Family and Children's Medicaid Admin. Letters

DMA ADMINISTRATIVE LETTER NO. 08-09, DAAS ADMINISTRATIVE LETTER NO. 09-24, ECONOMIC AND FAMILY SERVICES EFS_WF_AL-11-2009, ADDENDUM 1, (CITIZENSHIP DOCUMENTATION)

DATE: APRIL 14, 2010

SUBJECT: CITIZENSHIP EXCEPTION SCREEN

DISTRIBUTION: COUNTY DIRECTORS OF SOCIAL SERVICES

INCOME MAINTENANCE DIRECTORS

MEDICAID CASEWORKERS AND SUPERVISORS

NCHC CASEWORKERS AND SUPERVISORS

WORK FIRST CASEWORKERS AND SUPERVISORS

SPECIAL ASSISTANCE CASEWORKERS AND SUPERVISORS

I. BACKGROUND

Effective April 26, 2010, the Eligibility Information System (EIS) Citizenship Exception process is available for caseworkers to correct all individuals who have been returned from the Social Security Administration (SSA) query with exceptions. Caseworkers have the capability to correct the Name, Date of Birth and Social Security Numbers from the exception screen. Once exceptions are corrected, the individual is resent to SSA for verification of citizenship and identity with the correct data.

Access the Exception Screen on the EIS Menu (Update). The selection for the Citizenship Exception Screen is “CE” and the Key is either the county number or the county number and the district number to access the exceptions. Individual exceptions are posted from the oldest to the newest postdate. To scroll through the screens to search for a specific exception, press PF7 to go backward and PF8 to go forward. Individuals remain on the Exception Screen until the exception has been resolved or the application has been dispositioned, whichever occurs first.

II. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE INCOME MAINTENANCE CASEWORKER

A. All individuals with a response code “E” (Exception) are displayed on the Citizenship Exception Screen. When the caseworker has taken the appropriate steps to correct an exception, the individual is deleted from the Exception Screen and resent to SSA for verification of citizenship and identity. Complete the following steps to correct the exceptions.

DMA Administrative Letter No. 08-09

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1. From the EIS Menu (Update), key “CE” and the two digit county number to display all individuals in that county with an exception. The caseworker may also enter “CE” with the two digit county number and three digit district number to display all individuals returned with exceptions for that district number.

2. Key an “S” beside the individual you want to correct and press Enter to view the exception.

3. An SSA Error Message displays the exception that was returned, and in some cases gives you an SSA Suggestion. To correct the individual, key an “S” beside the individual and key the correct information (i.e., the name, date of birth, or social security number). Press Enter. The individual is deleted from the Exception Screen and resent to the SSA for verification of citizenship and identity.

Please Note: The Exception Screen returns only one response at a time. It is important to check all information to ensure everything is correct.

B. If the caseworker needs to correct more than one item (for example, the last name and the date of birth, or the date of birth and the social security number), use the Name Change Screen to make the corrections instead of the Exception Screen. Once information is corrected on the Name Change Screen, you must return to the Exception Screen, key an “S” to display the individual and press PF5 to update the information. The individual information is not resent to the SSA for verification of citizenship and identity until you press PF5 on the Exception Screen.

C. Once the exception is resolved, EIS immediately updates the name, date of birth, and/or the social security number on the DSS-8124 application and the Application Data (AD) Screen. The Citizenship Code changes from “E” (Exception) to “Y” to be resent. Once citizenship and identity is verified, the SSA response appears on the DSS-8124 and AD screen. You may also verify the SSA response on the DHRWDB Citizenship App Response Report located in NCXPTR.

D. There may be individuals you are not able to resolve through the SSA. For example, hyphenated names cannot be resolved through the SSA. In these situations, you must obtain documentation of citizenship and identity per policy instructions (i.e., obtaining a birth certificate, etc.). For these individuals key an “M” beside the individual and press Enter once verification of citizenship and identity has been received. This deletes the individual off the Exception Screen and updates the DSS-8124 and the AD Screen to replace the “E” (Exception) with a “V” (Verified).

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Please Note: If you do not have verification of citizenship and identity, do not resolve the exception with an “M”. When an “M” is keyed for an individual on the Exception Screen, the “M” remains in the system and the individual can not be sent to the SSA for verification for any future applications. If you are ready to disposition the application and citizenship and identity have not been resolved, approve the case with a “97” Citizenship Code, which removes the individual from the Exception Screen.

E. If the individual has more than one application pending and one application is approved with a valid Citizenship Code and citizenship and identity was manually resolved, the Citizenship field is updated on all remaining pending applications (DSS-8124 and AD screens) from “E” (Exception) to “V” (Verified). If the individual is approved with a Citizenship Code of “97”, all remaining pending applications will retain the Citizenship Code “E” (Exception).

If you have any questions regarding this information, please contact your Program Representative or Work First Consultant.

Sincerely,

Craigan L. Gray, MD, MBA, JD

Director

Sherry S. Bradsher, Director

Division of Social Services

Dennis W. Streets, Director

Division of Aging and Adult Services

(This material was researched and prepared by Brenda Gooch, EIS Program Consultant, DMA/EIS Unit.)