Grant Diversion
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This section identifies the purpose of Grant Diversion and all eligibility criteria.
Policy
Grant Diversion (GD) is one nonrecurring payment equal to three months of CA. The GD period includes the first eligible month and the following two months. The purpose of the GD payment is to divert the CA participant from ongoing CA when the participant is likely to gain full time employment within 90 calendar days.
Participants may be eligible to receive GD when the participant has not received GD in the 12 months before the application month.
When CA participants have the potential to become self-supporting with a one-time payment, GD is offered as an option.
CA budgetary units are potentially eligible for GD when all of the following are met:
●An adult participant in the budgetary unit is immediately available for full time employment and any of the following requirements is confirmed by the Primary Informant(g) (PI):
Has employment or self-employment income history in the application month or within the 12 months before the application month and reasonably anticipates being gainfully employed.
NOTE A participant’s statement can be used as verification when the participant is self-employed or when all other means of verification for employment have been exhausted.
Has successfully completed an educational, vocational, or job training program in the application month or within the six months before the application month.
Has a job offer for full time employment that begins within the three calendar months of the GD approval period.
NOTE When a participant meets any of the three criteria above, they are considered likely to gain full time employment within 90 calendar days of the application.
●They are eligible for at least $1 of CA in the application month or the following month.
NOTE A new CA application may be prorated into the second or third month when the budgetary unit receives CA in the month of application or the following month.
●An adult is included in the benefit amount.
●The budgetary unit has not received GD in the 12 months before the application month.
NOTE The participant may not be eligible in the month of application due to receiving GD in one of the prior 12 months. When prorating the application to a future month allows for potential GD eligibility, the application may be prorated. The application cannot be prorated past the 45th calendar day from the original date of application.
All of the following apply to the GD option:
●The purpose is to divert the CA participant from ongoing CA when the participant is likely to gain full-time employment within 90 calendar days.
●The payment is not countable unearned income for NA.
●When all NA budgetary unit members are included in the GD budgetary unit, they are an NA basic categorically eligible budgetary unit during the GD approval period.
NOTE When the three-month GD approval period ends, the budgetary unit is no longer a basic categorically eligible budgetary unit. When the budgetary unit is determined to be eligible for ongoing NA benefits, expanded categorical eligibility may apply.
●All CA budgetary units that are eligible for at least $1 and identified as a TPEP budgetary unit are processed as potentially eligible for GD.
●GD months are not countable towards the Lifetime Benefit Limit and State Benefit Limit. (See Lifetime Benefit Limit (LIBL) and State Benefit Limit (STBL) – Overview.)
●GD participants are exempt from all of the following:
DCSS cooperation
Jobs Program Preliminary Orientation (JPPO)
NOTE GD participants can be provided the opportunity to consult with employment specialists for assistance with securing employment and short term supportive services.
The three-day TPEP Jobs participation
Completing the Recent Employment/Training Background form and the Determination of Primary Wage Earner form
Signing the Cash Program Personal Responsibility Agreement form
●GD participants are eligible for CA supportive services during the 90 calendar day approval period. (For information on supportive services, see CA Supportive Services)
GD participants are required to meet all of the following:
●Accept the GD option requirements and conditions.
●Complete and sign one of the following to be retained in the case file(g):
Grant Diversion Script and Applicant agreement (FAA-1410A) form
GD Applicant Agreement and Script (A029) notice
OnBase DBME Grant Diversion Unity form
NOTE Completion of a Unity form is done with the assistance of FAA staff. To complete and sign a Unity form, contact FAA by one of the following ways:
●Telephone. (See Customer Care Center for contact information and hours.)
●In person at any FAA office. (See the DES Office Locator webpage found at https://des.az.gov/find-your-local-office and click ‘Find a DES Office’ to locate the nearest FAA office.)
A CA participant is not eligible for the GD option when any of the following apply:
●The budgetary unit is potentially eligible to receive Tribal TANF from any Arizona Tribal TANF Program.
●The budgetary unit received CA from any state, including Arizona in the application month. (The application may be prorated to the second or third month to meet this eligibility requirement.)
●The budgetary unit received a GD payment in any of the 12 months before the application month. (The application may be prorated to the second or third month to meet this eligibility requirement.)
●There is not an adult participant in the budgetary unit who is immediately available for full time employment. (Full time employment is defined by the employer.)
●The budgetary unit has a current CA sanction.
●The budgetary unit has ongoing employment that would cause the budgetary unit to be over income, but the CA participant is on a leave of absence. This includes, and is not limited to all of the following:
Employed by a school district but does not have employment during the summer break and plans to return to the school district in the fall.
On maternity leave.
On leave of absence and returning to the same employer following the leave of absence.
●The budgetary unit fails the CA payment standard.
●Mandatory verification was not provided.
●The participant has received 12 months of regular CA.
NOTE A participant may still be eligible for GD when they have received 12 months of regular CA and are requesting a hardship extension.
Replacement Issuance of Stolen Benefits
When the participant reports their GD benefits were stolen, by electronic means, the replacement would be two out of the three months of the GD benefits (See Example 1). When part of the stolen benefits is GD and part is CA, the replacement would be for one month of GD and one month of CA (See Example 2). (See Replacement Issuance of Stolen Benefits for more information.)
Procedures
All CA applications are screened for potential Grant Diversion (GD) eligibility. To screen for potential GD eligibility, use the Grant Diversion Screening Guide (FAA-1579A) form when completing priors then place the form in the case file(g).
GD participants must meet CA eligibility criteria except for all of the following:
●Cooperating with DCSS
●Participation in the referral process for Jobs Program Preliminary Orientation (JPPO) or the three-day TPEP pre-approval compliance
●Recent Employment/Training Background (FAA-0155A) form
●Determination of Primary Wage Earner (PWE) (FAA-0155B) form
●The Cash Programs Personal Responsibility Agreement (FAA-1523A) form
NOTE Do not request the above items before the case is determined ineligible for GD.
Complete all of the following when screening for potential GD eligibility:
●Assess whether or not an adult participant in the budgetary unit is immediately available for full time employment and verify any of the following requirements for that adult:
The adult participant has employment or self-employment history in the application month or within the 12 months before the application month.
The adult participant has completed an education, vocational, or job training program in the application month or within the six months before the application month.
The adult participant has a job offer for full time employment that begins within the three calendar months of the GD period.
NOTE When a participant meets any of the three criteria above, consider them likely to gain full time employment within 90 calendar days.
●Discuss the GD option with the participant.
●Read the GD script to the participant.
●When the participant accepts or declines the GD option, one of the following must be completed, signed, and retained in the case file:
Grant Diversion Script and Applicant agreement (FAA-1410A) form
GD Applicant Agreement and Script (A029) notice
OnBase DBME Grant Diversion Unity form
When the budgetary unit is not eligible for GD, the application must be processed as regular CA or TPEP.
When the participant declines the GD option or the budgetary unit is not eligible for GD, see GD Keying Procedures.
When a change occurs during the GD approval period, do not act upon the change for the GD calculation. When the change or application is for an increase in budgetary unit members during the three-month GD period, elevate the facts of the case to the Policy Support Team via email at [email protected].
When the GD participants are receiving benefits for other programs, act on the change for the other programs.
Verification
System interface and the case file(g) must be reviewed before verification is requested. No additional verification is needed when AZTECS interface or HEAplus hubs have verified the information.
The participant has the primary responsibility for providing verification. (See Participant Responsibilities – Providing Verification for additional policy.)
NOTE A participant’s statement can be used as verification for employment when the participant is self-employed or when all other means of verification for employment have been exhausted.
AZTECS Keying Procedures
When the CA budgetary unit meets potential Grant Diversion (GD) eligibility requirements, complete all of the following:
●A prior investigation for all programs applied for on the application.
●Identify NA expedited applications and ensure the NA benefits are issued no later than seven calendar days from the date of application.
●Conduct the interview for all programs applied for that require an interview.
●Obtain or request all mandatory verification.
●Key SPRD, EXNS and WORW according to GD keying procedures. (See GD Keying Procedures and AZTECS Screens to Key for more information.)
●Key all other AZTECS screens according to the CA program policy up to AFPD. (See the AZTECS Data Entry Guide for more information about keying AZTECS.) (link is for internal use only)
●Determine whether the participant is eligible for at least one dollar of CA benefits in the application month or the following month.
A CA application may be prorated into the third month but is untimely when the determination is made beyond the 45th calendar day.
GD Keying Procedures
When the participant chooses to accept the GD option, complete all of the following:
●Key and complete determinations for NA.
●Key the case for Grant Diversion. (See AZTECS Screens to Key for more information.)
●Approve GD when all eligibility requirements are met.
Copy details into the second and third months of the GD three-month approval period, and complete all of the following:
●Process through each AZTECS screen to ensure correct keying.
●Do not remove the GD payment code (GD DP) on UNIN.
●Replace the GD payment amount with zeroes.
●Remove all terminated income or income that does not continue for future months.
●Anticipate and budget any earned or unearned income in the applicable months. Key OF for NA on the applicable income screens when income causes GD to fail in the second and third month.
When the zero benefit amount has been authorized for the three month GD period complete all of the following:
●Copy details into the fourth month.
●Delete the GD payment on UNIN.
●Replace the OF Income Type Code with the appropriate income type code on the applicable income screens.
●Key the GD Denial Closure Reason Code on AFED in the DENIAL CLOSURE REASON field.
●Key the first day of the fourth month as the ineligible date in the INELIG DATE field on AFED.
●Authorize NA, when applicable.
●Place the GD benefits and the CA Grant Diversion Approval (A111) notice on hold on BENH.
●Place the case on the appropriate tracker for the FAA Supervisor or Office Manager to review and authorize the GD benefits. (For more information, see GD Supervisor or Office Manager Actions)
When the participant declines the GD option or the budgetary unit is not eligible for GD, complete all of the following:
●Have the participant select their choice to decline the GD then, sign, and date any of the following:
The Grant Diversion Script and Applicant Agreement (FAA-1410A) form
The GD Applicant Agreement and Script (A029) notice
The OnBase DBME Grant Diversion Unity form
●Refer the mandatory Jobs participants to Jobs Program Preliminary Orientation (JPPO)
●Refer the participant to DCSS for pre-compliance, when applicable
●Have the participant sign the Cash Programs Personal Responsibility Agreement (FAA-1523A) form
●Key all AZTECS screens according to CA program policy up to AFPD. (See the AZTECS Data Entry Guide for more information about keying AZTECS.)
●Process the case as regular CA
Deny the case by keying the EG Denial Closure Reason Code on AFED when all of the following apply:
●The participant does not meet the eligibility requirements for GD in the month of application or the following two months.
●The participant becomes employed from a new source before the GD determination is made.
●The participant is not eligible for at least one dollar of CA in the application month or following two months due to employment income from the new source.
AZTECS Screens to Key
When the GD option is selected by the CA participant, key all of the following information on all of the following AZTECS screens in the first eligible month:
●PRAP
Key one of the following in the first available AF ALERT TYPE field:
●GD
●GT when the budgetary unit is potentially eligible for TPEP
●SPRD
Key GD in the DEPRIVE CAUSE field. When both parents are in the home, key UP in the DEPRIVE CAUSE field.
●UNIN
In the first GD eligible month, key GD in the INC TYPE field and DP in the SUB TYPE field.
Using the A1/A2 Payment Standard, multiply the appropriate payment standard amount by three. Key the result in the AMOUNT field on UNIN. (See A1 Payment Standards and A2 Payment Standards for more information.)
●EXNS
Key D1 in the NEED STD field when the participant has an obligation to pay shelter costs in the month of the GD determination.
Key D2 in the NEED STD field when the participant has no shelter obligation in the month of the GD determination.
●WORW
Key GD in the PAR/EXEM (AF) field on WORW for participants who are in the GD budgetary unit and have no other work program exemptions.
●AFPD
When there is at least one dollar in the NET UNROUNDED NEED field on AFPD, complete all of the following:
Key a three-month approval period in the REVIEW DUE DATE field.
Authorize the zero-dollar benefit amount.
GD Supervisor or Office Manager Actions
When the case is ready for management review, place the case on the appropriate tracker for the FAA Supervisor or Office Manager to complete the review.
No later than the next business day after the case was placed on the tracker, the Supervisor or Office Manager completes all of the following:
●Reviews the GD case using the FAA Supervisor’s Approval Checklist (FAA-1411A) to ensure case accuracy
●When the case is not accurate, returns the case to the worker for correction
●When the case is accurate, releases the GD benefits and the A111 notice from hold on BENH and authorizes the GD payment on UNAU
AZTECS mails the A111 notice the day after the notice is released from hold.
AZTECS automatically releases the hold from the A111 notice and the GD benefits 45 calendar days from the CA application date, or the fifth business day of benefit hold, whichever comes first.
Examples
1) On 02/05/2024, the budgetary unit applied for Grant Diversion (GD) benefits. On 03/10/2024, GD was approved for $660 ($220 multiplied by three months) for February, March, and April. The budgetary unit reports benefits were electronically stolen on 06/20/2024. The client will only receive a replacement for March and April benefits of $440 (two of the three months).
2) On 02/05/2024, the budgetary unit applied for Grant Diversion (GD) benefits. On 03/10/2024, GD was approved for $660 ($220 multiplied by three months) for February, March, and April. The budgetary unit applies on 05/05/2024 for CA benefits. On 5/20/2024, they are approved for CA of $278 per month. The budgetary unit reports benefits were electronically stolen on 05/31/2024. When the participant reports more than $498, they will only receive a replacement of benefits for April ($220) and May ($278).
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Legal Authorities
7 CFR 273.9(c)(19)
7 CFR 273.9(d)(4)
AAC R6-12-1402
AAC R6-12-1403
AAC R6-12-1404
ARS 46-211
ARS 46-292
TANF State Plan
last revised 05/28/2024