TANF Survey Index

Office of Family Assistance

Improper Payments Information Survey for the TANF Program

State of Missouri

Instructions

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, collection of this information has been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under OMB Control Number 0970-0290, expiration date 10-31-2008. Submission of this information, however, is voluntary. The public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 24 hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and reviewing the collection of information. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

Please enter the following information for the individual(s) completing this questionnaire and attachments, so we may contact them to clarify information, if necessary.

Date : December 21, 2005

Name: Jennifer Burdick

Title: Social Services Manager

State Agency: Department of Social Services Family Support Division

(Area Code) Phone Number: 573-751-3507

E-mail Address: Jennifer.Burdick@dss.mo.gov

Please return the completed questionnaire and attachments in the enclosed business reply envelope. Alternatively, you may fax your completed questionnaire and brief attachments to the attention of Dennis Poe at 202-205-5887, or preferably email an electronic copy of the questionnaire and any attachments to him at dspoe@acf.hhs.gov.

If you have any questions or comments regarding your submissions, please contact Dennis Poe at 202-401-4053, or at dspoe@acf.hhs.gov.

Please return the questionnaire and attachments by December 30, 2005.

As a point of reference, under the Improper Payments Information Act of 2002, the term, “Improper Payment”

(a) means any payment that should not have been made or that was made in an incorrect amount (including overpayments and underpayments) under statutory, contractual, administrative, or other legally applicable requirements; and

(b) includes any payment to an ineligible recipient, any payment for an ineligible service, any duplicate payment, payments for services not received, and any payment that does not account for applicable discounts.

General Overview: Policies and Infrastructure

1. How does the TANF Lead Agency define improper payments?

Improper payments are payments issued erroneously as a result of client or agency error. These payments can be the result of information incorrectly reported, not reported and/or not acted upon.

2. Provide a description (electronic copy, if available) of the organizational structure of the agency in your State that handles improper payments in the TANF program. If available, please submit an organizational chart, or provide the web site address where it can be found.

N/A

3. Please check all of the topics or activities listed below for which your State has policies or regulations in place for the program. (Please check all that apply.)

q Steps involved in identifying a potential improper payment

X    Steps involved in verifying an improper payment

X    Establishing claims for improper payments

X    Collecting improper payments, including, for example, the authority to reduce payments to recover overpayments

q Distribution of recovered improper payments

q Sources of funding for addressing improper payments

q Other (please specify : )

Identification and Assessment of Improper Payments

4. Has your State performed an assessment or analysis to determine whether the program is at risk of improper payments?

q Yes.

For which of the following uses of program funds did your state perform an assessment or analysis to determine whether the program is at risk of improper payments? (Please check all that apply.)

q a. Monthly cash assistance payments

q b. “Nonassistance” benefits or services, for example, one-time cash payments designed to
divert a family from welfare or payments for car repairs or rental assistance

q c. Other types of benefits and services for families not receiving cash assistance

q d. Payments to service providers

q e. Other (Please specify:) ________________________________________________________

X No.

5. Please describe your process for identifying and handling improper payments.

In Missouri, we realize there are several factors that can contribute to improper payments. As a result, we utilize several methods in an attempt to identify these in order to reduce and in many cases, prevent improper payments. In regard to client errors on an individual level, we utilize wage matches, both federal and state to identify sources of income not previously reported. In addition, we also receive federal and state information on sources of new employment by receiving notice when a client signs a W-4 form when obtaining new employment. In addition to identifying potential errors at the individual level, we are working to improve our process of identifying trends in agency errors. Missouri recently purchased a case reading tool that we will be using to monitor the case readings conducted by field supervisors. This tool will allow our central office to identify problem areas and to address these through reinforcement of policy and through specialized training efforts.

6. Which methods, if any, did your state use to identify a total amount of improper payments for the program? (Please check all that apply.)

Calculation based on:

q Findings from the state’s Single Audit

q Other audit q Reviews of service providers and/or contractors

q Reviews of sampled cases, although not statistically representative of all program payments

q Statistically representative sample of payments

q Other (Please specify :) ____________________________________________________________________

7. Does your State calculate an improper payments (including fraudulent payments) rate, that is, a measure of the percentage of total payments that are determined to be improper? (Please check one response and provide the appropriate data.)

q Yes. Please describe the methodology used to arrive at the error rate.

X No

q Information not available.

Describing Improper Payments: Sources, Types, Causes

8. Please rank the following sources of improper payments (1 to 7) for the program in your State over the past two fiscal years, beginning with one (1) indicating the primary source of improper payments. Error is defined as an inadvertent mistake whereas fraud is defined as a willful misrepresentation. (Please rank each source below.)

_1_ Client error

_4_ Provider error

_3_ Agency error

_2_ Client fraud

_5_ Provider fraud

_7_ Agency fraud

_6_ Other (Please specify)_________________________

9. Of all improper payments in your State, what proportion of those payments would you estimate are overpayments, and what proportion would you estimate are underpayments? An overpayment is defined as a payment larger than what should have been made/received or any payment that is received when none should have been received. An underpayment is defined as a payment smaller than what should have been made/received or no payment was received when there should have been one.

Overpayments 70 %

Underpayments 30 %

10. To what extent, if any, have the following factors contributed to improper payments in your State over the past two fiscal years? (Please check one answer in each row.)

Table 10
Factors contributing to improper payments	Great extent	Little extent	No extent	Don’t know
Related to clients
a. Nonreporting/underreporting of income	X
b. Client receiving payment in more than one jurisdiction			X
d. Incorrect reporting of household size	X
e. Incorrect citizenship or immigration status				X
f. Incorrect information on client’s compliance with program requirements, such as participating in required activity		X
g. Other (Please specify): Assets
Related to providers
h. Overstating performance
i. Claiming for services not rendered
j. Other (Please specify): Child Care Provider (FX) receiving benefits e.g., food stamps, etc. and not reporting income from Child Care Payments

Prevention of Improper Payments

11. Please describe your top 3 priorities for preventing and reducing improper payments (e.g., training/meetings for providers on rules and responsibilities; training for agency staff on correct implementation of rules and responsibilities; clear communication with parents on rules and responsibilities; use of information technology.)

·         Training agency staff on the correct implementation of policies and regulations, and expectations as they relate to those policies.

·         Improved communication with clients on rules and responsibilities of program participation.

·         Training for managers and supervisors on working with staff to assess their understanding of rules, regulations and responsibilities.

12. For each activity listed below, indicate whether or not your State performs it to verify the accuracy of information needed to determine eligibility for and/or proper amount of a program payment. If yes, indicate when in the process the step or activity is performed and how often it is performed.

Table 12
Steps or activities performed	Is the step/activity performed?	If yes, at what stage in the process (e.g., pre-approval/approval; redetermination at 3 mos., 6 mos. or 12 mos. ;etc.)?
a. Require documentation from client	x Yes q No	Pre-approval/approval Reinvestigations Any reported changes
b. Fingerprint clients	q Yes x No	Pre-approval/approval Reinvestigations Any reported changes
c. Access online databases	x Yes q No	Pre-approval/approval Reinvestigations Any reported changes
d. Match automated computer files	x Yes q No	Pre-approval/approval Reinvestigations Any reported changes
e. Conduct telephone, fax, or email contacts	x Yes q No	Pre-approval/approval Reinvestigations Any reported changes
f. Conduct home visits	x Yes q No	When requested
g. Initiate a fraud investigation if warranted	x Yes q No	At any stage in the process
h. Conduct program integrity/quality control review	x Yes q No	Case readings are conducted in all areas/ stages of the process.
i. Other (Please specify :)	q Yes q No

13. Data sharing is a method used to obtain and disclose information about individuals from within your agency, from other agencies and/or from independent, third party sources, including federal and State agencies or private companies. These activities can be conducted before an initial payment is made to an individual or provider (pre-payment) and also after payment is made (post-payment) to verify eligibility and payment accuracy. For each source listed below:

Indicate whether or not your agency or State utilizes this data source to better ensure accurate payments under the program. If your State utilizes the source, indicate when in the process the source is used (before the payment is issued or at some point after the payment is issued), and/or indicate how often that source is used. (Please check all appropriate responses for each row.)

Table 13
Data source	Is the source used?	If yes, when in the process (e.g., pre-approval/approval; redetermination at 3 mos., 6 mos. or 12 mos. ; etc.)?
a. Income Eligibility Verification System (IEVS)	q Yes X No
b. Other human services programs in your agency/State	X Yes q No	Pre-approval/approval Reinvestigations Reported changes
c. State department of labor or employment security	X Yes q No	Pre-approval/approval Reinvestigations Reported changes
d. State directory of new hires	X Yes q No	Pre-approval/approval Reinvestigations Reported changes
e. State department of motor vehicles	X Yes q No	Pre-approval/approval Reinvestigations Reported changes
f. Public Assistance Reporting Information System (PARIS)	q Yes X No
g. State data (from other States) on length of TANF receipt	X Yes q No	Pre-approval/approval Reinvestigations Reported changes
h. State data (from other States) on potential concurrent TANF receipt	X Yes q No	Pre-approval/ approval
i. State data (from other States) on client or provider debarment from benefits, for fraud or other infraction	q Yes X No
j. Lottery agencies	X Yes q No	Pre-approval/approval Ongoing system match
k. Prisons and criminal justice agencies at State level	X Yes q No	Pre-approval/approval Ongoing
l. National Criminal Information Center (NCIC)	q Yes X No
m. Local jails	q Yes X No
n. Credit bureaus	q Yes X No
o. Financial institutions	X Yes q No	Pre-approval/approval Reinvestigations Reported changes
p. State tax intercepts	X Yes q No	Pre-approval/approval Reinvestigations Reported changes
q. Immigration authorities	q Yes X No
r. K-12 school systems	q Yes X No
s. Community colleges	q Yes X No
t. Other providers of services, education, training	q Yes X No
u. Child support	X Yes q No	Pre-approval/approval Reinvestigations Reported changes
v. Social Security Administration (SSA) form W-2 (wage statements)	X Yes q No	Pre-approval/approval Reinvestigations Reported changes
w. SSA Social Security number verification	X Yes q No	Quarterly
x. SSA Supplemental Security Income (SSI) data	X Yes q No	Pre-approval/approval Reinvestigations Reported changes
y. SSI death information	q Yes X No
z. Other (Please specify :)	q Yes X No

Recovery of Improper Payments

14. For the most recently completed fiscal years, how much in program improper payments has your agency, or another agency within your State, recovered? (Please indicate your responses in the space provided below.)

Most recently completed fiscal year                  (Specify ending month/ year)

Includes fraudulent improper payments

Next most recently completed fiscal year            (Specify ending month/ year)

Includes fraudulent improper payments

X   Not tracked

15. What penalties does your program mandate for clients, agencies, or providers, who commit an error leading to improper payments?

A. Agency:

Improper payments made due to agency error are addressed by claims for overpayments and issuance of supplemental benefits for under payments.

B.     Clients/Parents:

Required to pay back all benefits for which they were not eligible. In cases of fraud, prosecution of the individual could result.

C.     Providers:

Required to pay back all benefits for which they were not eligible.

D.     County/Local Agency

Fraud: Intentional Overpayments

16. How does the TANF Lead Agency define “fraud”?

Misrepresentation of circumstances in order to receive benefits.

17. Does your agency maintain data on fraudulent payments in the program as a subset of your improper payments data? (Please check one response.)

q Yes

If yes, please list the methods you use for finding occurrences of fraud and indicate whether you would rate each method as very effective, somewhat effective, somewhat ineffective, or very ineffective.

X No

Does any other entity in your State maintain this information, such as a State fraud unit or Inspector General? If yes, please provide us with a contact name and phone number: N/A

18. What steps, if any, beyond improper payments prevention, does your State take to specifically prevent fraud?

N/A

19. Is your agency required to report, or to have information available, on improper payments to the State legislature, the Governor, or any other higher-level agencies? (Please check one response.)

q Yes ® Please provide a copy of the report(s), and indicate who received them.

X No

Other

20. Describe any other information that may be relevant to improper payments in the program that you wish to share with us.

21. Please submit copies of pertinent sections of manuals and other State-issued guidance that you would like to make available, or provide the web site address where they can be found.

Thank you very much for your time and assistance!

Improper Payments Information Survey for the Missouri TANF Program form, in (PDF) file format

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This document was last modified on Sep-26-2006 .

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