Header:
CODE OF RHODE ISLAND RULES
AGENCY 15. DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES
SUB-AGENCY 020. ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL SERVICES DIVISION
CHAPTER 022. HUMAN SERVICES MANUAL - RI WORKS PROGRAM (1400)
Date:
08/31/2009
Document:
15 020 022. HUMAN SERVICES MANUAL - RI WORKS PROGRAM (1400)
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1426.25.10 Moving Expenses
REV: 10/2008
Emergency assistance for moving expenses is limited to payment of instate moving expenses for families who are forced to move their place of residence.
Acceptable instances of "forced to move" are situations which threaten the health and well being of families, including but not limited to:
* Fire/Natural disaster;
* Uninhabitable housing;
* Unsafe (substandard) housing;
* Unsafe living conditions which include a situation where one's safety is threatened, e.g., by a neighbor, and it can be documented by something such as a police report;
* Lead hazard problems causing the housing to be unsafe;
* Domestic violence;
* Foreclosure (self-owned home);
* Evictions;
* Situations where the tenant has been asked to vacate;
* Homelessness; or
* Other situations/circumstances not otherwise delineated which: create an immediate threat to the family's safety and well being, or can reasonably be expected to result in eviction within sixty (60) days.
Criteria for documentation of the above situations are listed in Section 1426.25.10.05.
1426.25.10.05 Verification Criteria for Payment of Move.
REV: 10/2008
RI Works recipients must provide documentation of their need for emergency assistance for moving as follows:
* Fire/natural disaster: a written report from a police or fire department official and/or any appropriate collateral source, such as the Red Cross;
* Uninhabitable housing: a notice from the local code enforcement authority vested with the authority to issue such notice of a finding that the residence is unfit for inhabitation;
* Unsafe (substandard) housing: memorandum from local code enforcement or HSU caseworker detailing such conditions. The memo must be approved by the Housing Unit Supervisor;
* Unsafe living conditions: police report;
* Lead hazard: Inspector's Report from the RI Department of Health;
* Domestic violence: 1) through an assessment by the domestic violence advocate and/or HSU caseworker and one of the following: a No Contact Order, a District Court Restraining Order, a Family Court Restraining Order; an Order of Protection or a Restraining Order from another state related to domestic violence; police report related to domestic violence; court records related to domestic violence; or medical records related to domestic violence; or 2) recommendation from a domestic violence advocate. Referral of the individual to the domestic violence advocate should be made in accordance with Section 1414.10 if the individual has not already been referred.
* Foreclosure: letter of foreclosure from the mortgagor;
* Eviction: notice and demand to vacate property, or court pleading initiating an eviction, or court order of eviction;
* Situations where the tenant has been asked to vacate: letter from landlord demanding termination of tenancy;
* Homelessness: letter from shelter or previously verified by DHS AND bill or receipt from storage site/facility; and
* Other situations/circumstances: the housing worker must document the circumstances and reasons in a memorandum, including any available appropriate supporting documentation to the Chief Casework Supervisor.
1426.25.10.10 Authorization of Moves: Procedures.
REV: 10/2008
The Department reimburses the recipient for the incurred expense for an approved move up to a maximum of two hundred dollars ($ 200). It is the responsibility of the recipient to pay a vendor. The Department has no further responsibility to meet the moving expense.
The Department makes no provision to meet the cost of out-of-state moves. This prohibition may be waived by the Regional Manager in unusual or exceptional circumstances.
A payment for a move will be issued only once in a twelve (12) month period unless (a) the need for a move results from a fire or natural disaster, or (b) a waiver is granted by the Regional Manager for unusual or exceptional circumstances based on a report by the HSU.
When a request for payment of a move is received by the eligibility technician, s/he advises the client to contact the HSU.
Responsibilities of Housing Services Unit
The Housing Services Unit caseworker is responsible for determining the need for and authorization of reimbursement for moves. The recipient must meet the criteria for moves listed in Section 1426.25.10.
The HSU caseworker must:
* Determine that the recipient meets the criteria for emergency assistance for moving expenses as specified in Section 1426.25.10;
* Ascertain that the recipient has located a new place to move and inform the recipient a) that the new location must first pass pre-rental inspection, and b) of her/his responsibilities in the moving process: that s/he must arrange for her/his own move; that s/he is free to choose the methodology, vendor, and/or payment method;
* Arrange for a pre-rental inspection of the new apartment;
* Determine whether the new apartment passes the pre-rental inspection;
* If it passes inspection, document the recipient's cost of moving;
* If the reimbursement of the move is approved, authorize the moving payment through INRHODES by completing a MOVE panel in SPEC, and forward DHS-48A with the new address indicated along with a copy of the rent receipt or lease to the appropriate eligibility supervisor;
* If the reimbursement of the move is denied, follow the denial procedures outlined in Section 1426.25.10.15.
* Annotate throughout the process the Case Chronology (CLOG) in INRHODES the chronology of contacts and information relating to either the approval or denial of the move.
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**Note: Only the section analyzed by the PHASYS team is included here as the entire regulation exceeded ~100 pages.
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