Arkansas Administrative Code

20 CAR § 502-505. Income of an alien’s sponsor. (a)(1) Section 212(a)(4)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act requires that an alien who enters the United States seeking permanent residence under one (1) of the criteria listed below must have a sponsor. (2) A sponsor is defi…

20 CAR § 502-506. Unearned income to disregard. (a) The following types of unearned income are not counted in determining a family’s transitional employment assistance (TEA) eligibility or payment amount: (1)(A) Supplemental Security Income benefits and other income of Supplement…

20 CAR § 502-507. Verification of unearned income. (a) Verification will normally be by documentary evidence obtained from the source of the income or through computer matches, or inquiry to system screens, with the agency providing the income, e.g., WESD screen for unemployment …

20 CAR § 502-508. Computation of monthly unearned income. (a) If unearned income is received more frequently than once per month, the monthly income is computed as follows: (1) If received weekly, the weekly amount will be multiplied by 4.334 for the monthly amount; (2) If receiv…

20 CAR § 502-509. Earned income. (a)(1) Earned income includes wages, salaries, tips, commissions, and any other payment resulting from labor or personal service. (2) Generally, if the person is working as an employee, Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes are withheld…

20 CAR § 502-510. Earned income to be disregarded. (a) Earned income received in the following situations is not counted in determining the family’s transitional employment assistance (TEA) eligibility: (1) Earnings received by a family member in an on-the-job training (OJT) plac…

20 CAR § 502-511. Verification of earned income. (a) Verification of earnings from employment may be by any one (1) or a combination of the following: (1) Check stubs; (2) Pay slips; and (3) Collateral contact with the employer. (b)(1) Sufficient verification should be obtained s…

20 CAR § 502-512. Computation of monthly gross earned income — Employee. (a) The gross earned income amount that will be used to determine eligibility is an estimate of the amount that the individual can reasonably be expected to have available in the next month or months. (b)(1)…

20 CAR § 502-513. Computation of earnings from self-employment. (a)(1) Like employee earnings, the monthly amount of self-employment earnings that must be considered is the agency’s best estimate of earned income that will be available to the individual in a month or months. (2) …

20 CAR § 502-514. Income eligibility determination. Once the family’s countable monthly gross income is computed, then their income eligibility can be determined.

20 CAR § 502-515. Income eligibility standard. (a) The income eligibility standard is the same amount for all family sizes and is used to determine both initial and ongoing income eligibility. (b)(1) Countable unearned income plus net earned income (gross minus certain deductions…

20 CAR § 502-516. Earned income deductions for income eligibility. (a) Before the monthly income is compared to the income eligibility standard, certain deductions are allowed from the monthly gross earnings. (b) These deductions are: (1)(A) Work-related deduction, twenty percent…

20 CAR § 502-517. Determining income eligibility. (a)(1) To determine the family’s income eligibility, an income eligibility budget is computed in ANSWER. (2) The income for each household member is keyed in the member section. (3) The household member, the source of income, and …

20 CAR § 502-518. Payment determination. (a) Once all eligibility requirements have been established, including income eligibility, then the family’s monthly payment amount is determined. (b)(1) The payment amounts are based on nine (9) payment levels according to family size. (2…

20 CAR § 502-519. Maximum payment levels. (a) The payment levels by family size are as follows: Family SizeMaximum Amount 1$ 81 2$162 3$204 4$247 5$286 6$331 7$373 8$415 9 or more$457 (b) Family cap. The family cap provision prohibits payment to a child who is born while the moth…

20 CAR § 502-520. Reduced payment — Gross income trigger. (a)(1) The payment amount for the family size will be reduced by fifty percent (50%) when the family’s countable monthly gross income, excluding assigned child support payments, is equal to or more than one thousand twenty…

20 CAR § 502-521. Drug screenings. (a)(1) In accordance with Acts 2015, No. 1205, drug screenings of Transitional Employment Assistance Program and Arkansas Work Pays Program applicants and recipients will be conducted during the eligibility determination and redetermination (rea…

20 CAR § 502-522. Exemptions from drug screening and testing. The following individuals are exempt from the drug screening and testing requirements: (1) A dependent child under the age of eighteen (18); (2)(A) A non-head-of-household minor parent who lives in the home of the mino…

20 CAR § 502-523. Cooperation with drug testing and plan of action requirements. (a)(1) If the Drug Assessment Questionnaire (DAQ) indicates a reasonable suspicion that the individual has engaged in the illegal use of drugs, the applicant/recipient will be required to take a drug…

20 CAR § 502-524. Work activity participation. (a)(1) All able-bodied adult family members are required to work or participate in work activities that are designed to lead to employment. (2) In addition, all minor parents, including a minor parent whose child is excluded for paym…

20 CAR § 502-601. Application disposal generally. (a) A Transitional Employment Assistance Program application will be disposed of by: (1) Approval; (2) Denial; or (3) Transferring the application to another county. (b) This subpart describes the procedures for each process.…

20 CAR § 502-602. Application approval/certification. (a) A Transitional Employment Assistance Program application will be approved, or certified, only after all eligibility requirements have been established. (b) In addition to documentation of all eligibility requirements, incl…

20 CAR § 502-603. Office of Child Support Enforcement notifications. (a)(1) Unless a claim of “good cause” has been determined or is pending determination, the Office of Child Support Enforcement of the Revenue Division of the Department of Finance and Administration will be noti…

20 CAR § 502-604. Effective date of payment. (a)(1) Payment will begin on the first day of the month in which the application is being certified. (2) The initial payment will not be prorated based on the date of certification. (3) The first payment will be for a full month even i…

20 CAR § 502-605. Application approval — Completion steps. (a) The following specific steps will be taken to complete a Transitional Employment Assistance Program application approval: (1) Ensure the narrative contains sufficient documentation of all eligibility requirements and …

20 CAR § 502-606. Application denial. (a) An application will be denied when: (1) Ineligibility due to a particular eligibility requirement is determined; (2) Eligibility cannot be established due to the lack of documentary evidence needed to establish an eligibility requirement;…

20 CAR § 502-607. Transferring an application to another county. (a) If an applicant has a pending application and moves out of the county, transfer the application to the county in which the applicant now lives. (b) Responsibility of transferring county. When an applicant moves …

20 CAR § 502-701. Referrals to the Department of Human Services. (a) During the interview, the Division of County Operations eligibility worker will explain to the client that upon approval a referral will be made to the Department of Human Services for case management services. …

20 CAR § 502-702. Reapplication after closure. (a)(1) If a participant whose case has been closed due to noncompliance reapplies for transitional employment assistance (TEA), a referral will be made to the Department of Human Services. (2) The county office will hold the applicat…

20 CAR § 502-801. Continuing eligibility generally. (a) The Division of County Operations has a continuing responsibility to provide assistance for eligible participants as adequately as funds will permit and to ensure that no ineligible recipient continues to receive assistance.…

20 CAR § 502-802. Timely (advance) and adequate notices for reduction, hold, or termination of assistance. (a) When the county office proposes to terminate, reduce, or hold the assistance payment or change the payee to a protective payee, a timely and adequate notice (DCO-1 or sy…

20 CAR § 502-803. When a timely (advance) notice is not required. (a) Advance notice is not required when: (1) The agency has factual information confirming the death of the transitional employment assistance (TEA) payee and there is no relative to serve as the new payee; (2) The…

20 CAR § 502-901. Periodic reviews. (a) Time-limited cases. (1) During employment updates and other periodic contacts with a participant, the Program Eligibility Specialist will ensure that the participant continues to meet eligibility requirements that are subject to change, e.g…

20 CAR § 502-902. Resources. (a) Newly acquired resources should be reported to the county office within ten (10) days of receipt. (b) Resources will be verified according to the same standard used to determine original eligibility. (c) If the total countable resources available …

20 CAR § 502-903. Income. (a)(1) The Division of County Operations Program Eligibility Specialist or Department of Human Services case manager will discuss income changes during periodic contacts with the participant. (2) The participant will be advised that he or she must report…

20 CAR § 502-904. Recomputing income. (a) When a family reports a significant change in income, the budget will be recomputed to determine the family’s continued eligibility. (b)(1) If the net countable income exceeds five hundred thirteen dollars ($513) (income eligibility stand…

20 CAR § 502-905. Child support income exceeds assistance payment. (a)(1) The Office of Child Support Enforcement of the Revenue Division of the Department of Finance and Administration sends the transitional employment assistance (TEA) family any current monthly child support co…

20 CAR § 502-906. Household composition. (a) An eligible child must be living in the home in order for a family to continue to be eligible for transitional employment assistance (TEA). (b) Family members must continue to live in the home with the child for continued individual el…

20 CAR § 502-907. Family cap provisions — Newborns. (a)(1) A child who is born while the mother is receiving transitional employment assistance (TEA) cash assistance either for other children or as a minor child herself will not be included in the case for cash assistance purpose…

20 CAR § 502-908. Adding other individuals. (a) A child or other adult who moves into the home and meets all eligibility requirements will be: (1) Added to the transitional employment assistance (TEA) case; and (2) Eligible for payment. (b) The county will obtain a new DCO-215 in…

20 CAR § 502-909. Dropping individuals from the TEA grant. (a)(1) Individuals who become ineligible for transitional employment assistance (TEA), e.g., die, move from the home, reach the maximum age for a child, will be dropped from the TEA case. (2) The casehead is eligible to r…

20 CAR § 502-910. Marriage of the TEA parent. When a transitional employment assistance (TEA) participant reports a marriage, the worker will: (1) Require an application to add the new spouse to the unit unless the spouse is a Supplemental Security Income participant; (2) Determi…

20 CAR § 502-911. Time limit. (a)(1) Beginning April 1, 2024, a family who meets all the eligibility requirements may receive transitional employment assistance (TEA) cash assistance benefits for a period of up to twelve (12) months. (2) The twelve (12) months do not have to be c…

20 CAR § 502-912. Time limit exemptions, extensions, reviews, and closures. Refer to sections 4141 – 4147 of the TEA Case Management Manual.

20 CAR § 502-913. Appeal rights. (a) If the decision is to close the case at the end of twelve (12) months and not allow an extension, the client has the right to appeal that decision through the Office of Appeals and Hearings of the Department of Human Services. (b) However, ben…

20 CAR § 502-914. Failure to comply with non-work-related aspects of the Personal Responsibility Agreement. (a) Child support. (1) Failure to comply with child support requirements will result in a twenty-five percent (25%) reduction in the transitional employment assistance (TEA…

20 CAR § 502-915. Cooperation with Quality Assurance Unit. (a) A family must cooperate with the Quality Assurance Unit if the case is selected for a Transitional Employment Assistance Program review. (b) Failure to cooperate will cause the entire family to be ineligible. (c) Upon…

20 CAR § 503-1001. Administrative hearings generally. (a) The purpose of the hearing process is to provide a mechanism by which: (1) An applicant may appeal the: (A) Denial of transitional employment assistance (TEA); or (B) Failure of the Division of County Operations to process…

20 CAR § 503-1002. Appeal process. (a) A petitioner or his or her designated representative may request a hearing by: (1) Completing the reverse side of the Notice of Action; (2) Making the request by letter to the Office of Appeals and Hearings of the Department of Human Service…

20 CAR § 503-1003. Division of County Operations administrative hearing file. (a)(1) When the Office of Appeals and Hearings of the Department of Human Services notifies the Division of County Operations that a petitioner has filed a timely request for a hearing, the caseworker w…