Current through Register Vol. 54, No.43, October 26, 2024
Section 111.4 - Procedures(a)Data reported by county office on Form PA 96 and Form PA 96-S. To provide State Office with data needed, the County Office will prepare a Form PA 96 or Form PA 96-S, Quality Control Card, for Food Stamp cases. Each reporting office will assign a staff member to act as a liaison between the county office and Office of Inter-Program Planning and Evaluation with respect to the collection and submittal of QC data. The name of the person, phone number and county name will be submitted when necessary to keep a current listing in the State Office. (1)Negative action cases. The following will apply to negative action cases: (i)Application not authorized. Form PA 96 cards for applications not authorized will be submitted to the Office of Inter-Program Planning and Evaluation at the end of each week. Requests for information, where eligibility is not determined, will not be included. For the Food Stamp Program, a Form PA 96 will be prepared for each assistance and nonassistance application not authorized when an agency determination was made that a household failed to meet eligibility requirements. These will be arranged chronologically by date of decision before being submitted. No card may be submitted for failure for a household to keep an appointment for scheduled application interview.(ii)Cases closed. Form PA 96 cards for Food Stamp cases closed will be submitted to the Office of Inter-Program Planning and Evaluation at the end of each week. A Form PA 96 () will be prepared for each assistance and nonassistance case determined ineligible. These will be arranged chronologically by date of decision before being submitted. No card may be submitted for households which fail to appear for an interview. For QC purposes, the following discontinuances will be arranged chronologically by date of decision before being submitted and will not be reviewed and no card will be submitted. (A) Closure of a case due to the death of all members of a household.(B) Closure of a case due to a household moving from this Commonwealth.(C) Failure of household to report for recertification interview, and certification period expires.(D) Closure due to failure to cooperate with QC review.(E) Lapses, that is, automatic discontinuance because the household fails to purchase coupons for 3 months.(b)QC Review System. Arrangements for QC reviews will be made with the County Office by the QC Field Office Supervisor.(1) The county office will send the case records requested for review to the QC Field Office within 5 work days. If the county office needs any part of a record while the QC field office has it, the field office will temporarily return the material requested.(2) In reviewing sample active cases, the reviewer will have a personal interview with clients and make necessary collateral contacts.(3) On home visits to clients, the reviewer will identify himself by an Employee Identification Card. He will explain that he is not acting for or in place of an employe of the County Board of Assistance and make clear the responsibility of the client for reporting changes in his circumstances to the county office.(4) In reviewing sample closed cases and applications not approved, direct client and collateral contacts will be made only if the case record does not provide all the information needed to establish clearly whether or not the county office action was correct.(5) A recipient who refuses to participate in the review will be ineligible for participation in the program being reviewed and his eligibility for participation in other programs must be redetermined immediately by the County Assistance Office. Upon notification by quality control division that a recipient refuses to participate in the review, the County Assistance Office will take the following action immediately:(i) Contact the client to determine his reason for refusing to participate.(ii) If, after an explanation, the client agrees to participate, arrange for an appointment with the QC reviewer.(iii) If the client persists in refusing to participate, follow the procedures in § 133.24 (relating to procedures) regarding written advance notice of proposed discontinuance.(6) If the case record has been reviewed, the reviewer will stamp the case record narrative immediately below the most recent entry, insert his name and the date and return the record to the county.(7) The findings of the reviewer in each individual case will be recorded on prescribed schedules and transmitted promptly on completion through the QC field office to the division of quality control.(8) If, during a direct or collateral contact, the reviewer obtains new information on circumstances that are related to eligibility or amount of payment, he will report this information directly to the county office. This information will not be included on the prescribed schedules.(9) The county office will receive a summary of any defects in each case. A copy of the summary will be sent to the appropriate regional office.(c)Correction of defects. Action will be taken by the county office to correct reported defects and a report on the action taken will be sent to regional office within 30 days.The provisions of this Appendix A reserved July 11, 1986, effective 7/12/1986, 16 Pa.B. 2524.