Transcript SCSEP Customer Satisfaction Index (July 2005

SSAI Recertification for PY 2014
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Senior Service America, Inc.
SCSEP Recertification PY 2014
February 4, 2015
SSAI Recertification for PY 2014
Today’s Presenters:

Constance Todd, Program Officer

Nekeisia Booyer, Program Officer

Joshua Wadsworth, Program Officer
Welcome to the SSAI SCSEP
Family!
Top Row, Left to Right:
Richard Devore, Southeast Alabama Regional and Planning
Development Commission, AL
Melanie Iverson, Armstrong County Area Agency on Aging, PA
Melody Wilson, East Alabama Regional Development & Planning
Commission, AL
Natasha Pender, Centralina Council of Governments, NC
Kay Radlinger, Citizens Employment and Training, WI
Lisa Shaffer, Armstrong County Area Agency on Aging, PA
Jenna Holzberg, National ABLE, IL
Latonya Clark, National ABLE, IL
Kristen Anthony, Lawrence County Community Action Program, PA
Penny Shen, Chinese- American Planning Council, NY
Bottom Row, Left to Right:
Amy Weaver, Baltimore County Department on Aging, MD
Vanessa Hines, Centralina Council of Governments, NC
Leona Hartman, Contra Costa County, CA
Adriana Harper, Kankakee Community Services, IL
Stephanie Franklin, North-Central Alabama Regional
Council of Governments, AL Bunswella “Bunny” Brown Jefferson County Community Action Commission, OH
Lourdes (Lulu) Holguin, National ABLE, IL
SSAI Recertification for PY 2014
Today’s Agenda

Updates for PY 2014

Getting Ready and Planning

Documentation Requirements

Frequently Asked Recertification Questions

Eligibility Determination Tool/Income Worksheet

SPARQ

Questions and Answers
SSAI Recertification for PY 2014
•
Annual recertification of SCSEP eligibility is a federal
requirement
•
All SSAI participants will be recertified during March
2015, including any participants who were enrolled in
February 2015
•
You do not have to recertify participants who have Open
or Active Workers Comp claim
•
Income and family size are the only eligibility criteria
reviewed during recertification however…
SSAI Recertification for PY 2014
Updates for PY 2014:

Update the Most In Need Characteristics for
Participants, to get credit for this Program Year
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)

Severe disability
Frail
75 years of age or older
Low literacy skills
Old enough to receive, but not receiving Title II Social Security
Severely limited employment prospects in areas with persistent
unemployment
Limited English proficiency
To ensure you get full credit for MIN
Performance annually, each July you will have to
update MIN Characteristics for all participants.
Updates for PY 2014


Correct the MIN for Participants enrolled
in PY14
1.
Are veterans or qualified spouses of veterans
2.
Have a disability;
3.
Live in a rural area;
4.
Have low employment prospects;
5.
Have failed to find employment through WIA Title I
6.
Are homeless or
7.
at risk of becoming homeless
For Participants enrolled in PY14 MIN can
be corrected, if documented at the time of
enrollment
Updates for PY 2014
Example:
A participant was enrolled in November 2014, and provided
documentation of SSDI income at the time of enrollment.
The project did not record any MIN on the participant form
or in SPARQ.

SSDI is verification of Disability

Disability is an indicator of Low Employment Prospects
Disability and Low Employment Prospects
can be corrected based on the SSDI
documentation obtained at enrollment
Updates for PY 2014

Annual update of the Federal Poverty
Guidelines was published in the
Federal Register

SSAI will be issuing a revised Income
Eligibility Chart (PP203)
SSAI Recertification for PY 2014
Getting Ready and Planning:

Recertification Instructions

Recertification Checklist and Readiness Calendar

Recertification Notice for Participants

Recert Income Worksheet

Termination Notice – Ineligible

Termination Notice – No Show
SSAI Recertification for PY 2014

Identify staff that will help you

Train staff to assist – (reminder
participant staff cannot make final
eligibility on another participant)

Access to Tools/SPARQ?
SSAI Recertification for PY 2014

Identify and Secure your location(s) for the recertification
meeting(s)

Prepare Recertification Memo (template provided) for
each participant eligible for recertification (make no
assumptions and be clear they need to bring up to date documents)

The SSAI Eligibility Determination Tool will be available
for practice through Feb. 28th
SSAI Recertification for PY 2014

Copy enough forms for use:
Recertification -Income Worksheets (for use
remotely); Offer of Physical Examination; Family
Size Form; Case Management Note Form; Self
Attestation Forms and Assessments or IEPS as
needed

Refer to the PY2014 Recertification Checklist and
Readiness Calendar for a complete list
SSAI Recertification for PY 2014

Prepare for notifying those participants
who may be over income; and or those
who fail to show for recertification
interviews

Develop a system for Quality Assurance

Develop a plan to enter all data in the SSAI
Eligibility Determination Tool & SPARQ
by March 31, 2015
SSAI Recertification for PY 2014
Your plan should also consider:
•
Program activities continue
•
Continue to update the Pay by
Pay/PPP and CIPs
•
Keep up with SPARQ Data Entry
•
Prepare for April SPARQ Data
Entry deadlines
SSAI Recertification for PY 2014
Documentation Requirements – requires all source
documentation (what you reviewed and what you
copied)

Income Worksheet showing the math. (Reminder

Family Size Documentation

Letter of 30 day Termination Notice
the look back period is 12 months or 6 months
{annualized [x2]} prior to the date of recertification )
continued
SSAI Recertification for PY 2014
Documentation Requirements – continued

Record of Offer of Physical Examination

SCSEP Self/Third Party Attestation Form

MIN Update Forms

Applicable Case Notes
All of above must past Data Validation Rules
SSAI Recertification for PY 2014
Update and Correct Most-In-Need Characteristics
– Forms are available on the SSAI Partners Page:

MIN Re-Validation Form (updated 2/14)

SSAI Limited English Proficiency self-attest (English, Spanish)

SSAI Limited English Proficiency third party-attest

SSAI low literacy self-attest

SSAI low literacy skills third-party attest

SSAI Severely limited employment prospects in an area of persistent
unemployment self-attest (English, Chinese and Spanish)

SSAI Certification of Severe Disability Form

SSAI Low Employment Prospects self-attest
SSAI Recertification for PY 2014
Case Notes: must consist of the case
worker’s own documentation of his or
her activities. Case notes can be
based on information obtained in
person or by telephone
SSAI Recertification for PY 2014
Case notes MUST include 3 foundation
elements:
1.
Name of person who is the source of the information,
his or hers phone #, their organization and title or
relationship to participant (this is not the participant)
2.
Name or initials of the person making the note
3.
Date on which the information was obtained, and the
date on which it was recorded, if different
SSAI Recertification for PY 2014
Getting Ready and Planning:

Results from the Eligibility Tool will
be Entered in SPARQ

MIN updates or corrections will be
entered directly in SPARQ
SSAI Recertification for PY 2014
Reconcile the active participants in
SPARQ and SSAI Tools:

All Active Participants must be in both SPARQ and SSAI
Tools in order to complete recertification.

Complete Participant and Exit forms and enter in
SPARQ

Contact the Front End Support Team if you need
assistance.
FREQUENTLY ASKED
RECERTIFICATION
QUESTIONS
SSDI & Full Retirement Age
Q: For participants who receive SSDI,
should this cash benefit be counted when
they turn 65?
A: No.

SSDI benefits convert to Retirement Benefits the
month the participant reaches Full Retirement
Age.

Full Retirement Age is no longer 65.
SSDI & Full Retirement Age
Full Retirement Age
1937 or earlier
65
1938
65 and 2 months
1939
65 and 4 months
1940
65 and 6 months
1941
65 and 8 months
1942
65 and 10 months
1943--1954
66
1955
66 and 2 months
1956
66 and 4 months
1957
66 and 6 months
1958
66 and 8 months
1959
66 and 10 months
1960 and later
67
*If you were born on January 1st of any year you should refer to the previous year. (If you were born on the 1st of the month,
we figure your benefit (and your full retirement age) as if your birthday was in the previous month.)
Look Back Period
Q: If we recertify someone March 15 and they will
receive their S.S. check on March 27. How do we
enter it on your website worksheet? Do we put $0
for March? Would This Person only have 5 months
of Social Security if using the 6 month annualized
method?
A: No;

Remember that you must look back 6 or 12 months from the
date you are completing the enrollment or recertification.

The look back months are not the same as Calendar Months,
and will nearly always overlap into 2 Calendar Months
Look Back Period
When completing an eligibility determination conducted on
March 15th, 2015, the income worksheet should be completed
as follows:
Month
1
2
3
4
5
6
Dates
March 15th, 2015-February 16th,
2015
Feb. 15th, 2015 – Jan. 16th, 2015
Income to be included:
All income received between 03/15/15 and
02/16/15
All income received between 02/15/15 and
01/16/15
th
th
Jan. 15 , 2015 – Dec. 16 , 2014 All income received between 01/15/15 and
12/16/14
Dec. 15th, 2014 – Nov. 16th,
All income received between 12/15/14 and
2014
11/16/14
Nov. 15th, 2014 – Oct. 16th,
All income received between 11/15/14 and
2014
10/16/14
th
th
Oct. 16 , 2014 – Sept. 16 ,
All income received between 10/15/14 and
2014
09/16/14
Look Back Period
Example:
A Participant is being recertified on March 15th, 2014. The participant
is a family of one, and has two sources of includable income. The
participant receives a Social Security Retirement benefit, which they
receive on the 27th of each month, and a pension which they receive on
the 1st of each month.
The 6 month look back period for this participant would include:
Month
Dates
Income to be included:
1
March 15th, 2015-February 16th,
2015
Pension: 03/01/15, SS 02/27/15
2
Feb. 15th, 2015 – Jan. 16th, 2015
Pension: 02/01/15, SS 01/27/15
3
Jan. 15th, 2015 – Dec. 16th, 2014
Pension: 01/01/15, SS 12/27/14
4
Dec. 15th, 2014 – Nov. 16th, 2014
Pension: 12/01/14, SS 11/27/14
5
Nov. 15th, 2014 – Oct. 16th, 2014
Pension: 11/01/14, SS 10/27/14
6
Oct. 16th, 2014 – Sept. 16th, 2014
Pension: 10/01/14, SS 09/27/14
Social Security COLA
Q: Was there a Social Security Cost of
Living Adjustment (COLA) for 2015?

A: Yes, there was a COLA increase of 1.7% for 2015.
Because monthly cash benefits were increased for all
beneficiaries, Project Directors will need to verify the
monthly cash benefit amounts for 2014 and 2015 for
Social Security Retirement beneficiaries.

More information about Social Security COLA’s can be
found at http://www.ssa.gov/cola/
Let’s Take Some Questions/Comments
Raise Your Hand to Confer by
Phone or Send Us a Note
SSAI Recertification for PY 2014
Eligibility Determination Tool:


Serves as both Calculator and Recert
Documentation

Improves accuracy of calculations

Improves Data Validation results
SSAI Eligibility Tool will continue to be required
for recertification
SSAI Recertification for PY 2014

Projects have the option of entering
the recertification information directly
into the Eligibility Determination
Tool

Must have an Internet Connection and access to a
printer.

Participant and Project Staff Signatures collected
on the SCSEP Income Eligibility Form generated
by the Eligibility tool for each participant.
SSAI Recertification for PY 2014

Income Calculations can also be completed
by hand using the Income Worksheet

Participant and Project Staff Signatures collected directly on
the income worksheet

Must also enter recertification into Eligibility determination
tool.

When Printing the Summary from the eligibility tool, opt-out
of printing signature lines by selecting that signatures were
already obtained.

When entering in SPARQ, always enter the amount from the
Eligibility Tool, not from calculation done by hand.
Recertification Webtool

To access the Recertification Webtool:
 Browse to http://www.seniorserviceamerica.org
 Note Between February 4, 2015 and February 28, 2015 you can test the tool
by Browsing to http://review.seniorserviceamerica.org
 Click on Partner/Subgrantee Sign In (upper right corner)
 Click the link to access the SSAI tools
 Login using your assigned username and password
 If you don't have an account you can click the “Request an account” link to send a
request to SSAI
 If you forget your password you can click the “Reset it here”
link to get instructions on how to get a new password
 If you forget your username, you can click the “Retrieve it here” link to get your
username emailed to you
 For any other webtools issues please contact SCSEP Front End Team at 301-578-8989 or
[email protected] or via the Cloud Portal
.
Recertification Webtool

Select SCSEP Eligibility Determination from the Tool drop
down
Recertification
Recert Participant List

To access the recertification list click
on Participants.

The list shows 15 participant at a time
and you can move around the list by
clicking Previous or Next

You can search by typing a
participant name

The list can be filtered by:

Not Started - A listing of all
participants that needs a
recertification entered

In Progress – A listing of all
participants that has a
recertification that has been
started

Found Ineligible - A listing of all
participants found ineligible
during recertification

Found Eligible - A listing of all
participants found eligible during
recertification
Recertification
Enter Recertification

To Enter a Recertification – Click on the Eligibility Status link

The process has 6 steps:

1 – Start

2 – Family Size

3 – Method

4 – Income

5 – Document

6 – Summary
Recertification
Enter Recertification – Step 1

1 – Start

Select the date your verified the participant’s income. You can either enter a date
using the format mm/dd/yyyy or click the calendar icon a select the date

Click next to save your entry and move to the next step
Recertification
Enter Recertification – Step 2

2 – Family Size

By default, the participant is shown

To add additional family members click add Family Member, enter their name, and select their
relationship to the participant

You can click the remove link if you want to remove an incorrect row

Click next to save your entry and move to the next step
Recertification
Enter Recertification – Step 3

3 - Method

Select either 6 months annualized or 12 months. For help on which method to
select click the help link.

Click next to save your entry and move to the next step
Recertification
Enter Recertification – Step 4

4 - Income

To enter Income for the participant and for any other Family member select either
yes or no for each income type
 For Social security, you must enter the gross amount. The tool will
automatically calculate and exclude 25% of social security
 If you select No to any of the 12 income types, you do not have to enter any
amount
 If you select Yes to any of the 12 income types, you must enter all amounts
and enter zero if none. For example, if participant received income only for 3
months, you would enter the amounts for those 3 months and enter 0 for the
other months

Click next to save your entry and move to the next step
Recertification
Enter Recertification

Click next to save your entry and move to the next step
Recertification
Enter Recertification – Step 5

5 - Document

Select the document used to verify Family size and any income received by the
participant and enter any notes you captures during this recertification
 Click next to save your entry and move to the next step
Recertification
Enter Recertification – Step 5

If the total income for the participant and for any other family member is zero

Document how the participant supports themselves

And capture a detailed case note
 Click next to save your entry and move to the next step
Recertification
Enter Recertification – Step 5
• When completing recertification in the field, and entering data at a later
time, the Participant’s signature must be captured on the Income
Worksheet.
•
•
Check the box in step 5 to indicate that the Participant signature was
captured
Do not check this box if entering directly into the eligibility tool, and signature
is needed on the print-out
Recertification
Enter Recertification – Step 6

6 – Summary

At this point, all the data entered is summarized and the income eligibility is automatically
determined

For purposes of data validation, this form must be printed and signed by the participant and
interviewer. Copies of the verification documentation for family size and income, along with the
income worksheet, must be attached and all filed in the participant's file

Click print to print the summary and income worksheets

Click return to get back to your recert list
Recertification
SPARQ Entry

Select WDCS from the SPARQ Homepage
Recertification
SPARQ Entry

Search for Participant by last name, Social Security Number, or PID
Recertification
SPARQ Entry
Smith
Sally
1234567
09/09/1949
Sally Smith
1234567
(443) 555-5555

Select the Participant; once the record appears below, select Edit
Recertification
SPARQ Entry

Select Recertification/Waiver of Durational Limit Tab
Recertification
SPARQ Entry

Complete Recertification Section: fields 44 – 50
MIN/ Waiver
SPARQ Entry

To update MIN Characteristics, complete Waiver of Durational Limit
Section: fields 51 – 58
MIN/ Waiver
SPARQ Entry

Save once you are finished entering the data
56
Any Final Questions?
Raise Your Hand to Confer by
Phone or Send Me a Note
Questions After This Webinar
Contact the Front End Support
Team and a FES Program Officer
will respond:


Email: [email protected]; or

Call: 301-578-8989; or

Open a case via the Cloud Portal