1. SSAI Recertification for PY 2017
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4. Senior Service America, Inc.
SCSEP Recertification PY 2017
January 23, 2018

5. Breaking News:
The Federal Government is now open following the brief shutdown
SPARQ is back online as of this morning
January 26th Deadline for clearing all SPARQ rejects and completing Pending Follow-ups

6. Focus on Performance Goals
Meet 100% Service Level Goal
Entered Employment Rate
Spend 100% of PWFB Funds

7. SSAI Recertification for PY2017
Today’s Presenters:
Gwen Haney, Program Officer
Constance Todd, Program Officer

8. SSAI Recertification for PY2017
Today’s Agenda
Updates for PY2017
Getting Ready and Planning
Documentation Requirements
Frequently Asked Recertification Questions
Eligibility Determination Tool/Income Worksheet
SPARQ
Questions and Answers

9. SSAI Recertification for PY2017
Annual recertification of SCSEP eligibility is a federal requirement
All SSAI participants will be recertified during March 2018, including any participants who were enrolled in February 2018
You do not have to recertify participants who have Open or Active Workers Comp claim
Income and family size are the only eligibility criteria reviewed during recertification however…

10. Updates for PY2017
Annual update of the Federal Poverty Guidelines was published last week in the Federal Register.
SSAI will be issuing a revised Income Eligibility Chart (PPM203)

11. Updates for PY2017 Revision to PPM 204-G #5 New Language:
Payments from the Department of Veterans Affairs: Do not count payments made to or on behalf of veterans or former members of the Armed Forces administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), including Veterans Compensation, Veterans Pension, and payments for education and on-the-job training. Military Retirement payments administered by the Department of Defense Finance and Accounting Service is includable income (see 204 F, #5 above).

12. Updates for PY2017 SCSEP Release Form:
SCSEP Release Form should be completed for each participant during recertification.
Projects have reported having difficulty getting participants to report employment information after exit.
Updating the form reminds participants of the requirement and Authorizes project staff to reach out directly to the employer for verification.

13. Updates for PY2017
New Guidance from DOL regarding Social Security Benefits for Income Calculations:
For SCSEP Eligibility Determinations, Include 75% of the “Gross” Social Security Retirement and Survivors Benefits
This caused some confusion;
Social Security Administration does not use the Term Gross,
payments from the Social Security Administration are rounded down to the nearest Dollar

14. Updates for PY2017
New Guidance from DOL regarding Social Security Benefits for Income Calculations:
Use “The Full monthly Social Security benefit before any deductions”
Take this amount and round down to the nearest dollar.

15. Updates for PY2017

16. SSAI Recertification for PY2017
Getting Ready and Planning:
Recertification Instructions
Recertification Checklist and Readiness Calendar
Recertification Notice for Participants
Recert Income Worksheet
Termination Notice – Ineligible
Termination Notice – No Show

17. SSAI Recertification for PY2017
Identify staff that will help you
Train staff to assist – (reminder participant staff cannot make final eligibility on another participant)
Access to Tools/SPARQ?

18. SSAI Recertification for PY2017
Identify and Secure your location(s) for the recertification meeting(s)
Prepare Recertification Memo (template provided) for each participant eligible for recertification (make no assumptions and be clear they need to bring up to date documents)
The SSAI Eligibility Determination Tool will be available for practice Feb. 1st through Feb. 28th on the SSAI Review site:
Eligibility Tool will be available on the live site beginning March 1st

19. SSAI Recertification for PY2017
Copy enough forms for use:
Recertification -Income Worksheets (for use remotely); Offer of Physical Examination; Family Size Form; Case Management Note Form; Self Attestation Forms and Assessments or IEPS as needed
Refer to the PY2017 Recertification Checklist and Readiness Calendar for a complete list

20. SSAI Recertification for PY2017
Prepare for notifying those participants who may be over income; and or those who fail to show for recertification interviews. Send copies to your Program Officer
Develop a system for Quality Assurance
Develop a plan to enter all data in the SSAI Eligibility Determination Tool & SPARQ by March 30, 2018

21. SSAI Recertification for PY2017
Your plan should also consider:
Program activities continue
Continue to update the Pay by Pay and Project Performance Plan (PPP)
Keep up with SPARQ Data Entry
Prepare for April SPARQ Data Entry deadlines
Visibility efforts:
Older Americans Month
Outreach/Education to Federal elected officials

22. SSAI Recertification for PY2017
Documentation Requirements – requires all source documentation (what you reviewed and what you copied)
Income Worksheet showing the math. (Reminder the look back period is 12 months or 6 months {annualized [x2]} prior to the date of recertification )
Family Size Documentation
Letter of 30 day Termination Notice

23. SSAI Recertification for PY2017
Documentation Requirements – continued
Record of Offer of Physical Examination
SCSEP Self/Third Party Attestation Form
Applicable Case Notes
SCSEP Release Form
All of above must pass Data Validation Rules

24. SSAI Recertification for PY2017
Case Notes: must consist of the case worker’s own documentation of his or her activities. Case notes can be based on information obtained in person or by telephone

25. SSAI Recertification for PY2017
Case notes MUST include 3 foundational elements:
Name of person who is the source of the information, his or hers phone #, their organization and title or relationship to participant (this is not the participant)
Name or initials of the person making the note
Date on which the information was obtained, and the date on which it was recorded, if different

26. SSAI Recertification for PY2017
SPARQ and SSAI Tool Reminders:
Results from the Eligibility Tool will be entered in SPARQ
Continuous data entry is encouraged
Don’t wait until March 30th

27. SSAI Recertification for PY2017
Reconcile the active participants in SPARQ and SSAI Tools:
All Active Participants must be in both SPARQ and SSAI Tools in order to complete recertification.
Complete Participant and Exit forms and enter in SPARQ
Contact your Program Officer or SSAI Connect if you need assistance.

28. Frequently Asked Recertification Questions

29. SSDI & Full Retirement Age
Q: For participants who receive SSDI, should this cash benefit be counted when they turn 65?
A: No.
SSDI benefits convert to Retirement Benefits the month the participant reaches Full Retirement Age.
Full Retirement Age is no longer 65.

30. SSDI & Full Retirement Age
1937 or earlier 65
1938
65 and 2 months
1939
65 and 4 months
1940
65 and 6 months
1941
65 and 8 months
1942
65 and 10 months 66
1955
66 and 2 months
1956
66 and 4 months
1957
66 and 6 months
1958
66 and 8 months
1959
66 and 10 months
1960 and later 67
*If you were born on January 1st of any year you should refer to the previous year. (If you were born on the 1st of the month, we figure your benefit, and your full retirement age as if your birthday was in the previous month.)

31. Look Back Period
Q: If we recertify someone March 15 and they will receive their Social Security check on March 27, How do we enter it on your website worksheet? Do we put $0 for March? Would this person only have 5 months of Social Security if using the 6 month annualized method?
A: No;
Remember that you must look back 6 or 12 months from the date you are completing the enrollment or recertification.
The look back months are not the same as Calendar Months, and will nearly always overlap into 2 Calendar Months

32. Look Back Period
When completing an eligibility determination conducted on March 15th, 2018, the income worksheet should be completed as follows:
Month
Dates
Income to be included: 1
March 15th, 2018-February 16th, 2018
All income received between 03/15/18 and 02/16/18 2
Feb. 15th, 2018 – Jan. 16th, 2018
All income received between 02/15/18 and 01/16/18 3
Jan. 15th, 2018– Dec. 16th, 2017
All income received between 01/15/18 and 12/16/17 4
Dec. 15th, 2017 – Nov. 16th, 2017
All income received between 12/15/17 and 11/16/17 5
Nov. 15th, 2017 – Oct. 16th, 2017
All income received between 11/15/17 and 10/16/17 6
Oct. 16th, 2017 – Sept. 16th, 2017
All income received between 10/15/17 and 09/16/17

33. Look Back Period Example:
A Participant is being recertified on March 15th, 2018.  The participant is a family of one, and has two sources of includable income.  The participant receives a Social Security Retirement benefit, which they receive on the 27th of each month, and a pension which they receive on the 1st of each month. 
The 6 month look back period for this participant would include:
Month
Dates
Income to be included: 1
March 15th, 2018-February 16th, 2018
Pension: 03/01/18, SS 02/27/18 2
Feb. 15th, 2018 – Jan. 16th, 2018
Pension: 02/01/18, SS 01/27/18 3
Jan. 15th, 2018 – Dec. 16th, 2017
Pension: 01/01/18, SS 12/27/17 4
Dec. 15th, 2017 – Nov. 16th, 2017
Pension: 12/01/17, SS 11/27/17 5
Nov. 15th, 2017 – Oct. 16th, 2017
Pension: 11/01/17, SS 10/27/17 6
Oct. 15th, 2017 – Sept. 16th, 2017
Pension: 10/01/17, SS 09/27/17

34. Social Security COLA
Q: Was there a Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for 2018? 
A: Yes, there was a COLA for 2018.
Project Directors are required to verify the monthly cash benefit amounts for 2017 and 2018 for Social Security Retirement beneficiaries.
More information about Social Security COLA’s can be found at

35. Income Calculation FAQ
Q: Some participants receive their Social Security Benefits on the 3rd of the month, Others receive theirs on different dates, such as the 2nd Wednesday of the month. How do we determine how to count the benefits? A:
Beneficiaries who began receiving benefits prior to May 1997, or who also receive SSI benefits are paid on or about the 3rd.
Other beneficiaries are paid on different dates based on their date of birth.

36. Recertification Q & A
The Social Security Administration provides Calendars which show the payment dates for each year:

38. Payments to Veterans
Q: How do I determine if the benefits received by a Veteran are countable income? A:
All payments made by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are excluded
All Payments Made by the Department of Defense/Defense Finance and Accounting service are included

39. Let’s Take Some Questions/Comments
Raise Your Hand to Confer by Phone or Send Us a Note

40. SSAI Recertification for PY2017
Eligibility Determination Tool:
Serves as both Calculator and Recert Documentation
Improves accuracy of calculations
Improves Data Validation results
SSAI Eligibility Tool will continue to be required for recertification

41. SSAI Recertification for PY2017
Projects have the option of entering the recertification information directly into the Eligibility Determination Tool
Must have an Internet Connection and access to a printer.
Participant and Project Staff Signatures collected on the SCSEP Income Eligibility Form generated by the Eligibility tool for each participant.

42. SSAI Recertification for PY2017
Income Calculations can also be completed by hand using the Income Worksheet
Participant and project staff signatures collected directly on the income worksheet
Must also enter recertification into Eligibility determination tool.
When printing the summary from the eligibility tool, opt-out of printing signature lines by selecting that signatures were already obtained.
When entering in SPARQ, always enter the amount from the Eligibility Tool, not from calculation done by hand.

43. Recertification Webtool
To access the Recertification Webtool:
Browse to
Note Between February 1, 2018 and February 28, 2018 you can test the tool by Browsing to
Click on Partner/Subgrantee Sign In (upper right corner)
Login using your assigned username and password
If you don't have an account you can click the “Request an account” link to send a request to SSAI
If you forget your password you can click the “Reset it here” link to get instructions on how to get a new password
If you forget your username, you can click the “Retrieve it here” link to get your username ed to you
For any other webtools issues please contact SSAI at or i.org or via SSAI Connect.

44. Recertification Webtool
Select SCSEP Eligibility Determination from the Tool drop down

45. Recertification Recert Participant List
To access the recertification list click on Participants.
The list shows 15 participants at a time and you can move around the list by clicking Previous or Next
You can search by typing a participant name
The list can be filtered by:
Not Started - A listing of all participants that needs a recertification entered
In Progress – A listing of all participants that has a recertification that has been started
Found Ineligible - A listing of all participants found ineligible during recertification
Found Eligible - A listing of all participants found eligible during recertification

46. Recertification Enter Recertification
To Enter a Recertification – Click on the Eligibility Status link
The process has 6 steps:
1 – Start
2 – Family Size
3 – Method
4 – Income
5 – Document
6 – Summary

47. Recertification Enter Recertification – Step 1
1 – Start
Enter the date you verified the participant’s income. Date entry must be in the format of mm/dd/yyyy.
Click next to save your entry and move to the next step

48. Recertification Enter Recertification – Step 2
2 – Family Size
By default, the participant is shown
To add additional family members click add Family Member, enter their name, and select their relationship to the participant
You can click the remove link if you want to remove an incorrect row
Click next to save your entry and move to the next step

49. Recertification Enter Recertification – Step 3
3 - Method
Select either 6 months annualized or 12 months. For help on which method to select click the help link.
Click next to save your entry and move to the next step

50. Recertification Enter Recertification – Step 4
4 - Income
To enter Income for the participant and for any other Family member select either yes or no for each income type
For Social Security, you must enter The Full monthly Social Security benefit before any deductions, rounded down to the nearest dollar. The tool will automatically calculate and exclude 25% of Social Security
If you select No to any of the 12 income types, you do not have to enter any amount
If you select Yes to any of the 12 income types, you must enter all amounts and enter zero if none. For example, if participant received income only for 3 months, you would enter the amounts for those 3 months and enter 0 for the other months
Click next to save your entry and move to the next step

51. Recertification Enter Recertification
Click next to save your entry and move to the next step

52. Recertification Enter Recertification – Step 5
5 - Document
Select the document used to verify Family size and any income received by the participant and enter any notes you captured during this recertification
Click next to save your entry and move to the next step

53. Recertification Enter Recertification – Step 5
If the total income for the participant and for any other family member is zero
Document how the participant supports themselves
And capture a detailed case note
Click next to save your entry and move to the next step

54. Recertification Enter Recertification – Step 5
When completing recertification in the field, and entering data at a later time, the participant’s signature must be captured on the Income Worksheet.
Check the box in step 5 to indicate that the participant signature was captured
Do not check this box if entering directly into the eligibility tool, and signature is needed on the print-out

55. Recertification Enter Recertification – Step 6
6 – Summary
At this point, all the data entered is summarized and the income eligibility is automatically determined
For purposes of data validation, this form must be printed and signed by the participant and interviewer. Copies of the verification documentation for family size and income, along with the income worksheet, must be attached and all filed in the participant's file
Click print to print the summary and income worksheets
Click return to get back to your recert list

56. Recertification SPARQ Entry
Select WDCS from the SPARQ Homepage

57. Recertification SPARQ Entry
Search for Participant by last name, Social Security Number, or PID

58. Recertification SPARQ Entry
Select the Participant; once the record appears below, select Edit
Smith Sally /09/1949
Sally Smith
(443)

59. Recertification SPARQ Entry
Select Recertification/Waiver of Durational Limit Tab

60. Recertification SPARQ Entry
Complete Recertification Section: fields 44 – 50

61. MIN/ Waiver SPARQ Entry
Save once you are finished entering the data

62. Raise Your Hand to Confer by Phone or Send Us a Note
Any Final Questions?
Raise Your Hand to Confer by Phone or Send Us a Note

63. Recertification Best Practices
Take advantage of the time you have with each participant
Check in with participants, assess needs for supportive services, etc
Complete Reassessment/IEP Updates, update any other necessary documents
Check to make sure you have captured all MIN

64. Questions After This Webinar
Contact Your Program Officer or SSAI Connect: or
Call: ; or
Open a case via SSAI Connect