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Department
of Human Services Families
First Online Policy Manual Individual Development Account |
Revised: |
18.7 |
PROCEDURES |
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The
caseworker will explain what an IDA is; how one can participate in an IDA
group; and how it affects his/her resources. ·
The
caseworker will be expected to educate the recipient on the incentives and
benefits of building savings. The
caseworker will have a listing of all the non-profit organizations that offer
an IDA program and descriptions of each program available so that the
participant can select the one best suited to his/her needs. Some communities
may have only one non-profit that offers IDAs. Some IDA programs will be geared towards a
specific service population such as a neighborhood, age or gender
grouping. Other IDA programs will
focus on a specific IDA use, like small business development. In the event that all the programs
available in a county have such specific population requirements that the
participant is excluded from every program, the caseworker will inform the
Department of Human Services ·
The Referral
Form for the IDA program is available to the participant at the Department of
Human Services office. If a Families
First participant is interested in opening an IDA, the IDA Referral Form
should be completed (in triplicate) at the time of the visit. The Saver gives one copy to the non-profit
sponsor and keeps another copy. The
caseworker sends one copy of the form to TNCED at: ATTN: IDA, TNCED, P.O. Box
23353, Nashville, TN 37202-3353., (615) 395-4341. The caseworker logs in the referral on an IDA
Program Log sheet. This referral
information is then given to the IDA Contact in the county office to include
in the centralized ·
The IDA
contact will receive a Department of Human Services IDA Saver Notification
Form, signaling that a participant is establishing an IDA. The form should be logged into the IDA
Program Log, and the information shared with the individual’s caseworker. The caseworker should then send the IDA
Saver an IDA Information Letter that explains the DHS IDA Policy. ·
The
centralized county IDA Program Log should also be updated with information
about account openings, account balance, withdrawals, and departures from the
program. The caseworker fills in the
new information on an IDA Program Log sheet and gives this information to the
IDA Contact. ·
In the event
of a withdrawal, the participant must provide a receipt and/or other form of
verification from TNCED or the sponsoring PIC to the caseworker to establish
that the withdrawal was used for one of the IDA qualified purposes. If the withdrawal was for an unqualified
purpose, the Saver should send a Department of Human Services-IDA Saver
Unqualified Withdrawal Notification Form to the ·
Questions
about a specific IDA should be directed to the designated non-profit sponsor
staff. Contact the |
Desk Guide |