Crisis and Emergency Services

Crisis and Emergency Services. Mississippi offers a year-round crisis assistance component of LIHEAP, entitled the Energy Crisis Intervention Program (ECIP), provides assistance to low-income households who have encountered a crisis situation within the last 30 days. Agencies should utilize partnerships to alleviate crisis until client’s eligibility is determined. A. Life Threatening Crisis (LTE) – Eligible households with a life-threatening energy crisis must have the crisis relieved within 18 hours of an approved application. Resolution of a life-threatening crisis may include, but is not limited to: arranging for an immediate supply of fuel, securing a payment arrangement with the energy vendor, pledging the amount of the bill to prevent shutoff, or to restore service, purchase of heating/cooling equipment, etc. The following are considered life threatening. a. Disaster (fire, gas, leak, etc.) b. Person(s) on life support or medical devices that require electricity. In the event an applicant is at risk of disconnection of a utility that is a necessity for any medical equipment or devices needed to sustain life, the applicant should be treated as a Life-Threatening Crisis case and should be interviewed the same day and approved within 18 hours of the applicant’s initial application. Supporting documents should be provided at the time of interview and scanned into Virtual ROMA and placed in the applicant’s file. c. Domestic violence, and/or d. The abuse/neglect of elderly, disabled, or child B. Non-Life-Threatening Crisis (NON-LTE) – Eligible households with a non-life- threatening energy crisis must have the crisis relieved within 48 hours of an approved application. Resolution of a non-life-threatening crisis may include, but is not limited to: arranging for an immediate supply of fuel, securing a payment arrangement with the energy vendor, pledging the amount of the bill to prevent shutoff, or to restore service, purchase of heating/cooling equipment, etc. The following are considered non-life threatening. a. Unexpected expense such as death of an immediate family member, funeral expenses, high medical expenses, etc; b. Income loss within the last thirty (30) days (of the date the subgrantee was contacted) due to layoff or termination of benefits; c. Services are disconnected or threatened to be turned off; d. Theft; e. Displacement of a minor child (under the age of 18) due to the client’s inability to pay utilities, rent, etc.; and/or f. Other documented emergencies within the last thirty (30) days, as deemed acceptable by the subgrantee. C. LIHEAP Assistance for Disaster Relief – Natural disaster (fire, hurricane, tornado, flood, etc.) or extreme inclement weather conditions determined by the National Weather Service and/or declared by the President or Governor. Allowable uses of LIHEAP funds for home energy-related needs resulting from a natural disaster or disasters include: a. Costs to temporarily house or shelter individuals in which homes have been destroyed or damaged i. Hotels (up to 5 days), ii. Apartments (1 month rent and deposit), or iii. Other living situations that place people in settings to preserve health and safety and to move them away from the crisis situation b. Costs for transportation (such as cars, shuttles, buses, etc.) to move individuals away from the crisis area to shelters, when their health and safety is endangered by loss of access to heating or cooling c. Utility reconnection costs (does not include water and sewage), d. Repair or replacement cost for furnaces, air conditioners and heaters, e. Insulation repair, f. Coats and blankets, as tangible benefits to keep individuals warm, g. Crisis payments for utilities and utility deposits, h. Purchase and installation of fans, air conditioners and heaters, i. Purchase and installation of generators, j. Costs associated with mobile outreach, and k. Other needed items (contact DCS for approval). The costs related to utility cost such as utilities, deposits, reconnect fees, and late fees are counted against the annual matrix amount per household. Other costs shall not be counted against the annual matrix benefit amount per household. D. Subgrantees shall, under no circumstances, state the applicant must have a disconnect notice to apply for assistance. This may put a household in a crisis situation which could be avoided by assisting with regular LIHEAP assistance. E. Applicants who are ineligible for crisis benefits shall be referred to other organizations that may be able to assist, or the subgrantee may contact energy vendor(s) on the applicant’s behalf to see if a payment arrangement or extension is available. F. Multiple emergency requests by a client may result in the subgrantee referring client to CSBG program for intensive case management. However, case management is not a requirement for LIHEAP services.