WAC 388-310-1600
WorkFirst--Sanctions. (1) What
WorkFirst requirements do I have to meet?
You must do the following when you are a mandatory
WorkFirst participant:
(a) Give the department the information we need to
develop your individual responsibility plan (IRP) (see WAC 388-310-0500);
(b) Show that you are participating fully to meet all of
the requirements listed on your individual responsibility
plan;
(c) Go to scheduled appointments listed in your
individual responsibility plan;
(d) Follow the participation and attendance rules of the
people who provide your assigned WorkFirst services or
activities; and
(e) Accept available paid employment when it meets the
criteria in WAC 388-310-1500.
(2) What happens if I don't meet WorkFirst requirements?
(a) If you do not meet WorkFirst requirements, we will
send you a letter telling you what you did not do.
(b) You will have ten days to contact us so we can talk
with you about the situation. You can contact us in writing,
by phone, by going to the appointment described in the letter,
or by asking for an individual appointment.
(c) If you do not contact us within ten days, we will
make sure you have been screened for family violence and other
barriers to participation. We will use existing information
to decide whether:
(i) You were unable to do what was required; or
(ii) You were able, but refused, to do what was required.
(d) If you had a good reason not to do a required
activity we will work with you and may change the requirements
in your individual responsibility plan if a different
WorkFirst activity would help you move towards independence
and employment sooner. If you have been unable to meet your
WorkFirst requirements because of family violence, you and
your case manager will develop an IRP to help you with your
situation, including referrals to appropriate services.
(e) Before you are placed in sanction:
(i) We will have a case staffing which is a meeting with
you, your case manager and other people involved in your case
to review your situation and make plans. At your case
staffing, we will ensure you were offered the opportunity to
participate, discuss what happens if you stay in sanction,
discuss how participation helps you and your family and
discuss how to end your sanction. You will be notified when
your case staffing is going to happen so you can attend. You
can invite anyone you want to come with you to your case
staffing.
(ii) Effective September 1, 2006, supervisory staff will
review your case and must approve the sanction.
(f) If you are sanctioned, we will actively attempt to
contact you another way so we can talk to you about the
benefits of participation and how to end your sanction.
(3) What is considered a good reason for not being able
to do what WorkFirst requires?
You have a good reason if it was not possible to do what
WorkFirst requires (or get an excused absence, described in
WAC 388-310-0500(5)) due to a significant problem or event
outside your control. Some examples of good reasons include,
but are not limited to:
(a) You had an emergent or severe physical, mental or
emotional condition, confirmed by a licensed health care
professional that interfered with your ability to participate;
(b) You were threatened with or subjected to family
violence;
(c) You could not locate child care for your children
under thirteen years that was:
(i) Affordable (did not cost you more than your copayment
would under the working connections child care program in
chapter 170-290 WAC);
(ii) Appropriate (licensed, certified or approved under
federal, state or tribal law and regulations for the type of
care you use and you were able to choose, within locally
available options, who would provide it); and
(iii) Within a reasonable distance (within reach without
traveling farther than is normally expected in your
community).
(iv) You could not locate other care services for an
incapacitated person who lives with you and your children.
(d) You had an immediate legal problem, such as an
eviction notice; or
(e) You are a person who gets necessary supplemental
accommodation (NSA) services under chapter 388-472 WAC and
your limitation kept you from participating. If you have a
good reason because you need NSA services, we will review your
accommodation plan.
(4) What if we decide that you did not have a good reason
for failing to meet WorkFirst requirements?
If we decide that you did not have a good reason for
failing to meet WorkFirst requirements, we will send you a
letter that tells you:
(a) What you failed to do;
(b) That you are in sanction status;
(c) Penalties that will be applied to your grant;
(d) When the penalties will be applied;
(e) How to request a fair hearing if you disagree with
this decision; and
(f) How to end the penalties and get out of sanction
status.
(5) What is sanction status?
When you are a mandatory WorkFirst participant, you must
follow WorkFirst requirements to qualify for your full grant. If you or someone else on your grant doesn't comply and you
can't prove that you had a good reason, you do not qualify for
your full grant. This is called being in WorkFirst sanction
status.
(6) Are there penalties when you or someone in my
household goes into sanction status?
(a) When someone in your household is in sanction status,
we impose penalties. The penalties last until you or the
household member meet WorkFirst requirements.
(b) Your grant is reduced by the person(s) share or forty
percent, whichever is more.
(7) How do I end the penalties and get out of sanction
status?
To stop the penalties and get out of sanction status:
(a) You must provide the information we requested to
develop your individual responsibility plan; and/or
(b) Start and continue to do your required WorkFirst
activities for four weeks in a row (that is, twenty-eight
calendar days).
(c) When you leave sanction status, your grant will be
restored to the level for which you are eligible beginning the
first of the month following your four weeks of participation.
For example, if you finished your four weeks of participation
on June 15, your grant would be restored on July 1.
(8) What if I reapply for TANF or SFA and I was in
sanction status when my case closed?
(a) If your case closes while you are in sanction status
and is reopened in six months or less, you will start out in
sanction.
(b) Effective September 1, 2006, if you come back in
sanction, you will start out where you left off in sanction.
(That is, if you left off in month three of sanction, you will
come back on in month four of sanction.)
(c) If your case has been closed for more than six
months, you will not be in sanction status if your case is
reopened.
(9) What happens effective September 1, 2006 if I stay in
sanction status? Effective September 1, 2006, if you stay in
sanction status:
(a) Unless you are a dependent child age sixteen or
older, your case manager will review your record after you
have been in sanction for at least three months in a row to
make sure:
(i) You knew what was required;
(ii) You were told how to end your sanction;
(iii) We tried to talk to you and to encourage you to
participate; and
(iv) You were given a chance to tell us if you were
unable to do what we required.
(b) Your case manager will invite you to a noncompliance
sanction case staffing.
(i) You will be notified when your noncompliance sanction
case staffing is going to happen so you can attend.
(ii) Your case manager will also invite other people who
are working with your family to your noncompliance sanction
case staffing, like representatives from tribes, community or
technical colleges, employment security, the children's
administration or limited-English proficient (LEP) pathway
providers.
(iii) You can invite anyone you want to come with you to
your case staffing.
(c) At your noncompliance sanction case staffing, we will
discuss with you:
(i) How you and your family benefit when you participate
in WorkFirst activities;
(ii) How you can participate, and get out of sanction;
(iii) That if you continue to refuse to participate,
without good cause, a sanction review panel may review your
case, and decide to close your case after you have been in
sanction status for six months in a row.
(iv) How you plan to care for and support your children
if a sanction review panel closes your case. We will also
discuss the safety of your family, as needed, using the
guidelines under RCW 26.44.030; and
(v) How to reapply if a sanction review panel closes your
case.
(d) If you do not come to your noncompliance sanction
case staffing, we will make a decision based on the
information we have. We will also attempt to visit you at
your home so you have another chance to talk to us about the
benefits of participation and how to end your sanction.
(e) If we decide you are refusing to participate without
a good reason:
(i) We will send you information about resources you may
need if a sanction review panel closes your case;
(ii) We will send information to a sanction review panel
with a recommendation to close your case. We will only do
this after a community services office administrator reviews
your case to make sure the sanction is appropriate and we
tried to reengage you in the program; and
(iii) The sanction review panel will review your case and
make the final decision.
(10) What is a sanction review panel?
(a) The sanction review panel is a small group of people
who are independent of your local community services office
and do a thorough, objective review of your sanction.
(b) The sanction review panel makes the final decision
about whether to close your case after receiving a
recommendation from your case manager and reviewing your case
to make sure the original sanction was appropriate and we made
attempts to reengage you in the program.
(11) What happens when a sanction review panel decides to
close my case?
When a sanction review panel decides to close your case,
we will send you a letter to tell you:
(a) What you failed to do;
(b) When your case will be closed;
(c) How to request a fair hearing if you disagree with
this decision;
(d) How to end your penalties and keep your case open (if
you are able to participate for four weeks in a row before we
close your case); and
(e) How your participation before your case is closed can
be used to meet the participation requirement in subsection
(12).
(12) What if I reapply for TANF or SFA after a sanction
review panel closed my case?
(a) If a sanction review panel closes your case and you
apply within six months, you must participate for four weeks
in a row before you can receive cash. Once you have met your
four week participation requirement, your cash benefits will
start, going back to the date we had all the other information
we needed to make an eligibility decision.
(b) You will not be required to participate for four
weeks in a row before you receive cash if you apply after your
case has been closed for six months or longer.
(13) What if my TANF or SFA is closed by a sanction
review panel, reopened and I go into sanction again?
(a) When a sanction review panel closes your case, and we
reopen your case, we will follow all steps in subsection (9)
of this section (like the case review and the noncompliance
case staffing) during your second month of sanction.
(b) The sanction review panel may close your case after
you are in sanction status for three months in a row.
(c) If your case is closed, and you reapply, we will
follow the rules in subsection (12) of this section to reopen
your case.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.057,
74.04.510, 74.08.090, and 34.05.310 (4)(c). 08-15-136, §
388-310-1600, filed 7/22/08, effective 8/22/08. Statutory
Authority: RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.500, 74.04.510,
74.08.090. 07-09-081, § 388-310-1600, filed 4/17/07,
effective 6/1/07. Statutory Authority: RCW 74.04.050,
74.04.055, 74.04.057, 74.08.090, 74.08A.260, chapter 74.08A RCW. 06-10-035, § 388-310-1600, filed 4/27/06, effective
6/1/06. Statutory Authority: RCW 74.08.090, 74.04.050, and 74.08A.340. 04-07-025, § 388-310-1600, filed 3/8/04,
effective 5/1/04. Statutory Authority: RCW 74.08A.010(4),74.08A.340
, 74.08.090, 74.04.050. 02-15-067, § 388-310-1600,
filed 7/11/02, effective 8/1/02. Statutory Authority: RCW 74.08.090 and 74.04.050. 99-10-027, § 388-310-1600, filed
4/28/99, effective 5/29/99; 98-23-037, § 388-310-1600, filed
11/10/98, effective 12/11/98; 97-20-129, § 388-310-1600, filed
10/1/97, effective 11/1/97.]