Reviewing VaCMS For VIEW worker Rolling with the Waves of Change (and not getting swept out to sea) Spring 2017 BPRO

Using the Left Navigation When you click on each little blue box, more information displays. Then, more little blue boxes display and more information is available under each box

How do I see who is on a TANF case? Click Inquiry, then click Case Then enter the case # and click Search

Review the information about the case

Scroll down to see more information See who is on the case and demographic information

See status of each program, program details, DAP, FEP, etc.

The buttons at the bottom

More buttons at the bottom Shows TANF and SNAP payments/issuances shows clock counts Takes you to the Case Action screen

Where do I find that information? Program changed from a TANF-UP to a TANF-UP/VIEW case in March. What caused the change? The change from TANF or TANF-UP to TANF/VIEW or TANF-UP/VIEW occurs when an APR date is entered for a TANF recipient Where do I find that information?

APR signed date Click on program request Click on the pencil Click on the pencils for each parent to see who/if the APR sign date has been entered

Fatherof Childe (37M) has APR date

Hyperlink connection You can click on anything that is blue and underlined. When you do, more information displays

When we click on: …the first March Eligibility Period, we see who is on the case. For this case, all family members are “Eligible”

Sometimes we see something other than “Eligible” Countable Deemed Ineligible Excluded Countable: If the person has income, it will count toward eligibility (included in the family unit, but not receiving TANF) Deemed: If that person has income, it will “deem” toward eligibility of the family (but they are not receiving TANF) Ineligible: If the person is ineligible to receive TANF Excluded: If the person is excluded from TANF (i.e. aunt, not applying)

(all are listed in the TANF manual, 201.1 G.) Main reasons a parent might not be on assistance, but still VIEW mandatory Felony drug conviction/fleeing felon/parole violator Failure to cooperate with child support enforcement Excluded due to spouse’s income (stepparent deeming) IPV disqualification (all are listed in the TANF manual, 201.1 G.)

Still VIEW mandatory Even though these parents are not included in the TANF grant, they are still required to participate in the VIEW program. Please continue to manually communicate between TANF and VIEW There is an issue with the system not knowing that some adults who are not on the TANF grant are still mandatory to participate in VIEW

Work Participation Status and Exemption Reason Click on the blue and underlined month Click on the blue and underlined person See the status and any exemption reason:

No more ESP codes The TANF worker no longer enters a code to determine the applicant/recipient’s ESP status The Work Participation Status is determined by the rules and by what the TANF worker enters into the system

Questions (1) We have a UP case. The case name is in the dad’s name. Mom came into the queue. We completed the screen to “opt” in the dad, but it is not allowing us to exempt the mom? First, review the client information. Does mom qualify for an exemption? For this case, we discovered that both parents are mandatory to participate in VIEW as neither has a reason to be exempt

Questions (2) Caregiver exempt clients are showing up on my queue once TANF worker approves.  How the heck do I get them off of my queue?  We have tried everything and can’t access anything in Hardship Exception tab as it requires to complete assessment/activity which is not required for this type of case. First, determine if the client is really exempt. Then find out if the status changed, and when it changed. Some VIEW status changes occur in the system after the first of the month. If the case really should not be referred mandatory and you do not want to wait until the first of the next month to see if it comes off the Queue, you can change the Status on the Status Update screen under ESP Enrollment (I know…there is not “exempt” reason)

Questions (3) We have a case where mom is needed in the home to care for her disabled child. The EW is still trying to research the referral status. EW does not know where to find the referral screens. Remember, there is not longer a screen where the TANF worker enters the ESP status. The system, based on different requirements, determines the ESP status

Needed in the home Check the disability screen for the child for whom the parent is providing case --There is a question: Need Someone in the home: (make sure that says “Yes”) On the Client Demographic screen, under Other Demographic Information, there is a question: Is the Individual taking case of the disabled individual in the household?

Disability Summary and details

Needed in the home exemption

Questions (4) TANF worker sent a communication that she approved a case and that mom is mandatory. It has been a week, and the case has not come into my queue. I went into Create Referral, and she does not show up there. What do I do now??

Client not in my queue There are multiple reasons for a parent to be excluded from the TANF grant, yet they are still required to participate in the VIEW program. The one reason that has caused the most grief if when the parent has a felony drug conviction. Note: Create Referral might not work…they are working to correct this

Client has TANF Work Participation Status of N/A Policy indicates that Blue Flower is to be excluded from the TANF payment (Countable Adult), yet she is still required to participate in VIEW. But, she will not come into the VIEW queue.

Do the research: Felony Drug Conviction

Client will be excluded from TANF yet still mandatory for VIEW

Question (5) I scheduled an appointment with, and just received a call from my client. She says her baby just turned 6-weeks old and her neighbor told her she should not have to go to work until her baby was one year old. Why did the case come into my queue? Check the age of the child Check mom’s TANF Work Participation status Check to see if the child is a capped child

Capped child: Way one Go to Eligibility Summary. (Why is Banana Spicer Excluded?) and click on the child’s name

Capped child: Way two Go to Client Demographics Click the pencil beside Banana Spicer. Scroll down:

VTP I have a VIEW client who is employed full time. They are still TANF eligible, but they want to close TANF and get the $50.00 VTP payment TANF worker will select yes

VTP (2)

TANF-UP/VIEW cases I am working with a mom and dad in VIEW. Mom had a baby last month and baby was just added to the TANF. I spoke with the TANF worker and the system still has mom as mandatory. Dad should be mandatory and mom should be exempt. (I want my V1 ESP code back!!! )

UP: Who is Exempt? Sometimes, we think “the mom” should always get the “V1” exemption…not true. The family can decide which parent is exempt Once the family decides… Under non-financial, have the TANF worker select Mom or Dad as the person who wants to participate in VIEW. (this family wants Mom to be exempt) Then, go to Eligibility Summary and see that Dad has TANF Work Participation Status as Mandatory and Mom has TANF Work status as Exempt: caring for a child under 12 months old

Updating VIEW participant

The Key to Success Know everything you can about how VaCMS works Continue to manually communicate between VIEW and TANF