1998 Minnesota Statutes

     256J.30 Applicant and participant requirements and 
  responsibilities. 

    Subdivision 1.    Applicant reporting requirements.  An 
 applicant must provide information on an application form and 
 supplemental forms about the applicant's circumstances which 
 affect MFIP-S eligibility or the assistance payment.  An 
 applicant must report changes identified in subdivision 9 while 
 the application is pending.  When an applicant does not 
 accurately report information on an application, both an 
 overpayment and a referral for a fraud investigation may 
 result.  When an applicant does not provide information or 
 documentation, the receipt of the assistance payment may be 
 delayed or the application may be denied depending on the type 
 of information required and its effect on eligibility. 

    Subd. 2.    Requirement to apply for other benefits.  An 
 applicant or participant must apply for and follow through with 
 appealing any denials of eligibility for benefits from other 
 programs for which the applicant or participant is potentially 
 eligible and which would, if received, offset assistance 
 payments.  An applicant's or participant's failure to complete 
 application for these benefits without good cause results in 
 denial or termination of assistance.  Good cause for failure to 
 apply for these benefits is allowed when circumstances beyond 
 the control of the applicant or participant prevent the 
 applicant or participant from making an application. 

    Subd. 3.    Responsibility to inquire.  An applicant or 
 participant who does not know or is unsure whether a given 
 change in circumstances will affect the applicant's or 
 participant's MFIP-S eligibility or assistance payment must 
 contact the county agency for information.  

    Subd. 4.    Participant's completion of recertification of 
 eligibility form.  A participant must complete forms 
 prescribed by the commissioner which are required for 
 recertification of eligibility according to section 256J.32, 
 subdivision 6. 

    Subd. 5.    Monthly MFIP-S household reports.  Each 
 assistance unit with a member who has earned income or a recent 
 work history, and each assistance unit that has income deemed to 
 it from a financially responsible person must complete a monthly 
 MFIP-S household report form.  "Recent work history" means the 
 individual received earned income in the report month or any of 
 the previous three calendar months even if the earnings are 
 excluded.  To be complete, the MFIP-S household report form must 
 be signed and dated by the caregivers no earlier than the last 
 day of the reporting period.  All questions required to 
 determine assistance payment eligibility must be answered, and 
 documentation of earned income must be included. 

    Subd. 6.    Six-month MFIP-S household report.  
 Assistance units that are not required to report monthly under 
 subdivision 5 must complete an MFIP-S household report form 
 every six months.  To be complete, the MFIP-S household report 
 form must be signed and dated by the caregiver or caregivers no 
 earlier than the last day of the reporting period.  All 
 questions required to determine assistance payment eligibility 
 must be answered and documentation of earned income must be 
 included. 

    Subd. 7.    Due date of MFIP-S household report.  An 
 MFIP-S household report form must be received by the county 
 agency by the eighth calendar day of the month following the 
 reporting period covered by the form.  When the eighth calendar 
 day of the month falls on a weekend or holiday, the MFIP-S 
 household report form must be received by the county agency the 
 first working day that follows the eighth calendar day.  The 
 county agency must send a notice of termination because of a 
 late or incomplete MFIP-S household report form. 

    Subd. 8.    Late MFIP-S household report forms.  
 Paragraphs (a) to (d) apply to the reporting requirements in 
 subdivision 7. 

    (a) When a caregiver submits an incomplete MFIP-S household 
 report form before the last working day of the month on which a 
 ten-day notice of termination can be issued, the county agency 
 must return the incomplete form on or before the ten-day notice 
 deadline or any previously sent ten-day notice of termination is 
 invalid. 

    (b) When a complete MFIP-S household report form is not 
 received by a county agency before the last ten days of the 
 month in which the form is due, the county agency must send a 
 notice of proposed termination of assistance.  When a caregiver 
 submits an incomplete form on or after the date a notice of 
 proposed termination has been sent, the termination is valid 
 unless the caregiver submits a complete form before the end of 
 the month. 

    (c) An assistance unit required to submit an MFIP-S 
 household report form is considered to have continued its 
 application for assistance if a complete MFIP-S household report 
 form is received within a calendar month after the month in 
 which assistance was received and assistance shall be paid for 
 the period beginning with the first day of the month in which 
 the report was due. 

    (d) A county agency must allow good cause exemptions from 
 the reporting requirements under subdivisions 5 and 6 when any 
 of the following factors cause a caregiver to fail to provide 
 the county agency with a completed MFIP-S household report form 
 before the end of the month in which the form is due: 

    (1) an employer delays completion of employment 
 verification; 

    (2) a county agency does not help a caregiver complete the 
 MFIP-S household report form when the caregiver asks for help; 

    (3) a caregiver does not receive an MFIP-S household report 
 form due to mistake on the part of the department or the county 
 agency or due to a reported change in address; 

    (4) a caregiver is ill, or physically or mentally 
 incapacitated; or 

    (5) some other circumstance occurs that a caregiver could 
 not avoid with reasonable care which prevents the caregiver from 
 providing a completed MFIP-S household report form before the 
 end of the month in which the form is due. 

    Subd. 9.    Changes that must be reported.  A caregiver 
 must report the changes or anticipated changes specified in 
 clauses (1) to (16) within ten days of the date they occur, 
 within ten days of the date the caregiver learns that the change 
 will occur, at the time of the periodic recertification of 
 eligibility under section 256J.32, subdivision 6, or within 
 eight calendar days of a reporting period as in subdivision 5 or 
 6, whichever occurs first.  A caregiver must report other 
 changes at the time of the periodic recertification of 
 eligibility under section 256J.32, subdivision 6, or at the end 
 of a reporting period under subdivision 5 or 6, as applicable.  
 A caregiver must make these reports in writing to the county 
 agency.  When a county agency could have reduced or terminated 
 assistance for one or more payment months if a delay in 
 reporting a change specified under clauses (1) to (16) had not 
 occurred, the county agency must determine whether a timely 
 notice under section 256J.31, subdivision 4, could have been 
 issued on the day that the change occurred.  When a timely 
 notice could have been issued, each month's overpayment 
 subsequent to that notice must be considered a client error 
 overpayment under section 256J.38.  Changes in circumstances 
 which must be reported within ten days must also be reported on 
 the MFIP-S household report form for the reporting period in 
 which those changes occurred.  Within ten days, a caregiver must 
 report: 

    (1) a change in initial employment; 

    (2) a change in initial receipt of unearned income; 

    (3) a recurring change in unearned income; 

    (4) a nonrecurring change of unearned income that exceeds 
 $30; 

    (5) the receipt of a lump sum; 

    (6) an increase in assets that may cause the assistance 
 unit to exceed asset limits; 

    (7) a change in the physical or mental status of an 
 incapacitated member of the assistance unit if the physical or 
 mental status is the basis of exemption from an MFIP-S work and 
 training program; 

    (8) a change in employment status; 

    (9) a change in household composition, including births, 
 returns to and departures from the home of assistance unit 
 members and financially responsible persons, or a change in the 
 custody of a minor child; 

    (10) a change in health insurance coverage; 

    (11) the marriage or divorce of an assistance unit member; 

    (12) the death of a parent, minor child, or financially 
 responsible person; 

    (13) a change in address or living quarters of the 
 assistance unit; 

    (14) the sale, purchase, or other transfer of property; 

    (15) a change in school attendance of a custodial parent or 
 an employed child; and 

    (16) filing a lawsuit, a workers' compensation claim, or a 
 monetary claim against a third party. 

    Subd. 10.    Cooperation with health care benefits.  (a) 
 The caregiver of a minor child must cooperate with the county 
 agency to identify and provide information to assist the county 
 agency in pursuing third-party liability for medical services. 

    (b) A caregiver must assign to the department any rights to 
 health insurance policy benefits the caregiver has during the 
 period of MFIP-S eligibility. 

    (c) A caregiver must identify any third party who may be 
 liable for care and services available under the medical 
 assistance program on behalf of the applicant or participant and 
 all other assistance unit members. 

    (d) When a participant refuses to identify any third party 
 who may be liable for care and services, the recipient must be 
 sanctioned as provided in section 256J.46, subdivision 1.  The 
 recipient is also ineligible for medical assistance until the 
 recipient cooperates with the requirements of this subdivision. 

    Subd. 11.    Requirement to assign support and maintenance 
 rights.  An assistance unit is ineligible for MFIP-S unless 
 the caregiver assigns all rights to child support and spousal 
 maintenance benefits according to section 256.741. 

    Subd. 12.    Requirement to provide social security 
 numbers.  Each member of the assistance unit must provide the 
 member's social security number to the county agency, except for 
 members in the assistance unit who are qualified noncitizens who 
 are victims of domestic violence as defined under section 
 256J.08, subdivision 73, clause (7).  When a social security 
 number is not provided to the county agency for verification, 
 this requirement is satisfied when each member of the assistance 
 unit cooperates with the procedures for verification of numbers, 
 issuance of duplicate cards, and issuance of new numbers which 
 have been established jointly between the Social Security 
 Administration and the commissioner. 

    HIST: 1997 c 85 art 1 s 18; 1998 c 407 art 6 s 59,60