As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
AGENCY
Any health, social service or other entity that provides
services to a client. Any such entity to which a welfare official
may refer a client for additional resources and/or assistance.
APPLICANT
A person who expresses a desire to receive general assistance
or to have his/her eligibility reviewed and whose application has
not been withdrawn. This may be expressed either in person or by an
authorized representative of the applicant.
APPLICATION (REAPPLICATION)
Written action by which a person requests assistance from
a welfare official. This application must be made on a form provided
by the welfare official. The application form may be written or completed
electronically by means of an interview conducted by a welfare official
and verified by the applicant's signature.
ASSETS
All cash, real property, personal property and future assets
owned by the applicant.
AVAILABLE LIQUID ASSETS
Amount of liquid assets after exclusions enumerated in §
482-8D. Includes cash on hand, checking accounts, bank deposits, credit union accounts, stocks, bonds, and securities. Individual retirement accounts (IRA), 401k accounts, insurance policies with a loan value, and nonessential personal property shall be considered as available liquid assets when they have been converted into cash.
CASE RECORD
Official files containing forms, correspondence and narrative
records pertaining to the application, including determination of
eligibility, reasons for decisions and actions by the welfare official,
and kinds of assistance given. The case record may be kept electronically.
A hard copy of all signed documents should be kept.
CLAIMANT
A recipient or applicant who has requested, either in person or through an authorized representative, a fair hearing under §
482-13 of these guidelines.
CLIENT
An individual who receives services from the Welfare Department.
May be a single person or encompass a family.
ELIGIBILITY
Determination by a welfare official, in accordance with the guidelines, of an applicant's need for general assistance under the formula provided in §
482-8.
FAIR HEARING
A hearing which the applicant or recipient may request to contest a denial, termination or reduction of assistance. The standards for such a hearing are in §
482-13.
GENERAL ASSISTANCE
Financial assistance provided to applicants in accordance
with RSA 165 and these guidelines.
HOUSEHOLD
A.
The applicant/recipient and persons residing with the applicant/recipient
in the relationship of father, mother, stepfather, stepmother, son,
daughter, husband, wife, or domestic partner; and/or
B.
The applicant/recipient and any adult (including an unrelated
person) who resides with the applicant/recipient "in loco parentis"
(in the role of a substitute parent) to a minor child (a person under
18 years of age). A person "in loco parentis" is one who intentionally
accepts the rights and duties of a natural parent with respect to
a child not his or her own and who has lived with the child long enough
to form a "psychological family."
MINOR
A person under 18 years of age.
NEED
The basic maintenance and support requirements of an applicant, as determined by a welfare official under the standards of §
482-8E of these guidelines.
RECIPIENT
A person who is receiving general assistance.
RELIEVE AND MAINTAIN
The sustaining of basic needs necessary to the health and
welfare of the household.
RESIDENCE or RESIDENCY
An applicant's place of abode or domicile. The place of abode
or domicile is that place designated by an applicant, unless there
is clear evidence otherwise, as his or her principal place of physical
presence for the indefinite future to the exclusion of all others.
Such residence or residency shall not be interrupted or lost by a
temporary absence from it, if there is an intent to return to such
residence or residency as the principal place of physical presence.
RSA 165:1, I; RSA 21:6-a.
RESIDENTIAL UNIT
All persons physically residing with the applicant, including
persons in the applicant's household and those not within the household.
SHELTER
A temporary housing provider through which an individual
or family may seek emergency housing until permanent housing can be
found.
UTILITY
Any service such as electric, gas, oil, water or sewer necessary
to maintain the health and welfare of the household.
VENDOR/PROVIDER
Any landlord, utility company, store or other business which
provides goods or services needed by the applicant/recipient.
VOUCHER SYSTEM
The system whereby a municipality issues vouchers to the recipient's vendors and providers rather than cash to the recipient. RSA 165:1, III. See §
482-7.
WELFARE OFFICIAL
The official of the municipality, or designee, who performs
the function of administering general assistance. Such person has
the authority to make all decisions regarding the granting of assistance
under RSA 165, subject to the overall fiscal responsibility vested
in the Selectmen or Town Manager. The term includes "overseers of
public welfare" (RSA 165:1; RSA 41:46) and "administrator of town
or city welfare" (RSA 165:2).
WORK PROGRAM
Labor performed by welfare recipients at municipal sites
or human service agencies as reimbursement for benefits received.
RSA 165:31.
Information given by or about an applicant or recipient of general
assistance is confidential and privileged and is not a public record
under the provisions of RSA 91-A. Such information will not be published,
released, or discussed with any individual or agency without written
permission of the applicant or recipient, except when disclosure is
required by law, or when necessary to carry out the purposes of RSA
165. RSA 165:2-c.
The responsibility of the day-to-day administration of the general
assistance program should be vested in the appointed welfare official.
The welfare official shall administer the general assistance program
in accordance with the written guidelines of the municipality. The
local governing body, the Selectmen, is responsible for the adoption
of the guidelines relative to general assistance. RSA 165:1, II.
Any determination or investigation of need or eligibility shall
be conducted in a manner that will not violate the privacy or personal
dignity of the individual or harass or violate his or her individual
rights.
A. Required verifications. Verification will normally be required of
the following:
(2) Facts relevant to the applicant's residence, as set forth in §§
482-8B and
482-9;
(3) Names of persons in applicant's residential unit;
(4) Applicant's and household's income and assets;
(5) Applicant's and household's financial obligations;
(6) The physical and mental condition of household members, only where
relevant to their receipt of assistance, such as ability to work,
determination of needs, or referrals to other forms of assistance;
(7) Any special circumstances claimed by applicant;
(8) Applicant's employment status and availability in the labor market;
(9) Names, addresses, and employment status of potentially liable relatives;
(13)
Any other costs that the applicant wishes to claim as a necessity.
B. Verification records. Verification may be made through records provided
by the applicant (for example, birth and marriage certificates, pay
stubs, pay checks, rent receipts, bankbooks, bank statements, etc.)
as primary sources. The failure of the applicant to bring such records
does not affect the welfare official's responsibility to process the
application promptly. The welfare official shall inform the applicant
what records are necessary, and the applicant is required to produce
records possessed as soon as possible. However, the welfare official
shall not insist on documentary verification if such records are not
available, but should ask the applicant to suggest alternative means
of verification.
C. Other sources of verification. Verification may also be made through
other sources, such as relatives, employers, former employers, banks,
school personnel, and social or government agencies. The cashier of
a national bank or a treasurer of a savings and trust company is authorized
by law to furnish information regarding amounts deposited to the credit
of an applicant or recipient. RSA 165:4.
D. Written consent of applicant. When information is sought from such
other sources, the welfare official shall explain to the applicant
or recipient what information is desired, how it will be used, and
the necessity of obtaining it in order to establish eligibility. Before
contact is made with any other source, the welfare official shall
obtain written consent of the applicant or recipient, unless the welfare
official has reasonable grounds to suspect fraud. In the case of suspected
fraud, the welfare official shall carefully record his/her reasons
and actions, and before any accusation or confrontation is made, the
applicant shall be given an opportunity to explain or clarify the
suspicious circumstances.
E. Legally liable relatives. The welfare official may seek statements
from the applicant's legally liable relatives regarding their ability
to help support the applicant.
F. Refusal to verify information. Should the applicant or recipient
refuse comment and/or indicate an unwillingness to have the welfare
official seek further information that is necessary, assistance may
be denied for lack of eligibility verification.
The welfare official shall provide for proper burial or cremation,
at municipal expense, of persons found in the municipality at time
of death, regardless of whether the deceased person ever applied for
or received general assistance from any municipality. In such cases,
assistance may be applied for on behalf of the deceased person; however
the application should be made before any burial or cremation expenses
are incurred. The expense may be recovered from the deceased person's
municipality of residence or from a liable relative pursuant to RSA
165:3, II. If relatives, other private persons, the state or other
sources are unable to cover the entire burial/cremation expense, the
municipality will pay up to $1,000 for burial/cremation. (See Appendix
A.) RSA 165:3 and RSA 165:1-b; see also RSA 165:27 and RSA
165:27-a.
The welfare official shall seek to recover money expended to
assist eligible applicants. There shall be no delay, refusal to assist,
reduction or termination of assistance while the welfare official
is pursuing the procedural or statutory avenues to secure reimbursement.
Any legal action to recover must be filed in a court within six years
after the expenditure. RSA 165:25.
A. Recovery. The welfare official may seek recovery from legally responsible
relatives and shall seek to recover from the municipality of residence
the amount of money spent by the municipality to assist a recipient
who has a residence in another municipality. Written notice of money
spent in support of a recipient must be given to the welfare official
of the municipality of residence. In any civil action for recovery
brought under RSA 165:20, the court shall award costs to the prevailing
party. RSA 165:19 and RSA 165:20. (See RSA 165:20-a providing for
arbitration of such disputes between communities.)
B. Recovery from former recipient's income. A former recipient who is
returned to an income status after receiving assistance may be required
to reimburse the municipality for the assistance provided, if such
reimbursement can be made without financial hardship. RSA 165:20-b.
C. Recovery from state and federal sources. The amount of money spent
by a municipality to support a recipient who has made initial application
for SSI and has signed HHS Form 151 "Authorization for Reimbursement
of Interim Assistance" shall be recovered through the SSA and the
New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. Prescription
expenses paid by the municipality for applicants who have applied
for Medicaid shall be recovered through the New Hampshire Department
of Health and Human Services if and when the applicant is approved
for medical coverage.
D. Delayed state claims. For those recipients of general assistance
deemed eligible for state assistance, the New Hampshire Department
of Health and Human Services shall reimburse a municipality the amount
of general assistance as a result of delays in processing within the
federally mandated time periods. Any claims for reimbursement shall
be held until the end of the fiscal year and may be reimbursed on
a prorated basis dependent upon the total claims filed per year. RSA
165:20-c. A Form 340 "Request for State Reimbursement" may be obtained
from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services for
this purpose.
Whenever the owner of property rented to a person receiving
general assistance from the municipality is in arrears in sewer, water,
electricity, or tax payments to the municipality, the municipality
may apply the assistance which the property owner would have received
in payment of rent on behalf of such assisted person to the property
owner's delinquent balances, regardless of whether such delinquent
balances are in respect of property occupied by the assisted person.
RSA 165:4-a.
A. Payment arrears. A payment shall be considered in arrears if more
than 30 days have elapsed since the mailing of the bill or, in the
case of real estate taxes, if interest has begun to accrue pursuant
to RSA 76:13. RSA 165:4-a.
B. Order of priority. Delinquent balances will be offset in order of
the following priority:
C. Procedure.
(1) The welfare official will issue a voucher on behalf of the tenant
to the landlord for the allowed amount of rent. The voucher will indicate
any amount to be applied to a delinquent balance owed by the landlord,
specifying which delinquency and referring to the authority of RSA
165:4-a.
(2) The welfare official will issue a duplicate voucher to the appropriate
department (i.e., tax collector, sewer department, water precinct,
municipal electric facility), which shall forward the voucher to the
treasurer or finance director for payment. Upon receipt of payment,
the department will issue a receipt of payment to the delinquent landlord.