NORTH DAKOTA DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES
BISMARCK, NORTH DAKOTA
April 20, 2009

IM 5067

TO:		County Social Service Directors
Economic Assistance Policy Regional Representatives
Economic Assistance Policy Quality Control Reviewers

FROM:	Tove Mandigo, Director, Economic Assistance Policy
		Maggie Anderson, Director, Medical Services
		
SUBJECT:	Treatment of $250 Economic Recovery Payments by Programs and Child Support
			 
PROGRAMS:	Medicaid, Healthy Steps, TANF, SNAP, CCAP, LIHEAP

EFFECTIVE:	May 1, 2009

RETENTION: 	March 31, 2010

SECTIONS 
AFFECTED:	Disregarded Income 510-05-85-30
		Disregarded Income 510-07-40-30
		Disregard of Certain Unearned Income 400-17-65
		Income Excluded by Federal Law 430-05-50-30
		Income Exclusions 400-26-20-10#16
		Income Not Counted 415-25-05-30

			Social Security Recipients, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Recipients, Railroad Retirement/Disability Recipients and recipients of Veterans benefits will be receiving a one-time economic recovery payment of $250 under Section 2201 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.  Each individual will receive only one $250 payment.  Issuance of these payments should start in late May and must be distributed to these individuals by no later than the first week in June, 2009.  This will be a separate payment and not included in the individual’s regular monthly payment.  Individuals will receive the economic recovery payment via the same method they receive their regular payments.

TANF, Medicaid, Healthy Steps and SNAP
For TANF, SNAP, Medicaid and Healthy Steps, the $250 one-time payments are disregarded income.  For TANF and Medicaid, these payments are also disregarded as an asset for the month of receipt and the nine months following the month of receipt.

LIHEAP

The stimulus payment is considered "irregular income" and not counted.

CHILD CARE

The $250 one-time stimulus payments are disregarded income.

Administrative Offset –Child Support
Child Support will very soon begin using an enforcement tool called “Administrative Offset.”  This enforcement tool will allow Child Support to intercept the $250 stimulus payment (authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009) to recipients of Social Security Title II benefits, SSI payments, Railroad Retirement benefits, and VA disability compensation or pension benefits that would otherwise be paid to a delinquent IV-D obligor.  To be defined as ‘delinquent’ for this particular enforcement tool, the obligor must be at least $25 in arrears and must be at least 30 days past due.  

The offset process is somewhat similar to how Child Support intercepted the stimulus payments last year except those were through the federal tax offset program and thus Child Support applied those intercepted payments only to arrears.  In contrast, the stimulus payments intercepted through the Administrative Offset program will be applied first to current support, similar to the way state tax refund offsets are distributed.  The intercepted stimulus payments will not be uniquely identified on VIEW.  They will appear as any other payment does.  The best indication of an intercepted stimulus payment will be the $250 amount. 

Child Support could be (1) intercepting a payment of an Economic Assistance client if that client is also a delinquent obligor or (2) passing on as child support an intercepted stimulus payment to an Economic Assistance client.  Child Support mailed nearly 15,000 notices to delinquent obligors in March 2009.