13-13  Managing Financial Aid/Deny or Discontinue Financial Aid

Purpose

Update policy and procedures to deny, reduce or discontinue financial aid. We made the following changes:

• Updated the chart with reasons for denying financial
• Added a section to this Issuance titled “Disagreement on Amount of Financial Aid”

This replaces Issuance 12-08 Managing Financial Aid/Deny or Discontinue Financial Aid.

Background

One of the ways we help people get a job, keep a job, or get a better job is to provide financial aid for education, work or work search.  Most commonly, we provide scholarships to people for education, financial aid to help parents who are working or going to school with child care expense, and/or financial assistance for transportation expenses to help students and people looking for work or starting a job.  We provide lesser amount of financial aid in other categories (see Issuance 13-06 Managing Financial Aid/Limits). This Issuance provides procedures for notifying customers that we are denying a financial aid application or discontinuing financial aid and their rights to appeal.

Denying Financial Aid

We deny a customer’s application for Workforce Solutions financial assistance if

• We determine a customer is ineligible for our financial aid dollars.  A customer may be ineligible for a variety of reasons.
• We are unable to complete eligibility determination because the customer did not provide the documents or information we requested in the time allowed.

Discontinuing Financial Aid

We discontinue or stop, or suspend, financial aid if

• After assessing a customer's eligibility during an eligibility review process, we determine that the customer is no longer eligible for our aid.
• A customer has not fulfilled a requirement or condition of receiving financial aid.
• For a temporary time period a customer does not need our aid or will be temporarily ineligible (e.g., not working/in school 25 hours a week).
• The planned time for the financial aid ends.
• A lack of WFS funds results in our having to discontinue the aid.

Notifying Customers

We always send a letter by US Mail to a customer when we deny or discontinue that customer’s financial aid for whatever reason.  This letter:

1. Tells the customer why we are denying or discontinuing financial aid;
2. Provides the customer with the steps necessary to appeal our decision; and
3. Includes the appeal form appropriate to that customer's situation

Following is a list of the letters we use for each specific situation in which we deny or discontinue financial aid.  All letters and the reasons we deny aid are available to staff online at Finacial Aid Appeals

• Denying Financial Aid
• Suspension - Medical Leave
• Suspension - Parent not working/in school 25 hours
• Suspension - Child does to need care
• Suspension - After 4 weeks seeking work

Appeals

A customer may appeal our decision to deny a financial aid application or discontinue (or suspend) financial aid by returning an appeals form, sending us a complaint form or sending us other written communication stating why she/he does not agree with our decision to deny the requested aid.  There at two appeals forms for customer use when we deny or discontinue financial aid.  We must use the correct form depending on why we deny financial aid.  The appeals forms and the list of reasons to deny financial aid are on the web at Finacial Aid Appeals  Our process for responding to a customer’s complaint/appeal is on the web at the same address.

Disagreement on Amount of Financial Aid

Sometimes a customer believes that we reduced the amount of financial aid we committed.  This customer will not receive a denial letter and appeals form because we do not believe we have provided less than committed.  For example, we sometimes change the yearly maximum of a scholarship award.  The customer may believe she is entitled to continue to receive the same yearly amount for the duration of her time in school.

• If, after you explain to a customer the maximum financial aid you can approve, she continues to insist that she is entitled to more ask her to complete the “Financial Aid Disagreement Form” found at Finacial Aid Appeals
• Submit the form to the appropriate call center and they will handle the issue according to the appeal process noted in this Issuance.

Action

1. Begin using all resources right away.
2. Managers and supervisors will be responsible for informing staff to begin using new letters and forms as we send you email forwarding the letters.  They will also be responsible for assuring that staff use the new letters and forms appropriately.     
   

Questions

Staff should ask questions of their supervisors and managers first.  Direct questions for Board staff through the electronic Q&A available for new issuances on http://wrksolutions.com.

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