Approvals and rejections of applications and regular payments are handled through e-CIS. In addition, underpayments, reissues, second pays and extraordinary pays are processed through e-CIS.
A regular payment occurs after an application is processed through the Case Processing section of e-CIS. The regular payment is the initial approved benefit payment.
An underpayment is processed when a client is not paid enough. A second check may have to be issued for the amount the client owes to the vendor.
The CAO must process underpayments.
After a regular payment is made, if the CAO suspects an underpayment, a worker must review the LIHEAP application (PWEA-1). If the worker finds an error that resulted in an underpayment, he or she should refer the matter to a supervisor.
A supervisor must approve all underpayments processed in e-CIS. Underpayments are to be carefully narrated in the record.
NOTE: Underpayments are processed for the current program year only.
An extraordinary pay is issued when normal payment processing is unavailable, such as after the regular system payment process is shut down for federal reporting purposes.
Each extraordinary payment is processed for a specific client case and vendor. An additional check is issued through e-CIS to a vendor on behalf of a client. An extraordinary payment can be processed only after an initial payment has been issued.
Supporting documentation for the extraordinary payment must be scanned in the case record and narrated. The Vendor Compliance Unit in Harrisburg must process extraordinary payments.
A reissue is used to issue a second benefit, either in part or in full, because the original payment was issued to the wrong vendor and the vendor returned the money to DPW. A reissue is processed after DPW gets the money back from the vendor.
Reissues are processed at LIHEAP headquarters in Harrisburg.
A second pay is used to issue a second benefit to a client because the original cash or crisis payment was issued to the wrong vendor and none of the original payment has been returned to DPW. A second pay is processed before a refund from the wrong vendor is received.
Second pays cannot be done for partial amounts.
After a second pay has been submitted, e-CIS automatically creates an accounts receivable (AR) record that shows the full grant amount -- which is expected to be refunded by the first vendor.
Second pays are processed at LIHEAP headquarters in Harrisburg.
A direct pay goes straight to the applicant instead of a vendor. Direct pay is permitted when the applicant's vendor has declined to participate in LIHEAP, when the bill is in someone else’s name because of credit issues, when the bill is in the landlord’s name, when the applicant is a roomer or when the applicant is renting with heat included as an undesignated part of the rental payment.
If the applicant uses a non-participating vendor, the CAO should refer the case to the LIHEAP Vendor Mailbox. If the Vendor Unit verifies the vendor does not want to participate, the CAO worker must narrate that in the case record. Failure to narrate the reason for a direct pay will cause the case to be canceled by headquarters.
Reissued December 3, 2012, replacing August 24, 2012