GIS 13 MA/003: Changes to the Welfare Management System: Date of Status (DOS)/Date Entered Country (DEC)

The purpose of this General Information System (GIS) message is to inform Local Departments of Social Services of changes made to the DOS and DEC fields on the Welfare Management System (WMS).

In 2008, as a part of the MKB vs. Eggleston litigation, OTDA was directed to create a second date field in WMS so the date an immigrant became a qualified alien and the date the immigrant entered the country could both be recorded.The two fields are the "Date of Status" (DOS) and the "Date Entered Country" (DEC), respectively. In the upstate system, the DOS/DEC are both on WMS Screen Four. In New York City, the DOS/DEC are both on WMS Screen NCEM15. These fields were "locked" in WMS to prevent any erroneous changes to the dates that could potentially "restart the clock" for certain aliens in the five-year ban. The five-year ban prevents New York State from receiving Federal Financial Participation (FFP) for aliens enrolled in certain programs (e.g. Medicaid) until the individual has been in a "qualified" alien status for five years. An alien in the five year ban has an Alien Citizenship Indicator (ACI) of B, F, G, K or S. After being in a qualified alien status for five years, an alien is eligible for FFP.

The procedure to change a date entered in the DOS or DEC fields, as outlined in GIS 08 MA/014, was designed to handle a few DOS/DEC change requests a month. Within the last year there has been a significant increase in the number of requests to change the DOS/DEC. This increase in volume is attributed to an increased awareness and training of workers of the DOS/DEC procedure.

To address the volume of DOS/DEC change requests, the lock on the day for the DOS/DEC fields has been removed to allow a worker to correct the day if appropriate. A new WMS Edit 1439, "Changes to DOS and DEC are Limited to Day Only," has been added to the field. This edit is for Case Types 11, 12, 16, 17, 20, 21 and 24 with an ACI of A, B, F, G, H, J, K, M, R, S or V. The only allowed change to the DEC and DOS is to the "DD" (day) Field. The lock remains on the month and year to prevent a change that could negatively impact eligibility for federal benefits and federal reimbursement.

In those instances where only the day is incorrect, the district is no longer required to submit the LDSS 4929 "Upstate Inter-Agency Date of Status (DOS) and Date Entered Country (DEC) Transmittal Form" or in New York City the MAP-648M "Inter-Agency Date of Status (DOS) and Date Entered Country (DEC) Transmittal Form". To correct the day, the worker is able to make the change in WMS without approval from the State Department of Health (SDOH) and the State Office of Temporary Disability Services (OTDA).

For example: The LDSS has a case where the DOS/DEC in WMS is 08/01/2008, but the correct date on the I-551 Lawful Permanent Resident Card is 08/12/2008. The worker will change the day in the field from "1" to "12".

As a reminder, some of the types of immigration documentation the individual will provide include an I-94 Arrival/Departure Record, an I-766 or I-688B Employment Authorization Card, an I-551 Lawful Permanent Resident Card, or an I-797 Notice of Action. Workers can identify DOS/DEC by looking for the following phrases "resident since", "issue date" or "valid from" on the immigration document.

In those instances where the DOS/DEC, month or year needs to be changed, districts should continue to follow the procedures outlined in GIS 08 MA/014 and send an LDSS 4929 or MAP-648M transmittal form.

If you have questions regarding the DOS/DEC Medicaid policy please call (518)474-8887.