441—187.3(234) Services and supports provided. The aftercare services program shall provide the following services and supports to eligible youth:
	187.3(1) Preservices. Planning, coordination of services, and trust-building activities may be provided to a youth placed out of home, as described in paragraph 187.2(3)“a,” who is expected to participate in aftercare services at 18 years of age or older. The administrator may provide funds as described in paragraph 187.3(4)“a.” However, funds provided to the youth in preservices will be deducted from available funds in the youth’s first year of participation in core services.
	187.3(2) Core services. Case management services shall be offered to youth, as described in paragraph 187.2(3)“b,” at a safe and convenient location. Activities shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
	a. 	Development of an individual self-sufficiency plan, based on an assessment of the youth’s strengths and needs. Each core services participant shall have a plan to identify:
	(1)	The youth’s goals for achieving self-sufficiency;
	(2)	The target date for reaching the goals; and
	(3)	The tasks, responsible parties, time frames, and desired outcomes needed to reach the goals.
	b. 	Services to develop a budget and money management skills training.
	c. 	Services to assist the youth in establishing or reestablishing relationships with significant adults.
	d. 	Services to facilitate the youth’s access to community resources.
	e. 	Life skills training, as identified in the youth’s individual self-sufficiency plan. Life skills training shall include, but not be limited to, skills to help the youth in establishing and maintaining safe and stable housing; education goals; employment goals; health and health care coverage; and healthy relationships.
	f. 	Additional case management activities necessary for youth to successfully transition to adulthood and as described in the individual self-sufficiency plan.
	g. 	Individual face-to-face contact with the youth at the frequency defined in the youth’s individual self-sufficiency plan and according to the youth’s changing needs. If a youth is a resident of Iowa but is attending a postsecondary education program in another state, the program administrator or designee shall approve an alternative method for maintaining contact with the youth if and when it is a hardship for the youth to physically be in Iowa.
	h. 	Ongoing assessment, including evaluation and coordination of the services, supports, and life skills training being provided to assist the youth in reaching self-sufficiency goals and to determine if and what progress is being made. The case manager shall amend any goals, outcomes, tasks, responsible parties, and time frames in the plan along with services, supports, and life skills training provided as necessary to assist the youth in achieving self-sufficiency.
	187.3(3) Postservices. Posttransition service may be provided to youth, as described in paragraph 187.2(3)“c,” and may include, but is not limited to, life skills training, periodic check-in, referrals to needed services, and limited payments to youth. Funds, limited to an annual per-participant amount identified in the contract, may be provided to a former aftercare services participant. Prior to receiving available funds, the youth is required to meet with the advocate and discuss the reason the youth is accessing funds and prior efforts to meet the need. The youth may also be asked to provide documentation of income.
	187.3(4) Start-up allowance. When a youth between the ages of 17 and 21 is receiving or is expected to receive core services in accordance with subrule 187.3(2), and is actively participating in the program, the program administrator or designee may authorize and provide payment to a youth as described below:
	a. 	The start-up allowance is intended to assist in covering the initial costs of establishing the youth’s living arrangement, such as by paying rental or utility deposits, purchasing food, or purchasing necessary household items.
	b. 	The start-up allowance is limited to $600 per youth.
	187.3(5) Vendor payments. When a youth qualifies for core services in accordance with subrule 187.3(2), and is actively participating in the program, the program administrator or designee may authorize and provide payment to a youth as described below:
	a. 	To receive a vendor payment, the youth must demonstrate that there are no other means to meet the needs that would be covered by the vendor payment. The youth shall contribute toward the cost of meeting the identified need, to the extent the youth is able. A youth receiving a preparation for adult living (PAL) stipend, preservices or postservices is not eligible for a vendor payment.
	b. 	Vendor payments may include, but are not limited to:
	(1)	Health care-related expenses;
	(2)	Transportation assistance;
	(3)	Costs related to employment and education;
	(4)	Clothing; and
	(5)	Room and board.
	c. 	The amount available for a 12-month period of service shall not exceed $1,200 per youth.
	187.3(6) Preparation for adult living (PAL) stipend. When an eligible youth is actively participating in the program, the administrator or designee shall deliver the preparation for adult living program as described in Iowa Code section 234.46 and as follows:
	a. 	To be eligible for the PAL stipend, the youth must:
	(1)	Meet eligibility requirements in Iowa Code section 234.46 and rule 441—187.2(234); and
	(2)	Have been placed out of home in paid foster care, the Iowa state training school, or a court-ordered Iowa juvenile detention center as identified by Iowa Code chapter 232 on the youth’s eighteenth birthday and have exited after having been in any combination of the same services in at least 6 of the 12 months before leaving placement; and
	(3)	Be ineligible for voluntary foster care placement, due to one of the following:
	1.	The youth has a high school diploma or equivalent, or
	2.	The youth has reached 20 years of age, or
	3.	The youth became eligible for aftercare services due to exiting the Iowa state training school or an Iowa detention center.
	b. 	To be eligible for the PAL stipend, the youth must meet one or more of the following criteria:
	(1)	Be enrolled in or actively pursuing enrollment in postsecondary education, a training program or work training; or
	(2)	Be employed for 80 hours per month or be actively seeking that level of employment; or
	(3)	Be attending an accredited school full-time pursuing a course of study leading to a high school diploma; or
	(4)	Be attending an instructional program leading to a high school equivalency diploma.
	c. 	The maximum monthly stipend shall be provided after completion of the youth’s budget. The maximum amounts provided to a youth shall be stated in the contract and shall be based on program eligibility and guidelines, as follows:
	(1)	The monthly stipend shall be prorated based on the number of days of youth participation, for those entering and exiting the program during the month.
	(2)	When the monthly unearned income of the youth exceeds the overall maximum monthly stipend offered in the preparation for adult living program, the youth is not eligible for payments under subrule 187.3(4) unless unused startup funds remain.
	(3)	When the net earnings of the youth exceed the overall maximum monthly stipend offered in the preparation for adult living program, the monthly stipend shall be reduced by 50 cents for every dollar earned by the youth over the overall monthly maximum stipend.
	(4)	All earned and unearned income received by the youth during the 30 days before the determination shall be used to project future income. If the 30-day period is not indicative of future income, income from a longer period or verification of anticipated income from the income source may be used to project future income.
	(5)	Nonrecurring lump-sum payments are excluded as income. Nonrecurring lump-sum payments include, but are not limited to, one-time payments received for such things as income tax refunds, rebates, credits, refunds of security deposits on rental property or utilities, and retroactive payments for past months’ benefits such as social security, unemployment insurance, or public assistance.
	(6)	The youth shall timely report the beginning and ending of earned and unearned income. A report shall be considered timely when made within ten days from the receipt of income or the date income ended.
	(7)	When the youth timely reports a change in income, the youth’s prospective eligibility and stipend amount for the following month shall be determined based on the change.
	(8)	Recoupment shall be made for any overpayment due to failure to timely report a change in income or for benefits paid during an administrative appeal if the department’s action is ultimately upheld. Recoupment may be made through a reasonable reduction of any future stipends.
	(9)	Recoupment shall not be made when a youth timely reports a change in income and the change is timely acted upon, but the timely notice policy in rule 441—16.3(17A) requires that the action be delayed until the second calendar month following the month of change.
	(10)	The stipend may be paid to the youth, the foster family, or another payee other than a department employee. The payee shall be agreed upon by the parties involved and specified in the individual self-sufficiency plan, described in subrule 187.3(2).
	(11)	The maximum stipend may be based on the age of the youth.
	187.3(7) Postservices allowance. Youth 21 or 22 years of age who previously received aftercare services may receive postservices funds if they meet all of the following criteria:
	a. 	The youth is participating in postservices as described in subrule 187.3(3).
	b. 	A budget discussion has been completed timely by the youth with a self-sufficiency advocate.
	c. 	The need has been identified in the individual self-sufficiency plan.
	d. 	The postservices funds approved for the youth have not exceeded $300 for a three-month period calculated from the date of initiation of postservices.
[ARC 4485C, IAB 6/5/19, effective 7/10/19; ARC 4973C, IAB 3/11/20, effective 4/15/20; ARC 5020C, IAB 4/8/20, effective 5/13/20]