FFY2012 EAP Annual Training Section 4

1. FFY2012 EAP Annual Training Section 4 Includes Chapter 9, ROFW, Chapter 10 A16, Chapter 11 Benefit Payments & Refunds and Chapter 12 Client & Vendor Notification

2. Chapter 9 Reach Out For Warmth

3. Contents Chapter 9 ROFW • Eligibility • Income Guidelines • Benefits • Matching Funds

4. on many levels: EAP collaborates with ROFW • The DOC administers ROFW at the State level • SPs administer ROFW at local level • Administrative costs are paid by EAP Admin funds • ROFW uses EAP Applications and eligibility criteria • EAP funds ROFW at 2 to 1 match to private funds

5. ROFW Highlights FFY11 production in relation to FFY 2010 • Decrease in financial resources • Decrease in Local Fund • Decrease in State Matching Fund • Decrease in number of SP participants • Decrease in number of households served

6. ROFW Highlights FFY2012 • No policy changes • Technical resources • The max 3 months income eligibility for HHs decreased • Recording ROFW in eHEAT enhanced

7. ROFW Annual Expenditures

8. ROFW SPs and Households

9. FFY 2012 ROFW Updates Eligibility requirement for ROFW HHs remains same • HH income < 60 % of the SMI for past 3 complete months • HH must be in Crisis Situation Income guidelines for HHs eligibility remains same • Past 3 complete months prior to signing an application and/or • Prior year Self-employment worksheet for self-employed HHs • Maximum income eligibility of the greatest of 60% SMI or 110% of poverty

10. FFY2012 ROFW Updates (Cont.) State Median Income for HHs has decreased • Maximum 3 months income eligibility has decreased FFY2012 Maximum ROFW Income Guidelines * 110% of poverty is greater than 60% of SMI for households of 21 or more. • ROFW Maximum Benefits remains same • $500 for Crisis and $500 for ERR benefit

11. ROFW services & EAP funds Assurance 16 • Use Assurance 16 dollars to negotiate with vendors or to assist the household with budget management issues • A16 cannot be used for ROFW fund raising EAP Administrative Funds • There are no separate administrative funds available for ROFW activities • ROFW activities, including application & payment processing may be charged to regular EAP administration

12. ROFW services & funds (Cont.) ROFW Crisis (EB) funds • In FFY12 ROFW matching fund can not be used to serve EAP HHs who received EB • FFY11 was exception with Pohlad fund

13. Recording ROFW in eHEAT Enhancement • In FFY12 SPs are required to record fed/local ROFW expenditures in eHEAT • eHEAT Recording Steps: • Click in eHEAT the button “Client Services” • Click the sub-button “Assurance 16” • Select “ROFW Entry” button from the row • Select the source of fund “Local ROFW” or “State ROFW” • Describe the situation and fill the amount used to assist the household • Then Click on “save ROFW” to save the record.

14. Recording ROFW in eHEAT: 1 2 3 6 4 5 7

15. Recording ROFW in eHEAT: • When App is transferred the ROFW record stays at the SP • Implementation will start Aug 1, 2011 • The old way remains same until Aug 1, 2011 • After Aug 1, 2011, reports for the old information can be retrieved by asking KB.

16. Chapter 10 Assurance 16

17. Assurance 16 Highlights No new manual or policies changes this year • Section highlight areas DOC got questions about or identified as areas with room for improvements. • And a couple of eHEAT enhancements. Chapter Contents • Assurance 16 Description • A16 and Crisis Policies and Procedures • Reasonable Payment • Other A16 Activities • Outreach, Collaboration and Coordination

18. A16 - What it is Assurance 16 Descriptions • Assurance 16 (A16) allows states to spend up to five percent (5%) of their LIHEAP Block Grant funds on “services encouraging and enabling households to reduce their home energy needs and thereby the need for energy assistance, including needs assessment counseling, and assistance with energy vendors.” Assurance 16 (A16) funds may also be used for A16 reporting. • Assurance16 case management is an activity that encourages and enables households to reduce their home energy needs and thereby the need for energy assistance.

19. A16 - What it Means to EAP Intentions: • To minimize shut-offs for natural gas and electricity during the heating season. • To assist households with fuel deliveries. • To serve the crisis households that cannot pay, not households that did not pay • To operate an A16/Crisis program requiring household payments. (EBA) Values: • Energy bills should be affordable. • All households should have heat and electricity. • All stakeholders (government, advocacy organizations, vendors and households) should contribute to assuring that all households have heat during the heating season. • Safety • Consistency. • Flexibility

20. Assurance 16 Focus Focus: • Determine & deliver Emergency Benefits (EB or Crisis). EB is an amount up to $500 used to eliminate or reduce past-due energy payments • Providing A16 services to assist the household (coordinating resources like CWR, Scheduled Payment, Crisis, negotiated household payments): • Identify a reasonable payment • Enter into payment agreements • Educate households about energy program components and changes • Verify payment plan compliance • Educate HHDs about their rights & responsibilities in relationship to their energy service • Determine and deliver Emergency Benefit Adjustments (EBA) • Measure impact • Provide incentives to participating households • Encourage households to pay energy bills • Provide information and support to stakeholders about A16 policies and procedures

21. Assurance 16 - State Overview Allocated in 2012 for Assurance 16 activities: • $7,226,376.00 Total count of A16 Activities entered into eHEAT: • 2011: 150,639 • 2010: 156,946 • 2009: 130,994

22. A16 – We Know You Do It We are confident SPs are doing more work than is logged into eHEAT • Here’s Why: 156,946 entries in FY2010 and150,639 in FY2011 • This was a decrease in entries of 6,307 entries, even though in FY2011: • There continued to be an increase in ROFW households due to Pohlad funds AND • Because these are crisis households, staff working with them would also be performing many acceptable A16 activities simultaneously. • During several periods in FY2011 when no crisis funds were available for households you were working with; this usually means spending more time with them, giving referrals and advocating with the vendors on their behalf.

23. Document Your Time in eHEAT Best practice • Entering “time spent” on A16 activities in eHEAT and comparing those entries to the time recorded for payroll as A16 time and activities. • eHEAT can report information for you including: • Staff • Date • Activity • Time spent • Questions? Ask your Field Rep

24. Chapter 10 Assurance 16 Entry

25. eHEAT Enhancement Requested • The e-mail address of the household has been added to the eHEAT report; Mail List Application Export • This is a report that many of you use for Assurance 16 activities; Outreach and Referral for example. • This report now includes nearly all the contact information the household provides to EAP.

26. eHEAT Enhancement Requested • The Crisis entry screen includes a jump button beginning last year • This year it will auto fill the household’s number into A16 screen when the jump is made!

27. Chapter 10 Assurance 16

28. Q & A: ROFW & A16 Coordinator’s Role

29. Ch 11 Benefit Payments & Refunds

30. Chapter 11 Training Topics • Accounts in landlord’s name • Disconnection due to landlord non-payment • Recovery of overpayments • Household changes after eligibility determination • Payments & refunds in eHEAT when household moves • Collapse of payment schedule • Vendorrefunds in eHEAT • Direct payment controls

31. Accounts in Landlord’s Name Revision to the Payments to Households with Account in Landlord’s Name section Ch 11, page 4 If the household’s energy account is in the landlord’s name, it can be addressed as follows: • Payments are made to the account on behalf of the household to the energy vendor. • The landlord can become an EAP vendor. All agreement, registration and participation requirements are the same for landlords as energy vendors (see Chapter 3 - Energy Vendors).

32. Disconnection Due to Landlord New Section: Disconnection of Household Service Due to Landlord Not Paying the Utility Bill (not shared meter) Ch 11, page 4 This is a state rule to protect renters. In situations where the service is in the landlord’s name, and the landlord is subject to disconnection of service; the utility may not disconnect service until the following actions have been taken according to Minnesota Rules (7820.1400 LANDLORD-TENANT RULE): • The utility shall offer the occupant the opportunity to subscribe for service in the occupant's own name. (If the occupant then declines to subscribe, the utility may disconnect service). • A utility shall not attempt to recover from a tenant the payment of any outstanding bills or other charges due upon the outstanding account of the landlord.

33. Recovery of overpayment Policy change to Overpayment of $10 or greater Ch 11, page 6 The Service Provider must attempt to recover overpayments of $10 or greater. Any overpayment not recovered by adjusting scheduled payments or recalling EAP credit on the household’s vendor account must be recovered from the household. • This is done to improve controls driven by OLA, ICF and caretaking of public resources • This will be covered in more detail in Chapter 13

34. Household Changes after Eligibility New Section (replacing the Household Situation Changes section): Household Situation Changes after Eligibility Has Been Determined Ch 11, page 6 • This was covered in the Chapter 5 presentation

35. Payments & Refunds When HHD Moves Appendix 11F – Handling Payments and Refunds in eHEAT When a Household Moves • This was covered in the Chapter 5 presentation

36. Collapse of payment schedule Policy change: earlier automatic collapse of payment schedule • This change was requested by EACA • SP reported having to collapse payments due to shutoff/CWR and having eHEAT do this automatically would be more efficient • Scheduled payments collapse from 4 payments, to 3, then 2, then 1 so all payments are made by the end of program year • eHEAT will automatically collapse payments starting in February rather than in March • Last scheduled payment will be in April rather than May

37. VendorRefunds in eHEAT Appendix 11E – Vendor Refunds in eHEAT • New appendix and EAP tool on the web • Provides step-by-step explanation so SP can guide energy vendor through the refund process in eHEAT • Also encourage vendors to use the eHEAT Vendor Manual found in eHEAT and on the DOC website Thanks to Gayle Flateland at Intercounty for providing example

38. Vendor Refunds (Cont.) Appendix 11E – Vendor Refunds in eHEAT

39. Direct Payment Controls Controls for Direct Payments • Ongoing internal controls improvement effort • Direct payments to households are an area of risk • Discussed this issue at the annual policy JAD with SPs • Wanted to get ideas from SPs on ways they reduce this risk • For FFY11: 1,296 HHDs getting direct pay (1,353 payments)

40. Direct Payment Controls (cont.) Suggestions from SPs Documentation • Document direct pays with a copy of the bill • Get a copy of the lease with heat/electric in rent • Additional documentation anda notes in eHEAT Segregation of Duties • Essential to have 2 different staffers work on direct pays: one person completes the application and a different person verifies and approves it • Additional documentation anda note in eHEAT Make landlord or billing company a vendor

41. Q & A: Payments & Refunds Coordinator’s Role

42. Chapter 12 Client & Vendor Notifications

43. Letter Changes • Letter SME group • Letters produced by eHEAT • Updated examples are on Tools on the Web http://www.commerce.state.mn.us/EAP_Tools/eHEATLettersExamples.pdf

44. Letter Changes (cont.) Letter SME Group Rachel Bagley, Mary Heilman, Susan Thompson, Debbie Miller, Judy Steinke & Colana Wilson • Assisted with new “Invalid SSN” denial letter • Assisted with annual review of all notification letters • Asked EACA for input for annual review • SPs know what works and “own” these letter, so give input to SMEs during annual letter review

45. Notification Letter Changes

46. Notification Letter Changes (cont.)

47. Notification Letter Changes (Cont.)

48. Crisis Letter Changes Same changes as in previous, plus one more deletion

49. Denial Letters Changes Over Income

50. Denial Letters Changes (Cont.) Already Received Benefits