1915 Managed Accounts

Georgia State Seal

Georgia Division of Family and Children Services
TANF Policy Manual

Policy Title:

Managed Accounts

Effective Date:

November 2023

Chapter:

1900

Policy Number:

1915

Previous Policy Number(s):

MT 72

Updated or Reviewed in MT:

MT-75

Requirements

A third party may be designated to manage an Assistance Unit’s cash benefits and therefore must be able to access those benefits.

Basic Considerations

Protective Payee

A protective payee, personal representative or emergency payee may be designated to manage TANF recipient’s account.

A protective payee is designated in the following situations:

  • the grantee relative is unable to manage the AU’s cash assistance benefits,

  • the grantee relative mismanages the AU’s cash assistance by spending the benefits in such a manner that the health or well-being of the child is endangered,

  • the grantee relative signs a request that a protective payee be established, or

  • a minor parent receives cash assistance for his/her dependent child, regardless of the living arrangement of the minor parent.

  • a pregnant minor receives cash assistance, regardless of the living arrangement.

A protective payee cannot be one of the following:

  • a landlord

  • a grocer

  • any vendor of goods or services who deals directly with the AU.

There is a two-year limit for a protective payee appointed because of mismanagement of funds. If the grantee relative is unable to resume the role of payee at the expiration of this period, a personal representative must be appointed.

The AU may request a hearing regarding the appointment of a protective payee and the termination of the protective payee’s role as such.

When a protective payee is appointed, the AU must be notified of the following:

  • the reason for the protective payee’s assignment,

  • the AU’s responsibility for cooperating with reviews of its eligibility for cash assistance,

  • the requirement that the AU must report all changes timely.

The protective payee must be notified of the following:

  • the reason for the protective payee’s assignment,

  • that all correspondence must be mailed to the protective payee,

  • the protective payee’s responsibility for ensuring that the AU receives all mailed correspondence in a timely manner,

  • the protective payee’s responsibility for managing the AU’s cash assistance funds.

Appointing an Agency Employee as a Protective Payee

If the AU is not able to name a suitable protective payee, the aid of Social Services staff may be enlisted.

The following persons cannot be appointed as a protective payee:

  • the worker to whom the Social Services case is assigned

  • the county Director or any staff person involved in determining program eligibility or handling of any of the financial processes related to the AU.

Personal Representative

A personal representative must be appointed when a determination is made that, because the grantee relative has demonstrated a continuing inability to manage the AU’s cash assistance benefits, there is a need for a protective payee of a permanent nature.

Emergency Payee

An emergency payee is assigned for a period of no more than three calendar months when, because of an emergency, a dependent child ceases to live with the grantee relative.

The emergency may include one of the following:

  • abandonment of the child by the grantee relative,

  • commitment of the grantee relative to a mental hospital,

  • death of the grantee relative,

  • imprisonment of the grantee relative, or

  • any other situation in which parental control of the child is suddenly released to a non-relative.

If the AU no longer requires an emergency payee at any time during the three-month period, the emergency payee must be removed and the grantee relative reinstated as the AU’s payee.

If, at the end of the three-month period, the emergency has not been resolved and a suitable grantee relative cannot be located, the case must be terminated.

An emergency payee is not required to meet the degree of relationship.

Subsidized Employer

Subsidized employment provides for an AU’s cash assistance to be diverted to an employer as an incentive for the employer to hire and train a TANF recipient for a position that can lead to full-time unsubsidized employment.

Account Manager

Protective payee, personal representative, emergency payee and subsidized employer information is entered in the system. The payee is designated as an account manager for benefits management purposes.

An account identifier, which is the grantee relative’s Client ID with an added suffix, is automatically established for the account manager when information is received from the Integrated Eligibility System (IES).

The account manager is assigned his/her own EPC account and Way2Go card that is distinct from those assigned to the AU.