Removing Work or School Rule Sanctions

When a FEW or SSS determines that a pending or authorized sanction for not meeting the work rules should be removed, the following steps must be completed. They will ensure that when removing sanctions that clear next steps are set for the parent to support continued engagement while avoiding future negative consequences. Economic Assistance case managers must ensure co-case management with their FEW when working with a family where a client is not meeting work rules to address sanctions efficiently.

Sanctions that are the consequence of not meeting the work rules will display as Needs to Meet Work Rules. When a pending system-initiated sanction occurs, FEWs and SSSs will review these cases from the Clients with Pending Work/School Rule Sanctions view.

A sanction may be removed when one or more of the following has occurred:

  • a client who needs to meet work rules was not referred to the FEW, unless in a SSS caseload
  • a client who needs to meet education rules was not provided a referral to an appropriate school activity
  • DTA did not attempt a Welcome Call and/or Orientation during the client’s Pathways to Work Planning Period
  • a client who does not have a Pathways to Work Plan enrolls in an activity and agrees to a Plan
  • a client who did not meet the participation requirements provides proof of their engagement, or a Provider confirms their participation.
  • a client now has an exemption, good cause and/or compliance reason

If the FEW or SSS determines that a pending sanction should not be authorized or an already authorized sanction should be removed, the following steps must be followed.

Engagement staff should work closely with their supervisor when reviewing and authorizing sanctions to ensure effective reengagement strategies, ongoing accountability and strong communication is built into how the sanction rules are applied when working with families.

Removing a Pending Sanction

If a client level sanction for Needs to Meet Work/School Rules is pending and it is determined during the pending sanction review that it will be removed:

  1. go to the Sanctions page;
  2. highlight and select the pending sanction record;
  3. select the appropriate Removal reason from the drop-down;
  4. click Save button;
  5. if selecting Good Cause, you must also select the Good Cause tab, and select the Reason and documentation type;
  6. select Finish;  
  7. go to the Interview Wrapup page;
  8. complete and authorize an Interview Wrapup

Removing an Authorized Sanction – Pending Release

If a client level sanction for Needs to Meet Work/School Rules has been authorized but pending release and it is determined it will be removed:

  1. go to the Interview Wrapup page;
  2. highlight and select the existing sanction request that is pending release;
  3. click the Delete button;
  4. click the Yes button in response to the question “Do you wish to delete this data?”
  5. on the Sanctions page of the Case Maintenance workflow, use the appropriate removal reason;
  6. if selecting Good Cause, you must also select the Good Cause tab, and select the Reason and documentation type;
  7. select Finish; 
  8. go to the Interview Wrapup page;
  9. complete and authorize an Interview Wrapup

Removing an Authorized Sanction  

If a client or case level sanction for Needs to Meet Work/School Rules has released and has resulted in a benefit reduction or case closing, and it has now been determined it will be removed:

  1. go to the AU Mandatory/Responsible page
  2. change the Applying field for the grantee/other parent from No to Yes. The date in the Application Date field will default to the current date
  3. go to the Sanctions page;
  4. highlight and select the sanction record;
  5. select the appropriate Removal reason from the drop-down;
  6. click Save button;
  7. if selecting Good Cause, you must also select the Good Cause tab, and select the Reason and documentation type;
  8. select Finish; 
  9. go to the Interview Wrapup page
  10. complete and authorize an Interview Wrapup

If the case closed with a case level sanction within the last 30 days, you must access the case through the Reinstatement workflow and select the AU for reinstatement prior to completing the steps above. 

Important: If a case level sanction for Needs to Meet Work or School Rules resulted in a TAFDC case closure, you must ensure both client and case level sanctions are removed from the Sanctions page.

Important: If the good cause reason for not meeting the work program is expected to last beyond the current month, see Using Meets Compliance. This will prevent the client from being sanctioned while the temporary good cause situation exists.

Important: A client who reapplies for TAFDC and is subject to work rules will receive a new 60 day Pathways to Work Planning Period after approval. Any previously existing Sanction for “Need to Meet Work Rules” must be removed for Cooperating.