WAG 03-22-04.
If a child's school attendance does not improve during the Reconciliation Process, the agency notifies the Family Community Resource Center to sanction the TANF cash benefit. Impose the sanction for the next month that can be affected, or the 4th month of protective
payment, whichever is later.
Sanctions are imposed at 3 levels. Determine the level of a new sanction by reviewing the levels of previous TANF sanction codes present on the case. This includes activity requirement, Child Support, and School Attendance Initiative sanctions.
Determine the highest previous level and impose the new sanction at the next level. If there are no previous TANF sanction codes present, start at the first level.
The amount and length of the cash benefit reduction is based on the sanction level. The reduction at each level is:
Level 1:
The cash benefit is reduced by 50% of the Payment Level until the child begins or resumes regular school attendance. If, after 3 months, the child is not attending school regularly, TANF benefits are centrally stopped.
When the agency notifies you that the attendance has improved, revise the sanction code to show cooperation. The system centrally stops cash benefits by placing the case in zero grant for the 4th month if the sanction code has not been revised. You
will get a Batch exception message to swap the TANF zero grant case to medical only.
Level 2:
The cash benefit is reduced by 50% of the Payment Level for 3 months. If, after 3 months, the child is not attending school regularly, TANF benefits are centrally stopped.
When the agency notifies you that the child's attendance has improved, revise the sanction code to show cooperation. If the sanction code has not been revised by the 4th month, the system centrally stops cash benefits by placing the case in zero
grant. You will get a Batch exception message to swap the TANF zero grant case to medical only.
Level 3:
The entire cash benefit stops for 3 months.
When the agency notifies you that the child's attendance has improved, revise the sanction code to show cooperation. If this happens within the 3-month sanction period, the system restores cash benefits for the 4th month. If the sanction code has not
been revised by the 4th month, you will get a Batch exception message to swap the TANF zero grant case to medical only.
