Part 502. Transitional Employment Assistance Policy Manual

20 CAR § 502-1511. Division of County Operations hearing responsibilities. (a) It is the responsibility of the Division of County Operations to provide an office with privacy in which a hearing can be conducted as well as necessary telephone and/or computer equipment for hearings…

20 CAR § 502-1512. Conducting the hearing. (a)(1) The hearing will be conducted by a hearing official from the Office of Appeals and Hearings of the Department of Human Services. (2) No person having any part in making the decision being appealed may serve as the hearing official…

20 CAR § 502-1513. Additional medical assessment. If the hearing involves medical issues, such as those concerning a diagnosis, an examining physician’s report, or a Medical Review Team’s decision, and if the hearing official considers it necessary to have a medical assessment ot…

20 CAR § 502-1514. Hearing decision. (a) The hearing official will prepare a final order based on the: (1) Evidence accepted into the record; and (2) Sworn record of testimony of the proceedings. (b) The format will include: (1) An introduction; (2) Findings of fact; (3) Conclusi…

20 CAR § 502-1515. Judicial review. When the hearing official has rendered a final agency action on a case and the petitioner or representative is not satisfied with the decision, he or she has the right to judicial review under Arkansas Code § 25-15-212 of the Arkansas Administr…

20 CAR § 502-1601. Intentional program violations generally. (a) A determination of an intentional program violation (IPV) is made either through a court of law or by a hearing official in an internal hearing process. (b) The internal hearing is known as an administrative disqual…

20 CAR § 502-1602. Definition of intentional program violation. (a) An intentional program violation (IPV) of the Transitional Employment Assistance Program is defined as an action by an individual for the purpose of establishing or maintaining the family’s eligibility for transi…

20 CAR § 502-1603. Disqualification sanction — Intentional program violation. (a) The family of any individual who pleads guilty or nolo contendere to, or is found guilty of, an intentional program violation (IPV) in the Transitional Employment Assistance Program will be ineligib…

20 CAR § 502-1604. Fraudulent misrepresentation of residence. (a) The family of an individual who is convicted in a federal or state court of having made a fraudulent statement or misrepresentation of residence in order to receive assistance simultaneously from two (2) or more st…

20 CAR § 502-1605. TEA Administrative Disqualification Hearings (a)(1) The Office of Appeals and Hearings of the Department of Human Services conducts TEA Administrative Disqualification Hearings and determines if intentional program violations (IPVs) have occurred. (2) Administr…

20 CAR § 502-1606. Referral by the Overpayment Unit. (a) A request for an administrative disqualification hearing is initiated by the Overpayment Unit of the Department of Human Services: (1) Of its own volition; (2) At the request of the county office; or (3) At the request of t…

20 CAR § 502-1607. Preparation of the administrative hearing file. (a)(1) An administrative hearing file must be prepared on cases referred for an administrative disqualification hearing. (2) The Fraud Investigation Unit of the Department of Human Services will be responsible for…

20 CAR § 502-1608. Waived hearings. (a) Individuals accused of committing an intentional program violation may waive their right to an administrative disqualification hearing. (b)(1) When a case is referred for an administrative disqualification hearing, the Office of Appeals and…

20 CAR § 502-1609. Advance notice and scheduling of hearing. (a) The Office of Appeals and Hearings of the Department of Human Services must notify the accused individual at least thirty (30) days in advance of the date the hearing is scheduled. (b) The notice must include the fo…

20 CAR § 502-1610. Cancellation of a hearing by the county office. (a) If, at any time prior to the date of an administrative disqualification hearing, the county office feels that there is insufficient evidence on which to conduct a hearing, the Office of Appeals and Hearings of…

20 CAR § 502-1611. Review of the administrative disqualification file. (a)(1) When the advance notice of the hearing is sent, the accused individual is advised that he or she has ten (10) calendar days from the date he or she signs the certified mail receipt to review the adminis…

20 CAR § 502-1612. Requesting subpoenas. (a)(1) The individual accused of the intentional program violation (IPV), the county office, or the Fraud Investigation Unit of the Department of Human Services may request that witnesses be subpoenaed to appear at an administrative disqua…

20 CAR § 502-1613. Administrative disqualification hearing. (a) Attendance at hearing. (1) The hearing shall be attended by a representative of the county office in the county of residence of the accused individual or the county of residence of the individual’s representative. (2…

20 CAR § 502-1614. Hearing decision. (a)(1) The hearing officer will prepare a decision based on the evidence presented. (2) The format will consist of: (A) An introduction; (B) Findings of fact; (C) Conclusions of law; and (D) A decision. (b) The final decision must be made with…

20 CAR § 502-1615. Imposing the disqualification sanction. (a) When the county office receives a hearing decision finding that an intentional program violation (IVP) has occurred, a period of disqualification from the Transitional Employment Assistance Program will be imposed aga…

20 CAR § 502-1616. Court-imposed disqualifications. (a) The county office will disqualify a family if a member has been found to have committed an intentional program violation (IPV) by a court of law in accordance with 20 CAR §§ 502-1603 and 502-1615. (b) When a court finds that…

20 CAR § 502-1701. Definition of overpayment. (a)(1) Any payment received by or for a participant that is in excess of the amount that should have been paid is an overpayment. (2) However, only those overpayments described in the following sections will be reported and collection…

20 CAR § 502-1702. Definition of fraud. (a) Fraud consists of some deceitful practice or felonious device resorted to with the intent to receive an assistance grant to which an individual is not entitled under the rules of the Division of County Operations. (b) Fraud — Legal prov…

20 CAR § 502-1703. Types of overpayments. (a) The following types of overpayments will be reported: (1) Temporary Assistance for Needy Families cash assistance (Transitional Employment Assistance Program and Work Pays); (2) Reimbursements for work-related activity expenses; (3) R…

20 CAR § 502-1704. Determining the overpayment amount to be reported. (a) The policy, procedures, and income eligibility standards in effect at the time the participant was overpaid will be used to determine the overpayment amount. (b) Form DCO-199 will be used to report overpaym…

20 CAR § 502-1705. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families cash assistance — Overpayments. (a)(1) When it is determined that a participant has received a transitional employment assistance (TEA) cash assistance or Work Pays payment to which he or she was not entitled, an overpaym…

20 CAR § 502-1706. Reimbursements/activity-related expenses — Overpayments. (a) When it is determined that a participant was reimbursed or received a payment for expenses related to work participation that he or she was not entitled to, an overpayment will be determined beginning…

20 CAR § 502-1707. Relocation — Overpayments. If it is determined that a relocation assistance payment was provided to a family and it was not used to relocate the family, an overpayment will be prepared for the overpaid amount. Example: Mr. Jones lives in Camden. He found a job …

20 CAR § 502-1801. Responsibility for reporting the overpayment. (a) Overpayment reports will be submitted to the Central Office Overpayments Unit, Slot WG2. (b)(1) The Division of County Operations will complete and submit overpayments related to eligibility. (2) Supportive serv…

20 CAR § 502-1802. Responsibility of the Overpayment Unit. (a) The Overpayment Unit of the Department of Human Services will make the decision concerning the feasibility of repayment for all overpayments, taking into consideration whether they resulted from: (1) Administrative er…

20 CAR § 502-1803. Collections. (a) The Overpayment Unit of the Department of Human Services will make the determination relative to the disposition of the claim when collection and/or fraud referrals are indicated. (b) When an agreement is reached with the participant, either by…

20 CAR § 502-1901. Definitions. As used in this subpart: (1) “Hardship situation” means a situation in which the participant is in a state of being deprived of what is needed for basic subsistence, e.g., food, shelter, utilities; (2) “Recoupment” means withholding of a cash amoun…

20 CAR § 502-1902. General policy statement. (a) Overpayments and ineligible payments made to participants of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families cash assistance are subject to recovery action. (b)(1) The policy of this state is that recovery of overpayments will be pursued. …

20 CAR § 502-1903. Recovery procedure. (a) All cases of ineligible payments and overpayments must be reported to the Overpayment Unit of the Department of Human Services as outlined in 20 CAR § 502-1704. (b) The Overpayment Unit will decide whether payments to ineligibles and/or …

20 CAR § 502-1904. Recoupment restrictions. (a)(1) Overlapping or duplication of transitional employment assistance (TEA) by Supplemental Security Income is not subject to recoupment or restitution. (2) This will be handled by the Social Security Administration. (b) Restitution o…

20 CAR § 502-1905. Overpayment Unit responsibility. If the decision is made by the Overpayment Unit of the Department of Human Services to recoup the overpayment by a deduction from the current assistance payment to the participant, the Overpayment Unit will: (1) Send a ten-day a…

20 CAR § 502-1906. Keeping the Overpayment Unit informed. The appropriate office will promptly report, by memorandum to the Overpayment Unit of the Department of Human Services, any pertinent information (coming to its attention) that would have an effect on an established overpa…

20 CAR § 502-1907. Contacts with participants. (a) If participants have questions concerning recovery letters received directly from the Overpayment Unit of the Department of Human Services, the county office will refer them to the Overpayment Unit. (b) If participants wish to ma…

20 CAR § 502-1908. State income tax refund interception. (a) Acts 1983, No. 372, as amended (Arkansas Code § 26-36-318), and Acts 1985, No. 987, authorize the collection of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families overpayments through the interception of state income tax refunds. …

20 CAR § 502-1909. Cases eligible for intercept. (a) In order for a case to be submitted for a state tax refund intercept, the following conditions must be met: (1) The amount owed the state must be approved by the Overpayment Unit of the Department of Human Services; (2) The tax…

20 CAR § 502-1910. Allocation of state tax refund. A state tax refund intercepted to apply against debts to the state will normally be allocated as follows: (1)(A) When only one (1) overpayment claim exists, the refund will be applied against that claim. (B) Should the refund be …

20 CAR § 502-1911. State tax refund intercept (STRI) hearing procedures. (a) Requesting and scheduling a hearing. (1)(A) The taxpayer has thirty (30) days from the mailing date of the intercept notice to file a written request for a hearing. (B) All hearing requests will be sent …

20 CAR § 502-201. TEA applications generally. (a) Department of Human Services county offices will accept and process applications for the Transitional Employment Assistance Program. (b) A transitional employment assistance (TEA) application must be disposed of by either approval…

20 CAR § 502-202. Nondiscrimination. (a) No person shall be prevented from participation, be denied benefits, or be subject to discrimination on the basis of: (1) Age; (2) Religion; (3) Disability; (4) Political affiliation; (5) Veteran status; (6) Sex; (7) Race; (8) Color; or (9…

20 CAR § 502-203. Application. (a) Requests for assistance will be made by completing an: (1) Application form (DCO-0004, Application for SNAP, Health Care, and TEA/RCA Benefits) and submitting the application to the county office; or (2) Online application through the Department…

20 CAR § 502-204. Application interview — Applications submitted to the Department of Human Services. (a)(1) An interview with the applicant is required for applications. (2) If the household consists of two (2) adults, both will be interviewed. (3) If only one (1) parent is pres…

20 CAR § 502-205. Personal Responsibility Agreement. (a) The Personal Responsibility Agreement (PRA) is an agreement that provides the individual with responsibilities with which he or she must comply while receiving cash assistance. (b) The responsibilities include: (1) Cooperat…

20 CAR § 502-206. Obtaining information to determine eligibility. (a)(1) The applicant is the primary source of information and is responsible for providing necessary verifications, as requested, to establish initial and ongoing eligibility. (2) However, if the applicant is unabl…

20 CAR § 502-207. Diversion Assistance. (a)(1) Diversion Assistance is intended to help a family through a financial problem that jeopardizes employment and that, if not solved, could result in the family requiring regular ongoing cash assistance. (2) Diversion Assistance is a re…

20 CAR § 502-301. Preliminary income and resource eligibility screening. (a) The income and resource sections of the application will be reviewed with the applicant to determine whether the family may be eligible for assistance. (b)(1) If the income or resources are above the max…