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State of Wisconsin |
HISTORY |
The policy on this page is from a previous version of the handbook.
Once CTS eligibility is determined by an income maintenance worker using the CARES system, the names, payment months and SSNs of CTS eligible parents and children are transmitted by the CARES system to the DHS SSI program. Data processing for the SSI program is performed by the fiscal agent under contract to DHS.
The transmission of CTS eligibility data from CARES to the SSI program is referred to as an interface. Data is interfaced twice per month from CARES to the SSI program. The initial interface occurs immediately after CARES processes eligibility for all programs of assistance for the following month (CARES adverse action date). A second interface occurs on the last date possible in order to have CTS benefits included in the first of the month SSI payment received by the SSI eligible parent (CARES benefit issuance pull-down date).
Although the CTS data interface occurs twice per month, local agency workers can determine and confirm CTS eligibility on any day of the month. The CARES system holds the information on file until the next scheduled interface date. An example of a typical monthly interface schedule may be seen in Illustration 3 of 5.4 Illustrations, CTS Interface Timeline.
CTS payments are made on the first of the month for that month. When a local agency worker confirms eligibility for CTS for the following month prior to the second monthly interface date, the CTS payment will appear on the SSI parent’s SSI payment on the first of the next month. However, if a local agency worker confirms eligibility for any month after the second interface date, the CTS benefits will remain on file in the CARES system, awaiting the first interface in the following month.
With two exceptions, the SSI program will always accept the interfaced information and add any CTS benefits to an SSI recipient’s payment. These two exceptions are:
When there is no record of the parent’s eligibility for SSI in Wisconsin at the State SSI Program.
When the CTS parent’s state SSI payment has been suspended due to lack of current address or when the representative payee for the SSI payment is changing.
When the first exception occurs, the SSI program will contact the local agency worker regarding the discrepancy. These instances should be very rare,since the local agency worker has several tools available to verify SSI eligibility in Wisconsin and the CARES system regularly receives automatic updates of SSI eligibility information. When the second exception occurs, the payment will remain on file and will be dispersed to the parent when the suspension is cleared.
Due to a limited set of circumstances, an electronic interface of CTS eligibility and payment information is not possible. One such situation arises when, after benefits have been interfaced for a given month, the parent is found to be eligible for payment for an additional child; usually this child is a newborn or has returned to the home from another living arrangement, typically foster care. Another instance occurs when an SSI parent who has been receiving CTS is found to be eligible for SSI for a previous time period. CTS benefits for this previous time period must be manually authorized by the local agency worker.
When manual benefit authorization is required, local agency workers complete and fax form F-22564 "Authorization For Retroactive Caretaker Supplement (CTS)" to the SSI program. The SSI program insures that the benefit is included with the SSI parent’s next scheduled SSI payment.
Detailed instructions are available to guide IM agency workers in identifying situations where manual authorization for CTS benefits is required. See Process Help 9.9.7.2 Running CTS Eligibility with Dates for information.
This page last updated in Release Number: 20-01
Release Date: 11/23/20
Effective Date: 11/23/20
The information concerning the Caretaker Supplement program provided in this handbook release is published in accordance with Section 49.775 of the Wisconsin Statutes and Chapters HA 3 and DHS 2 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code.
Notice: The content within this manual is the sole responsibility of the State of Wisconsin's Department of Health Services (DHS). This site will link to sites outside of DHS where appropriate. DHS is in no way responsible for the content of sites outside of DHS.
Publication Number: P-23131