DSS FISCAL MANUAL Section III - Developing Cost on the DSS-1571 Report

Section III - Developing Cost on the DSS-1571 Report

December 31, 2011

Section III-A Procedures for Recording Salary Data

Description

The Part I consists of three forms;

1. Part IA, Services

2. Part IB, Income Maintenance, Administration & Training

3. Part IC, Child Support Enforcement, IV-D

Staff and Costs Information

a. Employee Information:

For each employee listed; you will need:

(1) The employee's first initial, middle initial and last name as shown on payroll records;

(2) The employee's valid identification number; 

(3) The last five digits of the position number assigned by Social Services Personnel;

(4) The employee's Job Classification (a maximum of 7 letters may be used);

(5) All employees must be reported even if they did not receive a pay check during the month.  

(6) Janitorial staff and student interns are not reported on Part I. Housekeeping costs are included in Cost of Space.

b. Salary Information:

(1) You will need the salary paid or accrued during the report period. Normally, this amount will be equal to the monthly rate of pay that is to be found in the county's approved pay plan, except where one or more of the following occurred:

i. A retroactive salary increment was paid in compliance with State Personnel policies and regulations.  

ii. A longevity payment was made - if the county does not have this specified in an approved pay plan, such payments must be shown on the DSS-1571 (Part II) as incompatible (Code 3l0, and Non-Reimbursable Total Cost).

iii. Severance payments are made.

iv. A bi-weekly pay plan exists.

v. Payment is made upon termination for accrued annual leave.  

vi. Payment of individual is adjusted for leave without pay.

vii. When a worker is pro-rating salary, fringes, and time between Services and Income Maintenance, Services and IV-D, or IV-D and Income Maintenance.  

viii. When reporting part-time workers.

(2) You will need the total of the county's (employer's) share of fringe benefits excluding worker's compensation and unemployment insurance which is reported on the DSS-1571, Part II.  

(3) You will need to combine the total of the salary paid plus the county share of fringe benefits.

Program Function Codes

Program function codes are used to classify the part that each worker plays in the determination of client eligibility or in the provision of social services to the client. Workers are classified with respect to their program assignment and contact with clients. Direct work time is calculated from daily worksheets and reported on the DSS-1571 as a whole or fraction of a position chargeable to the program(s) benefiting from their work activities. Costs for each direct worker are apportioned to the benefiting program(s) in the same way.

Support workers are reported by function codes that identify the program(s) to which they render clerical or technical assistance, and/or supervision. These positions and personnel costs are distributed to the programs based upon the total number of direct positions reported for each program.

Administrative staff renders agency level support. Costs of such staff are distributed to all programs based upon the total accumulated equivalent positions in each program.

Function codes are two-digit numerical running from 0l to 99. The range of numbers is subdivided into groups; Services, Income Maintenance, Supervision and Support, and Administration. The Services block runs from 0l through 59, Income Maintenance from 60 through 74, Child Support Enforcement 79, Supervision and Support from 80 through 89, and Administration 90 through 99.

Listed below are the codes to be used to identify workers. Codes are two-digit numerical identifiers.

Please Note: Function Codes do not convert to another program. A split entry is required. Please do not use Function Code 82.

Please Note: Not all Part I codes are available to be used. Please review your “Dear County Directors” letters that were mailed to the county directors and the letters are also located on the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Controller’s website.

The Part IA is for the reporting of program time, salaries, and fringe benefits of agency staff assigned to Service programs. Services reporting requirements beyond these are due to the existence of varying rates of match. Through the use of the appropriate function code, an individual staff worker's percent of time spent in a program can be reported and subsequently reimbursed from both the applicable Federal and State funds available.

The following items below are considered to be helpful hints in completing Part IA:

1. For any individual worker, the total percentages of time indicated in the program columns, plus any percentage of time shown in column l8 should equal 100 % except as stated in paragraph 5 of this section.

2. Employee time spent in the performance of direct client-related activities during the reporting period is shown in the appropriate program column(s). Support staff is reported with no percent of time entry in the program columns. Non-Reimbursable time is shown in Column l7 or l8, as applicable. The total equivalent work time and cost of support staff will be distributed by the State upon submission of the monthly expenditure report.

3. Staff Training. For staff development Personnel the percent(s) of time is entered in the appropriate program column(s) on the Part IB.

4. Overtime by a staff worker in the provision of Energy Assistance may be reported as a separate line entry.  

5. When reporting a worker for whom the county is reimbursed from funds provided by an agency other than the Division of Social Services, the percents of time for that worker should be reported in the appropriate program columns, and in Column 18 (when serving ineligibles) should equal 100 percents. In addition, an entry of 100 percent will be made in Column 17. This entry will signal the computer not to reimburse the salary and fringe benefits shown for that worker. The worker’s percents of time in the program columns are used in the cost distribution process.

6. For service programs, direct client/program related time is maintained on a form DSS-4263, Daily Time Report. The form should be maintained in accordance with instructions outlined in the Service Information System (SIS) User's Manual. At the end of the month of service the Daily Time Report is summarized and the percents of time (by program/activity) are transferred to the appropriate column(s) on the Part IA. A county may use its State-generated Percentage Report to prepare its Part IA when the county believes that the information provided is adequate.

7. To report staff time associated with the provision of In-Home Services when Social Services Block Grant is desired, enter the percentage of time in column 11. The worker should be listed with the appropriate function code (01, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19 and 39).

8. Service workers who perform case management activities that are associated with the provision of In-Home Services can charge that portion of their time to State In-Home by listing the appropriate percentage of time in Column 13.

9. To report staff time associated with In-Home Services for clients 60 and over and when State In-Home reimbursement is desired, enter the percentage of time in column 13. The worker should be listed with the appropriate function code (40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, and 46).

10. Time spent by a social worker providing Permanency Planning activities should be coded as a function code "20" when Special Permanency Planning funding is desired.

11. Refugee Assistance Services should only be reported when prior Divisional Approval has been granted to provide refugee services to qualified refugees.

12. Direct services or income maintenance staff whose assigned activities cover more than one program and who will be reported using a single function code (i.e., 0l, 64, 99, etc.) may be reported using a one-line entry as stated below.

Example: A social worker providing services in Social Services Block Grant, Permanency Planning, and Title XIX Medical Transportation can be reported as a function code 0l using a one-line entry. The time reported in each program will be automatically reimbursed using the appropriate rates of FFP.

l3. The state laws under which fraud can be prosecuted, and current expenditure/time classifications can be allowed, cover only public assistance programs. Therefore, when reporting staff investigating services fraud counties should use the functional code for Service Supervision and Support.

l4. To report a social worker with time spent in eligibility determination that is chargeable to Title IV-E, a split entry is required with the Title IV-E time reported on Part IB in column 9.

15. Joint worker classifications of Services and Income Maintenance; and Services and Child Support (function codes 87 and 88, respectively) will be reported on the Part IA only. The joint worker classified as income maintenance and Child Support worker (function code 89) will be reported on the Part IB only.

16. Data entry operators for service programs should be reported on the Part IA as function code 84 (the function code for services support workers). Data entry operators for income maintenance programs should be reported on the Part IB as function code 85 (the function code for income maintenance support workers). No time should be reported in any of the program columns for the data entry operator. The costs for these workers will be distributed in the same manner as other support staff.

17. In-Home Aide Off Site Worker salary and fringe benefit cost will be reported as a summary entry. The entry will be reported on the DSS-1571, Part I-A for State In-Home funds as a function code 39 for services to clients under sixty (60), a function code 46 for adults sixty (60) and over a function code 39 regardless of age for SSBG funds and a function code 47 for adults over sixty (60) for Home and Community Care Block Grant (HCCBG) funds

18. Non-reimbursable, Non-Allocable (NON ALL)

When using this column a total line entry of 200 % is required. This column is used whenever the worker is reimbursed from funds that are not administered by the State DSS. (If such worker is paid half from non-State DSS funding and half from agency funds, a split entry is required). An entry of 100 % in Column l7 offsets any salary reported with the associated overhead going to those program(s) in which the worker's staff time is shown (by 100 % in the appropriate column 9 – 16). If there is an entry in Column l7 for a worker, the personnel costs will not be reimbursed.

19. Column l8 - Non-reimbursable, Allocable (ALL)

Enter the percent of time any worker spends in a non-DSS program or activity, or with an ineligible client. (A non-DSS program is one that is not funded or administered by the Division of Social Services). Entries in this column mean that the salary, fringe benefit, and overhead are not reimbursed. If a county wishes to track non-DSS reimbursable costs for service programs within the county department of social services' area of responsibility (e.g., the Long Term Care Screening program) the time should be reported in this column with the worker listed as one of the generic function codes (for services these are function codes 31, 32, 33, 34 and 35). Use of any of these generic function codes is optional. Each county can decide whether they want to use any of them at all and also which ones designate which non-DSS reimbursable programs in their county. If a county chooses to use one of these generic function codes, use of the generic code requires an entry of 100% in this column, with the appropriate equivalency entered.

The cost for the activity of certifying All Program recipients for the Subscriber Line Charge Credit Waiver Program is non-DSS reimbursable.

20. Reporting Supervisory Staff

Staff reported using the function code 84 are shown with entries for personnel data, salary, etc., and equivalency. No program percent of time will be entered in columns 9 through l6. All positions will be allocated based upon reported equivalent positions for all programs comprising the services function.

21. Data Entry Operator for Service Programs

Operator of the terminal system for service programs will be reported by use of the function code 83. No program percent of time will be reported since the position will be allocated to the service programs.

22. Services Fraud

The time that an agency fraud investigator spends in the investigation of services fraud will be shown as Service Supervision and Support, function code 83.

23. Reporting Non-Supervisory/Support Staff

Non-supervisory support staff must use a function code 83. All positions will be allocated based upon reported equivalent positions for all programs.

24. In-Home Off Site Worker

a. In-Home Aide Off Site workers rendering in-home aide to clients sixty (60) and over and under sixty (60) will be reported as a summary line entry. The entry will be indicated as detailed below:

(1) In-Home Aide FTE will be entered in the Employee Name Column.

(2) 999-99-999 will be entered as the valid employee identification number in the ID Number column.

(3) 00000 will be entered in the Position Number column.

(4) CFTE will be entered in the Job Classification column.

(5) In the salary paid column show the total salary amount paid for each funding source for the In-Home Aide staff. The total cost for the county share of fringe benefits paid will be shown. The total paid column will be the sum total of salary paid and county share of fringe benefits paid.

(6) In the function code column enter function code "39" for clients under sixty (60) and function code "46" for adults sixty and over and function code 47 for HCCBG adults over sixty (60).

(7) In the equivalency column 0.00 will be used. The purpose of an equivalency is to distribute overhead costs to the correct program. In-Home Aide Off site workers overhead will be calculated on the DSS-3538 form.

(8) Each summary entry for In-Home Aide's salary and fringe benefits cost, the county will enter the percentage only in the following column(s):

i) column 11 for SSBG In-Home

ii) column 13 for State

iii) column 18 for Non-DSS reimbursable.

iv) column 17 for reimbursement of overhead cost only (percentage must equal 200% when column 17 and another column(s) is used).

v) column 18 for HCCBG

The Part IB is for the reporting of program time, salaries, and fringe benefits of agency staff assigned to Income Maintenance activities, Administration, Joint Workers and Training benefiting specific programs for which such costs are required. These workers generally interview clients and determine whether or not they are eligible for Medicaid, Food Stamps, or public assistance programs. Administrative staff generally performs duties that benefit the entire agency. An example of an administrative worker would be the director of the agency or a receptionist answering the switchboard.

Listed below are Helpful Hints on completing the Part IB:

1. Fraud - A fraud investigator is a person who determines if fraud has been committed by a client to receive benefits from the local department of social services by supplying false information. For information regarding which activities are eligible or ineligible as fraud control activities, contact the Assistant Chief for Program Integrity.

2. Medicaid Expansion Funds - This is a special allocation provided to counties to help pay the counties share of cost for new positions established after January 1, 1989 to determine whether clients are eligible for medical assistance. These employees are coded as a function code 70. Once these funds have been exhausted, use function code 64, col. 10.

3. Food Stamp Issuance Workers - are considered direct program staff. Use function code 64 when entering time spent by all tellers and support staff directly involved in the issuance of food stamps.

4. Energy Assistance Program (ENERGY)

Eligibility staffs that spend time determining eligibility for the block grant program for Low Income Energy Assistance Payments or Crisis Intervention Payments are required to be reported using the function Code 66. Reimbursement of program expenditures, up to the county's allocated share of administrative funds, will be at l00 percent FFP. When a county has exceeded this allocation, reported costs will continue to accumulate in a separate account code, but with no federal or state participation in those costs.  

All allowable Energy program activities should also be reported in this column, using function code 66, in order to have these costs reimbursed out of Energy funds. This means that activities of fraud investigators working in the Energy program area should be reported using function code 66, with time shown in this column.

Support costs will be allocated to the Energy program based upon the reported total number of direct eligibility staff equivalents.

5. Column l7 - Non-reimbursable, Non-Allocable (NON ALL)

When using this column an entry of 200 % is required. This column is used whenever the worker is reimbursed from funds that are not administered by the State DSS. (If such worker is paid half from non-State DSS funding and half from agency funds, a split entry is required). An entry of 100 % in Column 17 offsets any salary reported with the associated overhead going to those program(s) in which the worker’s staff time is shown (by 100 % in the appropriate Column 9 – 16). If there is an entry in Column l7 for a worker, the personnel cost will not be reimbursed.

6. Column l8 - Non-reimbursable, Allocable (ALL)

Enter the percent of time any worker spends in a non-DSS program or activity, or with an ineligible client. A non-DSS program is one that is not funded or administered by the Division of Social Services. Entries in this column mean that the salary, fringe benefit, and overhead are not reimbursed. If a county wishes to track non-DSS reimbursable costs for income maintenance programs within the county department of social services' area of responsibility (e.g., the Food Distribution program), the time should be reported in this column with the worker listed as one of the generic function codes (for income maintenance, these are function codes 71, 72, 73 and 74). Use of any of these generic function codes is optional. Each county can decide whether they want to use any of them at all and also which ones designate which non-DSS reimbursable programs in their county. If a county chooses to use one of these generic function codes, use of the generic code requires an entry of 100% in this column, with the appropriate equivalency.

The cost for the activity of certifying Work First recipients for the Subscriber Line Charge Credit Waiver Program is non-DSS reimbursable.

7. Reporting Support and Supervisory Staff

Income Maintenance support and supervisory staff should be reported as function code 85. The costs for these workers will be distributed to the income maintenance programs through our cost allocation process. Do not enter any percent of time figures in any of the columns.

8. Data Entry Operator for Income Maintenance Programs

Data entry operators for income maintenance programs should be reported on the Part IB as function code 85. No time should be reported in any of the program columns. The costs for these workers will be distributed in the same manner as other support staff.

9. Administrative Staff such as director, administrative officers, accounting technicians, and receptionist should be reported as a function code 98 with no time in any column.

10. For Income Maintenance and Child Support Enforcement programs, direct client/program related time is to be maintained on a form DSS-2203 (Day Sheet). The form is maintained in accordance with instructions outlined in the Division of Social Services Statistical Manual (RPA). At the end of a report period, the DSS-2203 data is summarized on a form DSS-2204, and the worker percentages (by program) are transferred to the appropriate column(s) on the Part IB or IC.

11. A direct income maintenance worker whose monthly activities have included Energy Assistance Program eligibility determination may be reported on one line by using the function code 66 and entering the percent of time worked in the appropriate program columns.

12. The director of the county agency and the administrative staff are reported on the Part IB. When reporting administrative staff (Administrative Officer, Accounting Technician, Receptionist...etc.) who have spent time in support of non-reimbursable activities, the appropriate percent of time will normally be entered in Column l8. Such time will draw a portion of any distributed costs.

All Administrative staff should be reported as a function code 98 on the Part IB.

Staff Attorneys

If the attorney is a staff attorney, then he/she should be reported on the DSS-1571, Part I. Time spent providing discrete services (e.g. Adoption Services-Legal) should be reported on the Part IA. For the portion of time spent providing services, the attorney should be listed as function code "01" and the percentage(s) of time should be listed in the appropriate column(s). The time spent providing legal representation for the agency in the income maintenance area (e.g. fraud) should be shown on the Part IB with the appropriate function code. For the time the attorney spends providing general administrative support for the agency, he/she should be coded to the function code "98" (and shown on the IB).

The Part IC is used to report the staff that works in the Child Support Program.

Column 9 will be used to report Work First related time and non-Work First related time. The percent of time entered will be transferred from the day sheet summary (DSS-2204) maintained in the county.

Note: Do not use columns 10 through 16.

l. Completing Column 9 - Part IC (Work First/NON Work First)

a. This column is concerned with staff activity relating to either Work First eligible clients or non-Work First eligible clients.

b. Direct child support worker's percent of time should be entered in the appropriate column using the function Code 79. Administrative overhead will be drawn to the program categories based on the equivalency and program time reported.

(l) Support workers will be reported using function Code 86 and no percent of time in the program columns. In this way a support worker's costs will be allocated between the two IV-D program categories based on the number of direct workers reported.

(2) All allowable program costs are reimbursed at 66.00% FFP.

2. Using the Non-Reimbursable Columns

a. Column l7 - Non-Reimbursable, Non-Allocable (NON-ALL)

When using this column a total line entry of 200% is required. This column is used whenever the worker is reimbursed from funds that are not administered by the State DSS. (If such worker is paid half from non-State DSS funding and half from agency funds a split entry is required). An entry of 100% in Column l7 offsets any salary reported with the associated overhead going to those program(s) in which the worker’s staff time is shown (by 100% in the appropriate column 9 – 16). If there is an entry in Column 17 for a worker the personnel costs will not be reimbursed.

b. Column l8 - Non-Reimbursable, Allocable (ALL)

Enter the percent of time any worker spends in a non-DSS program or activity. A non-DSS program is one that is not funded or administered by the Division of Social Services. Entries in this column mean that the salary, fringe benefit, and overhead are not reimbursed.

Equivalencies are reported in Column 2 of all parts of the personal cost statement. Each equivalency must have two decimal places even if the equivalency is zero. (0.00)

1. PURPOSE:

The equivalency system is an attempt to facilitate the distribution of administrative "burden" (which is everything from clerical staff salaries, to electricity, to paper clips) to those benefiting social programs by means of a mechanism which we have found to be appropriate-direct worker time. However, in order to make the most equitable distribution, it is necessary to employ a method of distributing this "burden" to direct staff positions according to the proportion that they are using it. Thus, the equivalency system serves as the basis for the assignment of non-direct personnel and associated overhead expenses to each program. The share of overhead that is borne by each program is determined by dividing the total equivalent direct staff in a program by the total equivalent staff in the agency. This fraction represents the share of the overhead that will be charged to or borne by each program.

2. HOW IT WORKS:

a. The total equivalency entered for any one particular staff worker, regardless of the number of lines and/or Parts I used shall not exceed l.00 except in making a prior month (s) adjustment, overtime, reporting contracted or temporary employees. In no case should an equivalency exceed 9.99.

b. In general, the equivalency of a worker who is employed in and fills a position for only part of a month (in instances such as hirings and terminations taking place in mid-month, or part-time employees) should be prorated. The method for determining the correct proration is to divide the total days worked by the employee during the month by the total available workdays in the month. Thus, the equivalency of a worker who is employed less than a full month would be less than l.00.

c. As we stated in paragraph l, the objective of our equivalency system is to facilitate the distribution of overhead "burden" to direct staff positions according to the proportion that they are using it. For our purposes, a direct worker who is on leave (annual, sick, whatever, with or without pay) for the entire month is employed in but not "filling" the position and would not be considered benefiting from overhead. Therefore, the turnaround coding for a worker who is on paid leave for the entire month would continue to reflect the worker's salary, fringes, and direct time percentage just as it was shown for the last month during which the person was actually on the job. Commensurately, the turnaround coding for a worker who is on unpaid leave for the entire month, the direct time percentage would be shown just as it was for the last month during which the person was actually on the job. In both cases, however, the equivalency would be "zeroed" out, because as previously stated, the worker is not benefiting from the overhead, so the position should therefore not be "drawing down" overhead burden.

This policy also applies to such positions as At Risk Case Management (ARCM) and Community Alternative Program (CAP) workers. To maintain consistency between funding sources, these workers’ salaries are recorded as if the person were actually on the job for the leave period. However, it is imperative that no FTE is recorded for this type of situation. No administrative time may be claimed for ARCM and CAP workers during their absence. By recording a zero equivalency, this will assure there is not duplication of administrative cost being reimbursed.

NOTE: Always show program time when applicable even if salaries, fringes and equivalencies are being "zeroed out". When the state's computer finds no program time entered for a worker whose function code mandates program time, it rejects the entry.  

d. The equivalency is entered in Column 2 (which can be found, lamentably, between columns 8 and 9) and must always be shown to two decimal places.

3. EXAMPLE SITUATIONS - All of the following examples are based on the month of May 1993. The examples are based on an 8 hour workday. If a county DSS only works 7½ hours per day, then they should compute equivalencies on 7½ hours per day.

a. How to compute the number of workdays available in a given month.

The number of weekdays less any holidays. The computation of the total workdays in May 1993 is as follows:

Total weekdays (21) less holidays (1) = Total workdays available (20).

(1) An employee was hired May 3, 1993. The equivalency would be 1.00. (20 days worked divided by 20 days available.)

(2) An employee was hired May 12, 1993. The equivalency would be 0.65. (13 days worked divided by 20 days available.)

(3) An employee was hired in January 1992, was on vacation from May 17 through May 31, 1993. The equivalency would be 1.00. Note vacation or sick leave does not affect the equivalency in this example.

(4) An employee was on vacation from May 3 through June 1, 1993. The equivalency would be 0.00 since the employee was out the entire month.

(5) A part-time employee works 115 hours in the month of May 1993. The equivalency would be 0.72. (The total hours worked (115) divided by (160) (20 days times 8 hours a day) equals 72%

(6) Allowable Overtime: Overtime should be reported using the actual FTE (1.00 + the percentage calculated for the amount of time worked over) and should be reported in the month paid.

(7) Time Reportable On Two Or More Of The Parts I: A social worker's summarized day-sheets show total services provision time of l02 hours [this includes direct service time as well as the general administrative time (except for leave time) associated with the provision of direct service]. In addition, 3l hours were spent during the month in the Energy Program (this includes general administrative time except for leave time). There were 32 hours on annual leave.

l02 ÷ l33 = 0.77 equivalency for services time

3l ÷ l33 = 0.23 equivalency for Energy time

l33 ÷ 133 = l.00 total equivalency

As stated earlier, short-term leave taken by a full-time employee who is filling a position will not cause the equivalency to be less than l.00. As you can see in the calculation above, however, it is necessary to exclude leave when apportioning the equivalency for a split entry. Please Note: Other types of general administrative time (such as meetings, travel, etc.) are included for purposes of determining equivalencies when reporting the worker in the above example. This is because the amount of general administrative time associated with services provision may widely differ from the amount of general administrative time associated with the provision of an income maintenance program. If equivalencies are calculated using only direct time, a disproportionate share of general administrative cost might be drawn to either services or income maintenance, causing an inequitable distribution of costs. It is essential that meetings, travel, breaks and other general administrative activities be recorded to the daysheet/program associated with those activities so that equivalencies can be accurately calculated. It should be pointed out that this method of including general administrative time when figuring equivalencies for joint services and income maintenance workers does not affect how regular Day Sheet and Daily Report Summaries should be calculated; that is, the summaries are used to calculate percentages of time by program (as distinguished from equivalencies) and are figured based on direct time only.

Now then, assuming that this worker's salary is $l200, with l3.7% FICA and retirement, plus $35 health insurance premium, the correct split entry would be as follows:

	Salary	FR Ben	Tot Pd.	Code	Equiv
Part I-A	924.00	153.54	1077.54	01	0.77
Part I-B	276.00	45.86	321.86	66	0.23

Note that the Services time is reported on a Part IA, the Energy time is reported on Part IB, and the salary and fringes are prorated in the same proportion as the equivalencies.

(8) Time worked beyond normal work hours

Any worker’s cost for on call, overtime, after hours etc. will be added to their base pay and reported based on the percentage of time determined by the day sheets and any other normal reporting requirements with the appropriate equivalency.

Any regular social workers cost for on-call, overtime, after hours etc. may require a split entry using the appropriate equivalency and function code based on the percentage of time report.

Split entries are made necessary by a lack of horizontal space on the Part I forms, particularly the Parts I-A and I-B. We only have ten "Percent of Time" columns on each of the Part I forms, and when we have more programs than columns, we must "stack" two or more programs in certain columns in order to get all programs on the form. This presents a difficulty when it develops that a worker has time that should be charged to two or more of those programs that are "stacked" in a single "Percent of Time" column. We solve this problem by using "split entries", a procedure in which we employ two (or three, or four, etc.) entries for the same worker in order to be able to distinguish between the two or more blocks of time that need to be reported in the single column. Split entries are therefore necessary in at least the following types of situations:

1. Whenever program workers are paid for overtime, and the county wishes to report the straight-time to one program and the overtime to another.

2. When a worker has time that is reportable on the Part I-A (Services), as well as time that is reportable on the Part I-B (Income Maintenance), or any other combination involving Parts l-A, l-B, and l-C.

3. If a supervisor is carrying a caseload and related direct service time is reported on the DSS-4263, a split entry is also required. For example, if a supervisor/support or other administrative person performs a direct service, and that time is reported on the DSS-4263, the portion of their time spent in direct service should be reported as such on the DSS 1571. That is, the supervisor/support staff’s FTE will be reported on the DSS 1571 report based on direct time of service to client and supervisory time.

The In-Home Aide program is staffed by employees providing services to clients in their homes, and therefore does not benefit from all the overhead cost as do on-site county staff members. The interim plan of Cost Allocation for the chore program will be to manually identify the cost centers actually benefiting the In-Home Aide program and allocate a share of overhead cost to this program based on its share of the local department's full-time equivalencies. Since most In-Home Aide workers provide less than full-time service, each county would convert total working hours per month In-Home Aide activity into full-time equivalency (FTE). The percentage determined by dividing the In-Home Aide FTE by the agency's total FTE is applied to the total of the cost pools benefiting the In-Home Aide program to determine the amount of In-Home Aide overhead to be charged to the activity.

The Form DSS-3538 is to be used each month to calculate the county's overhead to be charged to the In-Home Aide activities. Counties are no longer required to fax nor mail a copy of the DSS-3538 report to the state office. Counties will retain a copy for their records as this form will serve as documentation to support the allocation of overhead to the In-Home Aide program and will be subject to audit in the county's single audit process.

Preceding Column One is an informational listing of function codes to assist local departments in determining what to include in the three columns which must be completed. Function code 01-38 and 40-49 means those staff personnel reported on the 1571 as workers performing work which is reported as function code 01 through 38 and 40-47. As new codes are added to the 1571, the county will be responsible for including these codes in the proper programs in completing the required columns on the form.

Column 1 will be used to enter the local department's full-time equivalencies by each major program area: Services, Income Maintenance, and Child Support Enforcement. A total FTE for each program area will be shown in the blank space provided, and a sub-total for total FTE's will be shown for the sum of all major program areas. In the space provided below the sub-total, the local department will compute the In-Home Aide FTE's by entering the total paid In-Home Aide hours paid to county staff who provided In-Home Aide services during the reporting period. This total will be divided by total working hours per month to arrive at the local department's In-Home Aide FTE. This computation will be entered on the line provided and then added to the sub-total previously computed, to arrive at the total department FTE.

Column 2 will be used to list the total cost of the times of the items of overhead which benefit the total county department. This would include the cost of salaries and fringe benefits of the Director and other administrative staff (function code 98), as reported on the current month's DSS-1571. General support cost, (program code 311) should also be reported from the current month's DSS-1571 report. Those items of administrative cost on the DSS-Form 3538, beginning with Cost of Space and ending with Board Member Expense will be the amounts reported on the current month's DSS-1571, Part II. The items listed on Form DSS-3538 under Indirect Cost should be itemized by cost pools as shown on the form. The amount to be entered by the local departments will be one-twelfth of the annual amount if the local department's county-wide cost allocation plan itemizes scheduled cost for these cost pools.

For those local departments who use a single rate Indirect Cost Plan, the county department will compute the monthly indirect cost by applying the percentage against the applicable base. The local department will write in the amount from the Indirect Cost line on the DSS-1571 Part II on the line designated as Single Rate Plan Total, in column two of the DSS-3538.

Column 3 is to be used to identify the cost pools that benefit the In-Home Aide Program to any material extent. Each local department should carefully evaluate the function of each cost center shown in Column Two to determine the benefit, if any, to the In-Home Aide program. If after evaluation, it is determined that the cost pool benefits the In-Home Aide program, the amount that is shown in Column Two must be entered in Column Three. If it is determined that no benefit is derived by the In-Home Aide program from a cost pool, then the local department will enter a zero in Column Three. Those cost pools identified by an asterisk (*) on Form DSS-3538 are required to be included in column Three. Other cost pools would be included or excluded depending upon the local department's organizational structure and operational procedures. For those local departments utilizing a Single Rate Indirect Cost Plan, the figure computed and put in column two will be carried to column three.

In-Home Aide supervision is usually provided either by the social worker, the case manager or a In-Home Aide supervisor and is directly charged to the proper program funding source, which allocates overhead to the In-Home Aide program through the normal distribution process. The Service Supervision and Clerical Support cost centers therefore, provide little benefit, if any, to the In-Home Aide Program. The same would be true for both the Income Maintenance and Child Support supervision and support cost centers.

Upon completion of entering the applicable figures for each cost center in column three, the local department will total columns two and three to determine the total departmental overhead and the total overhead from the cost centers benefiting the In-Home Aide program.

Using the space provided at the bottom of Form DSS-3538, the local department will determine the actual In-Home Aide overhead cost to be reported. This computation will be made by dividing the In-Home Aide FTE by the Total Agency FTE computed in Column One. The answer derived will be a percentage, which will be multiplied by the total shown in Column Three. The results of this computation will be the amount of In-Home Aide overhead which the local department will report on the DSS-1571, Part II.

WORK SHEET OF OVERHEAD COST BENEFITING

IN HOME AIDE (OFF SITE) EMPLOYEES

___________________________ COUNTY

Temporary Employees

The information contained here does not contain new policy or procedures; it is intended as a clarification of existing policies. The appropriate reporting method depends upon a number of factors. Following is a brief description of the different ways temporary employees should be reported.

1. Temporary Employees Hired Through an Employment Agency

Position numbers are not required for temporary employees who are hired through an employment agency.

a. If the employees are housed in a DSS building and/or receive any supervision or clerical support from a DSS employee there are two basic reimbursement reporting methods.

(1) The employees can be reported on the DSS-1571 Part I, with a salary, fringes and total figure indicated (you may have to prorate your total cost in order to show an amount for each employee, if you are paying the employment agency a lump sum and you are hiring more than one employee). The appropriate equivalency should be shown for each employee.

(2) You may lump the employees into a single line entry on the DSS-1571 Part I, with zero (0) salary indicated for fringes and total using a "fictitious" name and a "fictitious" identification number. You would have to add together the equivalencies of these employees and enter the combined equivalency on the line. Please note that our reimbursement system will not accept an equivalency greater than 9.99 (on any one line of the Part I); therefore, if your combined equivalency exceeds 9.99, you would have to have more than a one line entry. The cost should be reported on the DSS-1571 Part II, on the appropriate line.

b. If the temporary employees are housed in a non-DSS building and are not supervised or supported by DSS staff, then the cost of these employees can be reported on the DSS-1571, Part II. In this case, no entry would have to be made on the Part I, as no overhead would have to be drawn to these staff costs.

2. Temporary Employees Not Hired Through an Employment Agency

a. For "regular" temporary employees, Regional Personnel Offices do not require job descriptions in advance, but assign a position number to the employee at the time that the employment papers are processed. If an employee (even temporary) is housed in a DSS building (even on a weekend or after hours), then that employee must be reported on the payroll of the DSS and on the DSS-1571 Part I. If the employee receives any supervision or clerical support from a DSS employee, the same rule applies.

b. If a DSS or if the county contracts with a provider to provide a service (e.g., a contract with a provider for the provider to perform all eligibility determinations for the LIEAP Program) and the employees are temporary, are housed in a non-DSS building and are not supervised or supported by DSS staff, then the costs associated with this contract can be reported on the DSS-1571 Part II, on the appropriate line.

3. Volunteers

Sometimes the State Office receives questions regarding what sort of monetary compensation can be given to "volunteers." A "volunteer" may be reimbursed for "out of pocket" expenses incurred in the performance of his/her duties (e.g. mileage costs, registration fees for a meeting). Volunteers may receive compensation for "out of pocket" expenses only to the extent that regular employees of that county's DSS receive such reimbursement. If a "volunteer" is paid a salary, then he/she is no longer considered a volunteer but is an employee and must be reported for reimbursement in accordance with the procedures for reporting staff costs. Expenses reimbursed to volunteers may be reported on the DSS-1571 Part II.

4. Contracted Workers

When entering into a contract for additional workers, the following methods of reporting should be used:

a. If a worker is to be housed in the DSS facility and the worker keeps a daysheet and the daysheet is keyed, then the worker can be reported as a normal employee by entering salary, fringes, total paid, equivalency and the percentage of time on the DSS-1571 Part I.

b. If the worker does not keep a daysheet or the daysheet is not keyed, then the cost or the worker must be reported on the DSS-1571, Part I and Part IV. The Part I must indicate salary, fringes and total as $0.00. The appropriate function code, equivalency and the percentage of time must be indicated. The total amount paid for salary, fringes and other cost will be reported on the Part IV and broken down to the client level.

c. If the worker is located outside of the DSS facility then the entry may be reported on Part I of the DSS 1571 report with the equivalency of 0. Counties may use the vendor’s name as the employee name and use 999-99-9999 as the employee ID. Example: Name- Vanguard, Employee ID- 999-99-9999. All cost should be reported on the Part IV broken down by client, direct cost, indirect cost (if indicated), and service code.

d. If the worker is located outside of the DSS facility but a clear delineation of supervision exists, i.e., if contract between vendor and agency stipulates supervision, then overhead may be claimed for these workers. Documentation of time charged for these workers should be maintained either by daysheets, certifications or some other type of audit-worthy method. These workers should be reported on the Part I with equivalent FTEs but with salary and benefits of 0. Contracted costs should be reported on the Part II (if no Part IV is required by policy) or the Part IV (if required).