Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 44, November 2, 2024
(a)
Need
for protective or vendor payment. Need for protective or vendor
payment is established in the following circumstances:
(1) The failure of a person applying for AFDC
or GA Assistance on behalf of a child to cooperate in securing child support
payments from an absent parent without good cause will result in a protective
payment for the child.
(2) In
accordance with Chapter 165 (relating to Employment and Training Program),
certain recipients who have failed without good cause to participate in ETP
will be provided assistance through a protective payment.
(3) An AFDC client who demonstrates problems
in money management which severely affect his welfare or the welfare of the
family for whom he is responsible will be provided assistance through a
protective or vendor payment.
(4)
An AFDC or GA client who owes at least the amount of three months in rental
payment to a housing authority which operates the housing project in which the
client lives may be provided assistance through a vendor payment determined in
accordance with the requirements specified in subsection (e).
(5) An AFDC or GA recipient receives a
special allowance for supportive services for child care and the provider is a
regulated provider who has signed the Department's vendor payment agreement and
who is enrolled in the Department's child care vendor payment system.
(b)
Problems in money
management. Problems in money management which severely affect the
welfare of the client or that of his family will be considered to exist
whenever the client has misused funds to such an extent that allowing him to
continue to manage the assistance grant is a threat to the health or safety of
himself or his family.
(c)
Provisions for a vendor or protective payment. The following
provisions for establishing a vendor or protective payment must exist:
(1) [Reserved.]
(2) For AFDC/GA cases, the client is at least
3 months delinquent in his rent.
(3) For AFDC cases only, social services
measures to help the client with his money management problems have not been
effective.
(4) For AFDC/GA cases, a
caretaker/relative is ineligible for assistance because of failure to comply
with Departmental requirements for securing support from an absent parent or
establishing paternity for a child born out-of-wedlock as set forth in §
141.21 (relating to policy) and
§
145.63 (relating to
requirements).
(d)
Conditions for authorizing vendor payments (AFDC). Vendor
payments may be approved for AFDC if the following conditions are met:
(1) The item for the vendor payment is either
board, room and board, shelter or a special allowance for child care. There may
be only one vendor in a given period of time.
(2) The total monthly assistance allowance
equals or exceeds the charge for the specific item provided by the
vendor.
(3) The item is a recurring
need. A vendor payment may not be authorized for a one-time need.
(4) The vendor agrees to the vendor payment
method and agrees to accept the payment as payment in full for the item he
provides.
(e)
Conditions for authorizing vendor payments to housing authorities
(AFDC/GA). Vendor payments to housing authorities may be authorized on
behalf of AFDC and GA recipients for the payment of delinquent rent owed by the
recipient to the housing authority provided all of the following conditions are
met:
(1) The recipient resides in a public
housing project.
(2) The recipient
owes the housing authority unpaid rent in an amount equal to or more than 3
months rent.
(3) The housing
authority submits a written request to the CAO which documents the following:
(i) The amount of the recipient's monthly
rental charge.
(ii) The total
amount of delinquent rent owed, the specific months for, and monthly amount of,
rent which has not been paid by the recipient.
(4) The conditions for authorizing a vendor
payment as specified in subsection (d)(2)-(5) are met.
(5) A first-level supervisor of the CAO
conducts a face-to-face hearing with the recipient/tenant to establish whether
or not the rent is owed. If the determination is that rent is owed to the
housing authority, the supervisor will implement the following procedures:
(i) For GA recipients, the CAO supervisor
will approve the authorization of the vendor payment to the housing authority
in accord with §
291.24(e)(4)
(relating to procedures).
(ii) For
AFDC recipients, the CAO supervisor must determine whether or not the
nonpayment of rent by the tenant is due to mismanagement of funds determined in
accordance with the procedures specified in §
291.24(a)(1).
Where the CAO supervisor determines that the nonpayment of rent by the tenant
is due to mismanagement of funds, the vendor payment will be authorized only
after concentrated social services provided by a line worker have failed and
the CAO determines that a vendor payment is in the best interest of the client.
The vendor payment will be authorized in accord with §
291.24(e)(4).
(f)
Notification
requirements. The client shall be notified in writing when any of the
following occurs:
(1) A creditor requests a
protective or vendor payment for mismanagement of funds based on nonpayment of
bills, or a housing authority requests a vendor payment for the unpaid rent of
3 or more months from a tenant receiving assistance.
(2) The CAO decides not to establish a
protective or vendor payment following a request by a creditor or housing
authority.
(3) The CAO decides to
establish a protective or vendor payment based on mismanagement of funds or to
establish a vendor payment to a housing authority. The action cannot be taken,
however, unless the client is given adequate advance notice in accordance with
§
133.4(b)
(relating to procedures).
(g)
Right to appeal. The
client has the right to appeal from a decision concerning a protective or
vendor payment in accordance with §
275.1 (relating to policy), except
when the issue is the manner or form of payment of a special allowance for
child care and the change does not result in discontinuance, suspension,
reduction or termination of the allowance or force a change in child care
arrangements.
This section cited in 55 Pa. Code §
133.4 (relating to
procedures).
