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Procedural Mailbox Engagement

Overview

The Procedural Mailbox is a resource for resolving policy and procedural issues that staff may encounter. Policy staff assigned to the Procedural Mailbox will review inquiries and provide responses to questions submitted by Authorized Mailbox Users.

The Procedural Mailbox is a valuable tool when:

  • clarification is needed on existing guidance;
  • staff encounter clients with unique case circumstances for which they are unable to find answers within available documentation;
  • policy subjects intersect and staff do not know which policy takes priority;
  • staff have conferred with their supervisors and local office managers and still cannot reach a policy decision.

Each TAO and Central Office business unit must collaborate and develop an internal process among managers, SISs and supervisors to work through and screen questions before they are submitted to the Procedural Mailbox.

Authorized Mailbox Users Internal Collaboration When staff have policy and procedural issues, they must first consult with their supervisor for assistance in finding a resolution. If the issue cannot be resolved with the assistance of the supervisor, the supervisor may reach out to other supervisors or their manager for further assistance. Each TAO or Central Office business unit must develop an internal process for assessing policy/procedural matters before they are submitted to the Procedural Mailbox.Authorized Mailbox Users Authorized Mailbox Users are:

  • Local Office Directors
  • Local Office Assistant Directors
  • System Information Specialists (SIS)
  • Central Office Unit Directors
  • Central Office Unit Assistant Directors

Staff must work through their TAO/Central Office business unit internal process before a question is submitted to the Procedural Mailbox. This includes following the instructions below:

  • Staff must submit any policy/procedural questions they have to their respective supervisors for assistance in finding a resolution.

    • Important: Staff must not directly submit questions to managers or SISs. They must first work through the issue with their respective supervisor (or manager if that is the reporting structure). It is the supervisor’s responsibility to determine if the question needs to be escalated to a manager or a SIS, and if so, the supervisor must escalate the question to a manager or a SIS.

  • If the issue cannot be resolved with the assistance of the supervisor, the supervisor must work through their TAO/Central Office business unit’s internal process or reach out to their manager for further collaboration and assistance.
  • The manager or a SIS will submit unresolved questions to the Procedural Mailbox.

Example

Click herehere for an example of a case that was not vetted before submission to the Procedural Mailbox

Q . A SNAP worker receives an action to process a SNAP application for 26-year-old Mike Suess (he/him). Mike has submitted a letter from Smith College stating that he is a full-time cafeteria worker with an hourly rate of $15/hour, scheduled to work 40 hours a week, for 39 weeks a year. The letter does not state if Mike is paid a base annual salary, if he works under a renewable annual contract and whether there is reasonable assurance of employment for the upcoming academic year. The worker is trying to determine if the details of the letter are sufficient to have the client’s income averaged over a 12-month period or if the income should be treated as regular wages.  They decide to send the case to their supervisor, who then sends an email to the local office SIS asking that a question be submitted to the Procedural Mailbox. Did the worker’s supervisor take the right course of action?

A . No. Since the letter does not satisfy all three questions listed on the RSEI form, more information is required from the client in order to determine on how to count this client’s income.  Before sending an email to the SIS to have a question submitted to the Procedural Mailbox, the supervisor should have instructed the worker to contact the client to inform them that the verification is missing important information, and offer to initiate a three-way call with the Smith College HR Department to clarify if the client is under a renewable annual contract and whether the client is paid a base annual salary or not.

If the supervisor was still unsure whether the instructions were applicable to this scenario or not, they should have consulted the Online Guide, or consulted with other supervisors or their manager before sending a question to the SIS to be submitted to the Procedural Mailbox. 

When critical information is missing from verification already provided by the client, a question to the Procedural Mailbox will only contribute to a delay in processing, as it is unlikely that the Policy Unit will be able to provide an answer to address the missing information required to make a determination about the case.

DTA Procedural Mailbox Form

The DTA Procedural Mailbox form allows Authorized Mailbox Users to provide pertinent details about the inquiry being made. The DTA Procedural Mailbox form also improves communication between Authorized Mailbox Users and Policy staff.

All sections of the DTA Procedural Mailbox Form must be completed before submission to the Procedural Mailbox. The only exception are those sections that are to be completed by the Policy staff.  The Authorized Mailbox User must complete the following fields on the DTA Procedural Mailbox Form:

  • Name of the Requestor
  • Authorized User Role / Office
  • Program(s)
  • Topic
  • APID
  • Question/Inquiry
  • Online Guide Search
  • Other Business Units Consulted

Responses will be developed by the appropriate Policy/Program staff.

Office Feedback

Upon receipt of a response from the Policy Unit, the Authorized Mailbox User may determine that the response does not adequately address the question/inquiry.

The Authorized Mailbox User must then complete the Office Follow-Up Question section on the same form on which the response from Policy was recorded.

The Policy Unit will review the follow-up inquiry and provide an updated response. It is anticipated that the use of the new DTA Procedural Mailbox form will reduce instances of miscommunication and/or inadequate responses.

Sending an Inquiry to the DTA Procedural Mailbox

Questions or inquiries submitted to the Procedural Mailbox must be sent to the email address DTA.Proceduralissues@state.ma.us.

The email must include the following details in the Subject line:

  • DTA Program(s) pertinent to the question/inquiry: TAFDC, EAEDC, SNAP, P-EBT or a combination of programs that apply.
  • Program Topic(s) (e.g. Household Composition, Earned Income, Unearned income, etc.)

Staff must then attach the completed DTA Procedural Mailbox Form to the email.

Important: This email must be sent as a “Secure” email and Authorized Mailbox Users must include their titles in their email signature at the end of the email.

Note: Do not send emails to DTA.Policy.Unit@MassMail.State.MA.US. Although this email address includes the word Policy, it does not go to Policy staff.

Examples

Example 1

An Authorized Mailbox User has a question about Household Misfortune and wants to submit it to the Procedural Mailbox.

  • The email subject line would read as follows:
    • Subject: Secure: SNAP – Household Misfortune
  • The Authorized Mailbox User must also complete and attach the DTA Procedural Mailbox form.

Example 2

An Authorized Mailbox User has two questions; the first question is about the TAFDC Work Program Requirements and the second is about the Earned Income Disregard. 

  • The email subject line would read as follows:
    • Subject: Secure: TAFDC – Work Program Requirements / Earned Income Disregard
  • The Authorized Mailbox User must also complete and attach the DTA Procedural Mailbox form.

Important Reminders

  • Managers and supervisors must work internally to determine if the question/inquiry needs to be submitted. Supervisors must assist workers in consulting the Online Guide for answers and work through the TAO Central Office business unit’s internal vetting process before the supervisor submits the question to a TAO/Central Office manager or SIS.
  • Questions submitted to an Authorized Mailbox User must come from a TAO supervisor, and not from a worker.
  • Questions must be framed and recorded on the Procedural Mailbox Form. Inquiries must not be a copy of an email chain nor a request for a general case review. If the email submitted to the SIS or manager from the supervisor does not frame a question about the issue, the SIS or manager must either frame the question or ask the supervisor that initially submitted the email to do so.
  • When new guidance is issued, Authorized Mailbox Users may submit follow-up questions or requests for clarification to aid in understanding of the new guidance.
  • After a response is submitted by Policy/Program staff, case reviews and subsequent benefit calculations are the responsibility of office staff. The Authorized Mailbox User must not resubmit an inquiry for a review of the case or benefit calculation. Supervisors and managers are responsible for such reviews.
  • Procedural Mailbox responses are developed and provided on a case-by-case basis, considering the specifics of each question. Therefore, the responses provided by Policy staff cannot always be utilized for a seemingly similar case, given that each inquiry may contain unique circumstances.
  • Once an inquiry is submitted to the Procedural Mailbox, the case in question must not be processed until a response is provided. Processing the case prematurely can lead to extra touches when an answer is provided. This could be the calculation of related benefits owed to the client or recoupment of benefits owed to the department.

Note: Policy staff are mindful of timeframes associated with case processing and strive to provide responses as quickly as possible.
However, when cases are escalated, response timeframes will vary based on the complexity of the inquiry and the specific stakeholders that need to weigh in on the decision. When this happens, the case in question will be made whole, in terms of benefits owed, if any.

Mailbox questions are processed in the order in which they are received.  Please keep this in mind, especially if a case is close to application denial or recertification and reevaluation end dates. 

 Last Updated:  May 19, 2023

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