Household with Open Benefits Moving to Another State During the Certification Period

When a household notifies the agency, they have moved out of state, or another state social services agency informs OKDHS the household has moved to that state, the case must be closed on reason code 42 – Moved to Another State.  Advance notice of adverse (10-day advance Notice) action is not required for this closure, and the case can be closed for the following month, if the action is taken by 2nd deadline. Prior to closure, the case must be updated with the new out of state address so the Notice will be mailed to the correct address.

Household Applying for Benefits After Living Out of State

Policy 340:50-5-66, ITS 1

Whenever a household applies for benefits in Oklahoma and reports that any or all household members have moved to Oklahoma from another state in the last 12 months, they must verify benefits are not being received in the other state. The household must reside in Oklahoma before making an application.  During the interview, the household must be asked what state they moved from and if benefits were received.

If the household states benefits were not received in the other State:

This should be documented in case notes.  It is not incumbent on the household to do anything further.  The eligibility worker should submit an Out of State Inquiry Form. This triggers the process for the specialized Out of State Inquiry team to send a request to the other state to confirm no benefits were open and/or to request any open benefits closed.  The application should not be held up for a response from the other state.

If/when the State responds, it will be uploaded to OnBase.

• If the State confirms no benefits were received, a case note should be entered, and no further action is necessary.
• If the State confirms benefits were received and provides the dates of receipt and closure, the worker will determine if benefits were received in both states for the same month.
  • If benefits were received in both states for the same month, an overpayment must be written.
  • If benefits were not received for the same month, no action is necessary.

If the household states benefits are currently being received in the other State with no closure requested:

If the case in the other State has not been closed, do not pend the case.  The application must be denied on reason code 22 – Benefits included/received in another case.  The household can re-apply after the case has been closed in the other state.  Inform the household verification of closure will be needed when they re-apply.

If the household confirms benefits were received in another State, but their benefits are now closed:

Attempts must be made to verify there are no open benefits in the other state(s).  The date of closure must also be verified.

• If the closure date is prior to the month of application, the application can be processed under normal procedures.
• If the closure date is during or after the month of application, the initial application month must be denied on reason 22 – Benefits included/received in another case. If the closure date is prior to that month and the household is otherwise eligible, the case can be certified for the following month.

Steps to Verify Closure in Another State:

1. Ask the household for the closure Notice they received from the State. (Note: Since the notice may not have been sent to the new address and the household may not be able to reach the State for a closure notice, it may not be possible to obtain this.)
2. Use the National Directory of Contactsfor out of state contact information and make an attempt to call the other state to obtain verification.  If the hold time exceeds a few minutes, do not continue the call.  (Note: California must be contacted through each county, there is no statewide verification.)
3. If the other state does not have a phone number or verification cannot be obtained immediately by phone, use the Out of State Inquiry Form. Once submitted, the form will automatically send a request to the OOSI team.  This triggers the process for this team to send a benefit verification request to the other State.  The eligibility worker will pend the case in Current for 10 days to allow this process to be completed.
   • If verification is received, the OOSI team will upload it to OnBase which will trigger a task to take the appropriate action based on the information received. (Note: If the case has been certified prior to receiving the verification, the worker who receives this task will be responsible for any overpayment if duplicate benefits were received.)
4. If, after taking all the steps above, verification is not obtained by the date the verification is due, action can be taken based on the household’s declaration of closure and closure date. Case notes must be documented with this information as well as describing all attempts that were made to obtain verification.

Out of State Flowchart

1. Has the client lived in another state in the past 12 months?
   • If NO, stop here. no further action is needed.
   • If YES, document which state and continue to next step.
2. Does the client report receiving benefits in another state?
   • If NO, stop here. Submit Out of State Inquiry Form. No further action is needed for the application.
   • If YES, continue to next step.
3. Does the client report out-of-state benefits are still open?
   • If YES, stop here. Household is not eligible for benefits in Oklahoma while still open in another state.  The application must be denied on 22 – Benefits included/received in another case.
   • If NO, continue to next step.
4. Does the client report out-of-state benefits are closed?
   • If NO, stop here. Household is not eligible for benefits in Oklahoma while still open in another state. The application must be denied on 22 – Benefits included/received in another case.
   • If YES, follow the Steps to Verify Closure in Another State and then continue to next step.
5. When was the closure date?
   • If benefits were received in another State for the application month, deny on reason 22 – benefits included/received on another case. In a separate action, determine eligibility for the following month using the original application date.
   • If benefits are not received in another State for the application month, continue with eligibility determination for that month.