a sanction appointment is sent to the TA participant. The Case Manager will open Conciliation from the conciliation/sanction tab. The MWA System will begin the Conciliation Period the following Monday. The participant has 6 weeks to comply with work requirement. They must complete 1 week of required hours OR verify he/she qualifies for a temporary waiver to end Conciliation.

The participant must be placed into Conciliation when he/she:

• Fails to respond to "Call-In Letter #1"
  • Case manager will open Conciliation on Conc/Sanc Tab with the correct reason, and schedule a face to face Sanction appointment at least 10 business days, but not more than 20 business days in the future.

or

• Fails to participate as required in work activities (i.e. misses a class or fails to attend activities as agreed to in the Individual Employment Plan (IEP), fails to provide documentation of full participation in assigned work activity, etc.).
  • Case manager will open Conciliation on Conc/Sanc Tab with correct reason, and schedule a face to face Sanction appointment at least 10 business days, but not more than 20 days in the future.

  NOTE:  When scheduling appointments via telephone, the appointment must be scheduled only with the participant.  Do not schedule appointments or speak specifically about the participant's case with other household members. If the participant cannot be contacted, correspondence must be sent by mail.

  NOTE:  Requests to reschedule the appointment:

  If the day/time is inconvenient, participant may reschedule once within the same calendar week as the appointment, unless good cause exists. If good cause exists, appointment must be rescheduled prior to the date of appointment, and only one additional appointment will be scheduled. This appointment will occur within 10 business days of the original meeting date.

Placing a participant into Conciliation is not limited to the above examples. It is necessary to place the TA participant in conciliation when he/she is not meeting requirements outlined in the IEP and does not have good cause or does not meet the criteria for an exemption or temporary waiver.

Case notes must be recorded in the MWA System regarding all contacts with the participant. This is necessary for both case management purposes and when the participant requests a hearing due to the recommended sanction.