AGENDA DATE: 12/14/2022
TITLE:
Title
Responding to Midyear Policy Changes in DSS Benefits
BODY
SUBJECT/PROPOSAL/REQUEST: Consider departmental request for 5.0 FTE to support additional workload in response to federal policy changes.
ITEM TYPE: Regular Action Item
STAFF CONTACT(S): Richardson, Walker, Dimock, Birch, Bowman
PRESENTER (S): Kaki Dimock
LEGAL REVIEW: Not Required
REVIEWED BY: Jeffrey B. Richardson
BACKGROUND: The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) was established to create a safety net of benefits and programs for community members during the COVID-19 public health emergency. FFCRA directed states to maintain Medicaid health coverage for everyone enrolled on or after March 18, 2020. Eligibility criteria were reduced and benefits increased during the pandemic in Medicaid, Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and other programs. During this period of continuous coverage, local departments of social services were instructed not to review eligibility for program recipients, which has resulted in dramatically increased caseloads. The public health emergency period is scheduled to end in early 2023, requiring all local departments of social services to resume normal enrollment and eligibility determinations.
The Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS) is actively planning for this unwinding of public benefits and may provide localities with temporary funding to expand staffing capacity, policy changes on case requirements, and centralizing some procedures to reduce local workload. Staff are proactively addressing this increase in workload using the best information available, adopting a conservative approach, in advance of any commitments from VDSS, as a mechanism for worker retention and workforce stabilization. While a date of January 14, 2023 had been previously identified as a date certain, staff have been informed that it will be after this date an...
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