Domestic Violence Related Pages

Staff may be informed of a past or present domestic violence (DV) situation at any point in the application process or after the application is completed. During the TAFDC, EAEDC, and SNAP application, DV information is recorded on the Domestic Violence - RFA page in the Request for Assistance (RFA) workflow.

If you want to record an applicant’s or client’s (hereafter referred to as client) DV information after the RFA is completed, you must go to the Program Administration workflow in the Case Maintenance workflow and click on the Domestic Violence page to enter the information. If a client reports DV during a Reevaluation, the Domestic Violence page can be selected in the Reevaluation workflow.

Domestic Violence Page

The Domestic Violence page will record whether the:

Client is a past or present survivor of DV
Client wants a Heightened Level of Security (HLS) regarding case information.

Note: Review of the Domestic Violence page will be a requirement throughout the life cycle of a client’s case. This page will require re-visit before case authorization at any point an interview is held across DTA programs.

See Heightened Level of Security – Domestic Violence if a client chooses to activate the HLS indicator due to past or present domestic violence.

Work Requirements – TAFDC Page

If a work rules DV waiver or parent under 20 school attendance DV waiver is requested, the client is not required to comply with these rules until the waiver is denied or an established waiver has expired.

To prevent the client from being sanctioned while the DV waiver request is pending:

On the Work Requirements – TAFDC page, record how the client is prevented from complying in the Compliance Reason dropdown box:
1. If the client is subject to the work rules, click Domestic Violence Waiver.
2. For a parent under 20 school attendance requirement waiver, click Temporary Health Problem.
Enter the date the situation will be resolved in the Compliance End Date field.

Note: For Domestic Violence Waiver, the Compliance End Date cannot exceed 6 months from the date entered.

Sanctions

If the client is in a sanction status when they request a DV waiver from a TAFDC requirement, they are no longer required to fulfill the requirement until the waiver is denied or an established waiver has expired.

When processing a sanction in connection with a DV waiver:

Restore the client’s benefits as of the date the DV waiver was requested. Refer to the Removing Sanctions section of the Online Guide for step-by-step instructions based on the client’s sanction level.
Document the reason the client is unable to comply. On the Work Requirements TAFDC page, select the appropriate reason in the Compliance Reason dropdown menu.
For clients requesting a Domestic Violence Waiver, click Domestic Violence Waiver.
For parents under age 20 requesting a waiver from the school attendance requirement, select Temporary Health Problem.
Enter the expected resolution date. In the Compliance End Date field, record the date the situation is expected to be resolved.

Note: For Domestic Violence Waiver, the Compliance End Date cannot exceed 6 months from the date entered.

Absence Page-TAFDC

If a client wants to claim good cause for not cooperating with the TAFDC Child Support requirements due to DV:

go to the Assessed Person Nonfinancials workflow in the Case Maintenance workflow
go to the Absence page
click the Cooperation tab
click the No radio button in the Child support cooperation field
in the Safety/Good Cause field, in response to the question: “Is the client claiming good cause?” click the Yes radio button
enter the Start date for the good cause claim, usually the current date
select the appropriate reason for the good cause (DV) claim from the Reason drop-down box:
1. Adoption decision pending
2. Adoption proceedings pending
3. Conception result: incest/rape
4. Physical/Emotional or D.V risk
5. Other
in answer to the question: “Is there a history/threat of DV associated with the absent parent?”, click the Yes or No radio button to record the client’s response and
enter an end date in the Scheduled end field that is 1 year from the Start date that was entered
click Save and complete all other Absence page tabs.

When the good cause Reason selected is either Conception result: incest/rape or Physical/Emotional or DV risk, the client will appear on the statewide Absence Safety/Good Cause Review view and the DV Reviewed check box on the Safety/Good Cause field will be enabled.

Note: If a good cause for child support claim is based on conception as a result of incest or rape, or due to physical, emotional, or domestic violence risk, you must select “Yes” in the Domestic Violence Situation field on the Domestic Violence page within the Program Administration workflow. For good cause claims due to incest or rape, the end date is to be the child's 18th birthday and is not to be reviewed at reevaluation. At reevaluation, do not request re-verification of any approved good cause for child support claim unless new information is received that indicates a need to reassess the client’s eligibility for good cause.

Likewise, when the Yes radio button is clicked for reported history or the threat of DV by the absent parent against the client, the client will appear on the Absence Safety/Good Cause Review view and the DV Reviewed check box on the Safety/Good Cause field will be enabled, even if the client is not claiming good cause.

See Absent Parent: Domestic Violence for details on the use of the Absence Safety/Good Cause Review view and the DV Reviewed check box.

Note: The Absence page is only completed for TAFDC.

Work Requirements – SNAP

A client who is in a domestic violence situation may claim good cause for non-compliance with the SNAP General Work Requirements or ABAWD Work Rules. If a client requests good cause for non-compliance with the SNAP General Work Requirements or ABAWD Work Rules, they must be referred to a DV Specialist. For more information, see Good Cause Criteria for Not Complying with the General Work Rules, and Good Cause Criteria for Not Complying with the ABAWD Work Rules.

For information on how to capture good cause for SNAP work requirements non-compliance in BEACON, see ABAWD Work Rules Participation and ABAWD Work Rules Regaining Process.

Assessed Person Assets Workflow - Cross-Program

A client granted good cause due to DV may not have access to assets jointly owned with the abuser. You record this situation in the Assessed Person Assets workflow by:

selecting the appropriate asset page in the Assessed Person Assets workflow and
selecting Co-Owner Abusive or In Battered Women’s Shelter from the Inaccessible reason field select list.