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VA TANF - Disability

Virginia has established procedures for ensuring fair and equitable treatment of applicants and recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), including those with a disability.

Compliance with state disability law and federal civil rights laws assures that equal opportunity exists for persons with disabilities to benefit from all aspects of the TANF and Virginia Initiative for Employment not Welfare Program (VIEW) public assistance programs, including access to the proper support services to enable such individuals to work and to keep their families healthy, safe and intact.

Additionally, there are procedural safeguards in place to help ensure that a person is not charged with an Intentional Program Violation (IPV) due to a disability.

Definition Of A Person With A Disability

Federal law protects individuals with a "disability" and defines that term to mean a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of that individual, a person who has a record of such an impairment, or a person who is being regarded as having such an impairment.

Responsibility To Share Information Between Staff And Contractors

If one section of DSS determines that a person has a disability, then the staff must share that information with the other staff, as appropriate.

The case record must include a copy of the form "Do You Have a Disability?" along with a description of any reasonable modifications that agency staff have determined are needed to address the person’s disability and services and supports the agency will provide to assist the individual and family.

Staff Authority To Make Reasonable Modifications

It is the responsibility of the worker to consider whether a person may have a disability, and how a person's disability may affect the person's ability to comply with rules, fill out forms, attend appointments, etc. If it is determined that a person has a disability that affects her ability to comply with program rules or procedures, the worker has the authority to make reasonable modifications to program rules, requirements and procedures to ensure that the person with a disability receives full and meaningful access to TANF programs and services.

Evidence of disability of a recipient or a household member in need of the recipient's care, including any indications that the person may have a disability, and all requests for reasonable accommodations shall be documented in the case file.

Intentional Program Violation (IPV)

In determining whether an IPV exists, the worker must determine if the individual’s actions were the result of a disability such that the person did not have the intent to make a false or misleading statement or misrepresentation. In such cases, an IPV cannot be found. Instead, the local agency will work with the individual to ensure that a similar problem does not arise in the future. This may require that the agency put in place steps to assist the individual to provide the worker with the needed information on a timely basis.

If the an individual was found guilty of an IPV and at some later point it is determined that the individual had a disability that interfered with his or her ability to file accurate and timely information, or with his or her capacity to have the intent to defraud or otherwise provide improper information to the state, or has limited English proficiency that impaired his or her ability to provide accurate and timely information, DSS must lift the IPV and prospectively reinstate benefits.

Back To:

VA TANF - Overview

VA VIEW - Overview

VA Benefit Information System Welcome and Introduction

Source:

VA TANF Policy Manual Section 101.1 A, D, F, G; 102.1; 102.4

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