Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 18, September 16, 2024
(a)
Any individual(s) who believes he or she or his or her household is eligible
for HEA must be given the opportunity to apply without delay. Heating and
cooling assistance applications shall be accepted from November 1 through March
31 of each year. Applicants will be informed about eligibility requirements and
their rights and obligations in applying for and receiving assistance. The
decision to apply rests with the applicant. The applicant has the right to
withdraw the application before eligibility or ineligibility has been
determined. Upon completion of the application process, the application shall
be transmitted to the Office of Information Technology (OIT) in accordance with
(e) below.
1. For purposes of this program,
the applicant shall be the adult household member who is billed for payment of
heating/cooling costs or responsible for payment of the rent.
i. In the event that the applicant, due to
illness or injury is unable to complete the application, the CAA or other
non-profit agency shall accept the application from an authorized
representative who is sufficiently familiar with the household's
circumstances.
(b) Food Stamp households that have received
or will receive automatic benefits but submit a separate application will have
that application denied by the CAA or other non-profit agency.
(c) Households desiring HEA assistance must
complete a Home Energy Assistance Application. The application must be
completed and signed at sites designated by the CAA or other non-profit agency
of the county in which the household resides. The application shall be signed
by the household member responsible for payment of heating or cooling costs or
by his or her authorized representative and by the CAA or other non-profit
agency worker and supervisor.
1. Households
consisting of persons who are 60 years of age or over, or persons who are
disabled, may mail the application to the CAA or other non-profit agency. All
households may apply by mail.
2.
The CAA or other non-profit agency shall provide home visits to accept
applications from those households which are not eligible to apply by mail but
cannot apply in person at the CAA or other non-profit agency (e.g., the
applicant is ill, bedridden, or for whom access to the CAA or other non-profit
agency is difficult).
3. The CAA or
other non-profit agency shall document the date of application recording on the
application the date it was received by the CAA or other non-profit agency. The
period for determination of program eligibility or ineligibility and
notification of the household of the determination is calculated from the date
the application is filed.
4.
Program eligibility or ineligibility must be determined and the household
notified of the decision within 30 days for all households.
5. The household must cooperate with the CAA
or other non-profit agency in the eligibility determination process. If the
household refuses to cooperate in this process, the application shall be
denied.
(d) At the time
of application, the CAA or other non-profit agency shall advise the household
of all program eligibility requirements and the method by which assistance will
be provided. Additionally, the CAA or other non-profit agency shall assist the
household in completing the application and explain what elements of
eligibility must be verified. The CAA or other non-profit agency must advise
the household what verification is required and explain that the case will be
denied if verification is not provided.
1. The
following must be verified, documented and retained in the case record by the
CAA or other non-profit agency prior to transmitting the application to OIT.
i. Name of the applicant and all household
members;
ii. Social Security number
of the applicant;
(1) Any applicant for
HEA-only who has not been assigned a Social Security number must be referred to
the local Social Security Administration district office to apply for same, and
must submit verification of such application to the CAA or other non-profit
agency;
iii.
Address;
iv. Heating fuel type and
supplier. The client shall present a bill or contract from the fuel supplier
(the CAA or other non-profit agency may, with the consent of the household,
contact the supplier for verification);
v. A rent receipt, cancelled check made out
to the landlord, or lease if heat/utilities are included in the rent (the CAA
or other non-profit agency may, with the consent of the household, contact the
landlord for verification);
vi. If
the household is directly responsible for heating/cooling costs but the bill is
not in the household's name, a statement from the landlord attesting to that
fact;
vii. Earned and unearned
income shall be verified by wage stubs or any applicable documentation relating
to any consecutive four-week period within the five weeks before the date the
client signs the application or reports a change in earnings;
viii. Other income including pensions,
outside contributions, interest, dividends, UIB, disability, and support
payments;
ix. Proof of tax
dependency status for household consisting entirely of students (i.e., a copy
of the most recent tax return of the student's parents); and
x. For emergency energy payments, the
emergent situation. This shall be accompanied by collateral contact and client
affidavit, if required.
2. The following must be verified and
documented if the information provided by the applicant is questionable or
inconsistent:
i. Composition of the
household;
ii. Gross monthly income
and total monthly household expenditures;
iii. Home ownership; and
iv. Social Security numbers for household
members which were not verified in accordance with (d)1i(2) above.
(e) The CAA or other
non-profit agency shall transmit application data to OIT via computer terminal
and retain a copy in the case record.
1. The
application shall be screened and certified by the CAA or other non-profit
agency prior to data entry to ensure that it is complete and coded
correctly.
2. Each CAA or other
non-profit agency will receive a listing of its cases which were rejected upon
data entry. All cases on this report must be corrected and retransmitted to
OIT.
(f) In certain
instances, the CAA or other non-profit agency may not be able to submit the
application for data entry because the household has not completed the
application or it has not provided or refuses to provide verification that the
CAA or other non-profit agency cannot otherwise obtain. In such instances, the
CAA or other non-profit agency shall advise the household of the consequences
of its noncooperation and hold the application, including mail applications,
until the last working day before the expiration of the 30-day limit for action
on the application to give the household an opportunity to cooperate. The
application shall then be appropriately coded and transmitted to OIT. The CAA
or other non-profit agency must record the specifics of the situation requiring
this action.
1. Once the CAA or other
non-profit agency has clearly established either that the household will not
cooperate further or that the household believes it has provided sufficient
verification, the application should be appropriately coded and transmitted to
OIT. The household must receive a notice of denial and may contest this denial
at a fair hearing.
(g)
Generally, applications will be processed through the OIT computer system to a
decision. However, the CAA or other non-profit agency will be responsible for
screening each HEA application to determine the following:
1. The household's gross monthly income meets
the monthly income eligibility standards in
5:49-2.3(a);
2. The household is responsible for payment
of its heating/cooling costs in accordance with
5:49-2.2(b);
3. The household meets the definition of
"resident" provided in
5:49-2.2(a)1;
4. The household refuses to cooperate in the
determination of eligibility.
(h) If the CAA or other non-profit agency
determines, based on the provisions of (g) above, that the household is
ineligible, the household must be advised that its application will be
denied.
(i) If a household's
application is denied by the CAA or other non-profit agency, the CAA or other
non-profit agency must code the application appropriately and submit it to OIT
at the time of the denial.
(j) DCA
or other non-profit agency will issue an adverse action notice to the household
upon processing of the CAA or other non-profit agency denied
application.
