016.20.98 Ark. Code R. 009
For those families who become ineligible for continued TEA benefits due to employment, or who choose to no longer receive cash assistance due to employment, extended support services will be available as provided for by federal and state law. Such services will include one year of extended Medicaid coverage for those who meet the eligibility criteria under federal law for such coverage and one year of extended child care assistance at no cost with an additional two years of child care assistance based on a sliding fee scale.
For those families who become ineligible for continued TEA cash assistance benefits due to employment, or who choose to no longer receive cash assistance due to employment, an Employment Bonus cash payment will be made to such family provided a bonus payment has not already been made to the family in the preceding twelve (12) months. The purpose of such payment is to help the employed adult meet employment related expenses, such as transportation, clothing, and other miscellaneous work-related expenses, until he or she has received a full month's earnings. It is expected that this one-time bonus payment will help enable the adult to maintain his or her employment.
The Employment Bonus will not count toward the adult's maximum twenty-four month limit.
A diversion payment may be provided to an otherwise eligible TEA family in certain specified circumstances so that the family does not come on to regular TEA cash assistance. To qualify for diversion, the adult caretaker must meet the following conditions:
5130 Employment Bonus
An Employment Bonus cash payment will be made to any family who becomes income ineligible due to employment, or who requests the cash assistance case to be closed due to employment, unless such family has already received an Employment Bonus within the preceding twelve (12) months. The purpose of the payment is to help the employed adult meet work-related expenses during the first full month of employment following the termination of regular cash assistance to better enable him or her to retain the job.
The amount of the bonus payment will be equal to the amount of the last regular TEA cash payment and it will not count toward the adult's twenty-four month time limit.
When a case is closed for payment on ACES with one of the close codes specific to the Employment Bonus, the system will automatically issue the bonus payment to the family in the month following the effective month of closure. (Refer to the DCO Users' Manual for the appropriate closure codes.) If a system generated notice of closure is not sent, the county should include the information regarding the Employment Bonus in their manual notice of closure so that the adult will know its purpose and be expecting it. (The system generated closure notice for an Employment Bonus closure code will include that information.)
Only one Employment Bonus may be authorized to a family within a twelve (12) calendar month period. Therefore, if a family who received an employment Bonus returns to TEA cash assistance, such family cannot receive another Employment Bonus for at least twelve (12) months even if the case closes due to employment before then.
EXAMPLE: Ms. Jones started to work in January and requested her case be closed due to her new employment effective for February. Her case was closed on ACES on January 18 with an Employment Bonus close code. The bonus payment was issued to Ms. Jones in February. The following November, Ms. Jones loses her job, reapplies for TEA cash assistance, and is recertified in December. She finds another job in January and again her case is closed due to employment effective for February. However, she cannot receive an Employment Bonus this February because she received one within the twelve months preceding this month (i.e., the prior February).
016.20.98 Ark. Code R. 009