CODES/REFERENCES

Title IV-E of the Social Security Act Section 472

REQUIREMENTS

The Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) shall:

1. Submit the IV-E funding application via Georgia SHINES to the Revenue Maximization (RevMax) Unit within five business days of a child’s entry into foster care.
2. Determine the funding source, including eligibility for Title IV-E, each time a child enters foster care via court order or Voluntary Placement Agreement (VPA).
3. Refer parents of children in foster care to the Division of Child Support Services (DCSS) to determine their obligation to contribute to the child’s care, if any, and if medical support is available or can be obtained at a reasonable cost. NOTE: The Revenue Maximization Specialist (RMS makes the referral through a Georgia SHINES interface with DCSS (see policy 9.12 Eligibility: Child Support).

PROCEDURES

The Social Services Case Manager (SSCM) will:

1. Complete the following pages in Georgia SHINES:
   
    
   1. Person List
   2. Citizenship and Identity
   3. Placement List
   4. Legal Status
   5. Custody
   6. Income and Expenditures Documentation Checklist
   7. Application and Background
2. Submit the IV-E application via Georgia SHINES within five business days of the child entering foster care.
3. Review court orders for accuracy and appropriate court order language and upload all court orders associated with the child’s removal into Georgia SHINES, if not uploaded by the Case Plan Reporting System (CPRS) (see policy 9.4 Eligibility: Removal from the Home and 9.5 Eligibility: Reasonable Efforts).
4. Document a legal action with appropriate court order language selected into Georgia SHINES, when applicable.
5. Submit an application (see http://ssa.gov/applyfordisability/child.htm) to the Social Security Administration (SSA) to determine a child’s eligibility for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits:
   1. Within five business days of obtaining verification that the child is diagnosed with a mental, physical or emotional condition which may qualify them to receive SSI.
   2. For any child in care where a Specialized Foster Care Per Diem, Child Placing Agency (CPA) Foster Parent Per Diem Waiver or Child Caring Institution (CCI) designation of Additional Watchful Oversight (AWO) or Maximum Watchful Oversight (MWO) is being applied for or received. NOTE: Annual application for renewal of the increased per diem/waiver rate will be denied if the SSI application process has not been completed.
6. Provide the SSA with copies of medical information, psychological assessments, educational evaluations, etc., needed to make the eligibility determination.
7. Upload SSI approval/denial letters in External Documentation of Georgia SHINES.
8. Enter SSI eligibility and monthly check amount in Georgia SHINES as income to the child, if the SSI application is approved.
9. Notify RevMax of the approval of SSI via the Notification of Change (NOC) in Georgia SHINES.
10. Notify the SSA if the per diem of a child receiving SSI will be charged to IV-E FC.
11. Contact the Wellness Programming Assessment and Consultation (WPAC) Unit when any difficulties arise in applying for SSI or becoming a child’s payee.
12. Reapply for SSI for any child denied, within five business days of knowledge of a new or changed mental, physical or emotional condition.

The RMS will:

1. Review the application in Georgia SHINES.
2. Contact the SSCM or designated staff by telephone or email if there are any questions with the application.
3. Verify the child meets all AFDC Relatedness criteria (see policy 9.6 Eligibility: Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) Relatedness Criteria).
4. Review court orders to verify the child entered care as a result of one of the following:
   
    
   1. A court order with a judicial determination that it is contrary to the welfare of the child to remain in the home or that placement is in the best interest of the child.
   2. A VPA (see policy 9.4 Eligibility: Removal from the Home and policy 17.12 Legal: Voluntary Surrender of Parental Rights).
5. Verify that a reasonable efforts judicial determination was made within 60 days of the removal and includes the agency specific details of those efforts (see policy 9.5 Eligibility: Reasonable Efforts).
6. Approve the IV-E Foster Care Eligibility Summary page and document the determination details in Georgia SHINES, if the child is IV-E FC eligible.
7. Verify and validate the Georgia SHINES determination of IV-E ineligibility. NOTE: Whenever a child is not eligible for IV-E FC, the funding source is state funds.
8. Communicate the initial decision for Medical Assistance and IV-E via the Eligibility Summary page in Georgia SHINES with documentation of the decision in the narrative of the Contact Detail.

The Social Services Supervisor (SSS) will:

1. Review the case record in Georgia SHINES to ensure:
   
    
   1. Submission of the IV-E application.
   2. Receipt and uploading of court orders.
   3. Application for SSI, when applicable.
2. Staff any issues or concerns regarding the IV-E process or the application of SSI with the SSCM (see policy 19.6 Case Management: Supervisor Staffing).

PRACTICE GUIDANCE

Funding for Georgia's Foster Care Program is available from federal and state sources including IV-E Foster Care, IV-B Foster Care, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Medicaid and state funds. The funding determination is processed in Georgia SHINES. Whenever possible, it is advantageous for the state to maximize federal financial participation. This allows state funds to be conserved and used for other services to benefit families. Another funding source available to DFCS is child support. The parents of children in care are routinely referred to Division of Child Support Services (DCSS) and may be obligated by court order to contribute to their child's care and medical support.

The Social Services Case Manager (SSCM) needs to be familiar with funding sources and their programmatic requirements:

1. IV-E Foster Care: Title IV-E is a federal funding source which provides reimbursement for costs associated with the care and maintenance of children in placement and for administrative costs related to the state’s Foster Care Program (e.g., case management, staff training, etc.). Children classified as IV-E eligible must have some relation to the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program (see policy 9.6 Eligibility: Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) Relatedness Criteria) in addition to meeting other criteria. Title IV-E is unrelated to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).
2. IV-B: Title IV-B is a federal child welfare block grant that provides funds to states for foster care expenses. A child who is eligible for IV-B has been determined ineligible for IV-E Foster Care. The IV-B grant is capped. Once these limited federal funds are spent, foster care expenses are paid primarily with state funds. Any youth who has been IV-E eligible, but reaches the age of 18 and receives Extended Youth Supportive Services (EYSS), the youth is re-classified to state funded beginning the first day of the month following the month of his or her 18th birthday.
3. Supplemental Security Income (SSI): SSI is a federal payment program for disabled individuals administered by the Social Security Administration. Payments are made directly to the recipient from the federal government monthly. However, when a child is in DFCS custody, the county department becomes the payee for the child’s SSI check. SSI payments follow the child; and therefore, are a benefit to children while in care as well as when they achieve permanency. While in care the SSI benefits help to offset the cost to care for the child. Federal policy allows for a child to be concurrently eligible for SSI and IV-E FC.

Guidelines for Deciding IV-E vs. SSI

For a child receiving SSI, the RMS will determine if it is more advantageous for the child in foster care to continue receiving SSI benefits or have his or her costs paid from IV-E Foster Care (FC).

1. Using the child’s per diem payment as the basis for making the decision:
   
    
   1. Make the child IV-E reimbursable (charge per diem costs to IV-E foster care), if the monthly per diem payment is more than the amount of the SSI funds received by the child.
2. Continue the SSI and classify the child as IV-E non-reimbursable, if the monthly per diem cost is less than the amount of SSI funds received by the child.
3. Applying programmatic reasons for making the decision, continue the SSI if:
   
    
   1. The child is expected to be in out-of-home care a short period of time.
   2. The child is approaching emancipation because SSI benefits do not terminate at age 18 as do IV-E benefits.
   3. The child is in the adoption process.

The child’s receipt of IV-E FC per diem and its effective date must be reported by the SSCM to the SSA. Per regulation, the SSA treats IV-E per diem as “income” and reduces the child’s SSI check dollar for dollar based on the IV-E per diem amount. In all likelihood, the child’s SSI payment will be suspended. If the child continues to receive a reduced SSI check amount, these funds may be used for other items/needs of the child. It must not be applied to the child’s IV-E per diem as IV-E costs have already been applied. If the child subsequently loses IV-E eligibility, the SSCM must notify SSA. The child’s SSI may be restored since state funded payments are not counted as income.

FORMS AND TOOLS

Social Security Administration (SSA)