US Government Assistance Programs Quiz

Federal Programs

• SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) is 100% federally funded.
• TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) provides cash assistance and supportive services to help families achieve self-sufficiency.
• RCA (Refugee Cash Assistance) provides financial assistance to refugee adults to help them achieve economic self-sufficiency.
• MED 1 categories include aged, blind, and disabled individuals.
• MED 3 categories include HIP (Hoosier HealthWise) and other programs.

Authorized Representatives

• An Authorized Representative (AR) is an individual selected to act on behalf of another person.
• AR responsibilities include submitting the application, interviewing on behalf of the applicant, receiving notices on behalf of the applicant, and receiving the card.
• There is no limit to the number of AR forms available, but only three can be in the system at a time.
• A Power of Attorney (POA) allows a person to sign for another person.
• A Legal Guardian (LG) is appointed by the courts to be responsible for another person.

Resources and Eligibility

• Resources are defined as real or personal property that an individual owns solely or jointly.
• Real property is defined as land, buildings, or immovable objects attached permanently to the land.
• Liquid assets are resources that can be readily converted to cash.
• Joint ownership occurs when multiple people own a resource together.
• The financial value equation is FMV (Fair Market Value) minus total liens plus equity value.
• The ABCs of basic etiquette are ASK (assess the situation), BEHAVIOR (be respectful), and COMMUNICATION (clear communication).

Health Coverage

• PHI (Protected Health Information) is private and should be protected.
• Common PHI includes driver's license number, name, addresses, SSN, DOB, and phone numbers.

Non-Financial Information

• Non-financial information is not collected in certain special circumstances, such as death, no absent parent (artificial insemination), parental rights terminated, and single parent adoption.
• Paternity established means the courts have confirmed paternity.
• Cooperation status is selected as cooperating unless reported otherwise by the Child Support Bureau.

Other Programs

• ABAWD (Able-Bodied Adult Without Dependents) is a program for individuals between 18 and 50 who do not have dependents.
• Impact is the State's employment and training program.
• TANF Student Exemption is a safety net for working students receiving TANF.
• Third-Party Liability is health insurance other than Health Coverage provided by the state of Indiana.

Asset Verification System (AVS)

• AVS is a system that verifies resources, including real property, accounts, and vehicles.
• AVS returns resource verification from Experian, the BMV, and real property searches.
• AVS look-back periods are 30 days for new applications and 4 months for re-applications.

Rebuttals and Verifications

• A successful rebuttal means providing verification that a resource is jointly owned, reducing the countable value, or proof that a resource is no longer in the applicant's name.
• Verifications must come from the source, such as bank statements, vehicle titles, and life insurance policies.

Resource Eligibility

• Resources must be available and countable to be considered in eligibility determinations.

• The financial value equation is used to determine the value of resources.

• Exemptions, such as the home and certain vehicles, are not counted in resource eligibility determinations.### View Data Collections Screens

• Individual information can be accessed through the Authorized Representative sub-module.

• The Authorized Representative page displays a listing of authorized representatives and their contact information.

Authorized Representative Information

• Ensure all contact information and program permissions match previously known information when the AR is already known to the system.
• Use the date received in IEDSS for the Circumstances Start/Change Date, Reported On, Date Client Became Aware, and Verification Received On.

Adding Authorized Representative to an Application Case

• Add the Authorized Representative to an Application Case through Step 5.
• Edit the Application Case on the Authorized Representative summary page.

Maintaining Individual Information

• Answer the question "Is there an authorized representative?" on the Maintain Individual – Individual page.

Document Management

• Mark a document as "Duplicate" when the authorized representative is already known to IEDSS and no changes were made.
• Mark a document as "Reviewed" when the authorized representative was added to the standard case, mark as reviewed, and submit.

Resources

• Resources are defined as real or personal property that an individual owns solely or jointly.
• Real property is defined as land, buildings, or immovable objects attached permanently to the land.
• Personal property is all property that is not real property.
• Liquid assets are resources that can be liquidated or disposed of.
• Joint ownership refers to resources owned by multiple people.
• If clients are married, the value of their resource is entered as joint.
• If joint owners are not married, the value of their resource is entered as the entire amount belongs to each person.

Resource Eligibility

• A resource must be available to count in IEDSS.
• A resource is available if the owner has the unrestricted right, authority, or legal ability to liquidate or dispose of the resource or their share of the resource.
• The financial value equation is FMV - total liens + equity value.
• LUWs are questions relevant to each type of resource entered.

Resource Types

• Liquid assets include cash, savings, and checking accounts.
• Life insurance policies with a cash surrender value are considered resources.
• Examples of real property include the home, income-producing real property, and property for sale or rent.
• Trusts are agreements where a person gives legal responsibility of their assets to a designated representative.
• Examples of documents for prepaid funeral arrangements include sales agreements, contracts with a funeral home, lists of goods and services, and burial plot documents.

Asset Verification System (AVS)

• AVS is an acronym for Asset Verification System.
• AVS categories include MAA, MAG, MAB, MAI, MAD, MAJ, MADI, MAL, and MAR.
• AVS returns resource verification from Experian, the BMV, and Real Property Searches.
• IEDSS pings the AVS system for most larger banks.
• AVS look back periods for new applications and re-applications are 30 days.
• AVS verifies real property, accounts, and vehicles.
• The Kelly Blue Book is used to determine the value of vehicles.
• A successful rebuttal includes bank statements proving the amounts, verification that a resource is jointly owned reducing the countable value, proof of the amount still owed, and verification that a resource is no longer in the applicant's name.