What are your rights If a health problem makes it hard for you to participate in ASPIRE or PaS?
In general, most people in ASPIRE must participate 30
hours per week and most people in PaS are expected to be in school full
time. But if you or a family member has a physical or mental health
problem that makes it hard for you to do this, DHS must take that
into consideration.
Maine law requires DHS to grant you "good
cause."
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Things you could ask of DHS in order
to accommodate the health problem in your family:
-
Reduce the number of hours that you must
participate.
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Change what you have to do.
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Provide a service that makes it possible for
you to participate.
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Set up a meeting at your home or other
location.
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Not require you to participate.
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Do any other thing that accommodates your
disability.
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The rule says:
"Good cause for failure to comply with TANF-ASPIRE
rules [includes] illness or incapacitation of the participant or her
dependent children."
[There are many other good cause reasons for not
following ASPIRE rules as well - including domestic violence, lack of
child care, lack of transportation, severe weather or other common sense
reasons].
This means that when you set up your "family
contract" with your ASPIRE caseworker, what you must do should
reflect what you are actually able to do given the health problem in
your family.
You also cannot be "sanctioned" (have your
TANF and food stamps reduced) by DHS if you violate an ASPIRE rule,
cannot participate full-time, or somehow violate your family contract
because of a health problem.
For example, ASPIRE participation should not interfere
with obtaining therapy for a child with special needs.
Similarly, you should not be sanctioned for missing an
ASPIRE appointment if your health problem caused you to miss it.
Finally, if you want to participate in ASPIRE or Parents
as Scholars (PaS), but, because of a disability, need a particular
service or reduced hours in order to successfully participate, DHS
ordinarily should accommodate that in your family contract as well.
When you set up your family
contract:
Make sure that you explain your disability or your
family member's special health care needs to your ASPIRE caseworker.
You should also bring a note from your doctor or your
family member's doctor saying what the disability is and how it affects your
ability to participate in ASPIRE or work thirty hours a week.
If you disagree with your family contract:
-
Your caseworker is supposed to make "every
effort" to come to an agreement with you about what your
family contract says.
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If your caseworker asks you to sign a family
contract that you do not agree with, you should still sign it to
avoid being sanctioned.
BUT you should check the box on the contract saying that you
disagree with what it says. Then you will be given the
opportunity for a conciliation meeting or a fair hearing to explain
your situation.
-
If you have signed a contract but decide later
that you disagree with it or that you simply cannot do all that
it asks, you can ask for an amendment to make changes to your family
contract, at any time.
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If your request is denied, DHS must put its
reasoning in writing for you.
What to do if you are
sanctioned:
You cannot be sanctioned without a written notice in
advance. If you are sanctioned, remember that DHS can only cut you out
of the grant. They have to continue to give a smaller grant to your children.
A sanction should never result in you getting no TANF check at all.
You should call your caseworker and ask for a fair hearing as soon as
you get the notice saying that you are going to be sanctioned.
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If you ask for a hearing within ten days of that
notice, then your benefits will not be reduced while you are
waiting for a fair hearing.
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If you appeal between ten and thirty days after
the notice, your benefits will be cut while you are waiting for
the appeal but you will get them back if you win.
-
You cannot appeal more than thirty days after the
notice of sanction.
We may be able to help you -
and you may be able to help us!
