The Summer Cooling component is designed to provide eligible households with a one-time payment to the household’s cooling/electric provider. Households including a member that is at risk will also be eligible for assistance with an air conditioner. Eligibility is based on household income, size, liquid resources, and responsibility for home cooling. Benefits are calculated based on household size, housing status (government subsidized rent or unsubsidized housing) and income.

Outreach activities for the Summer Cooling component are critical. It is important that information regarding the Summer Cooling component be available to low-income consumers. CAAs will be provided with flyers that provide limited program information. These flyers should be distributed to Senior Citizen Centers, Head Start Centers, state offices, community centers, and other places in the community where low-income people are likely to see them. Grocery stores, Laundromats, and other stores in low-income communities should be contacted to determine if they would display the flyer.

Applications must be completed utilizing a face-to-face interview on a first-come, first served basis with a member of the household or authorized representative. Home visits may be made by workers to take applications in accordance with local agency procedures, if an authorized representative cannot be located. However, the county office or application center must remain open with staff available to take applications during regular office hours. It is recommended that workers make every attempt to locate authorized representatives to make application on behalf of those consumers who are homebound and unable to come into the office. Agencies may request a waiver to complete the application process by phone.

An application is required for both cooling benefits and for receipt of an air conditioner. However, if a household receives both on the same application date, one application may be used for both benefits. For receipt of an air conditioner, the vendor will be KACA and the voucher number will be AC.

Households may reapply for assistance even if the household had been previously denied. However, once a case determination has been made on an application, the worker must complete a new application each time the household reapplies.

The Summer Cooling component is operated when additional LIHEAP funds are authorized due to excessive heat. This component is not provided each year. Specific timeframe information will be provided upon receipt and the program will be operated within the time frame, or until funds are exhausted, whichever comes first. No applications can be completed more than 5 days after the end of the program. No application may be pended for more than 5 working days.

To be eligible for Summer Cooling benefits, a household must meet all regular program eligibility requirements:

• make and complete an application;
• be responsible for home cooling costs, directly or as an undesignated portion of their rent;
• have a combined household income, for the calendar month prior to the month of application, not in excess of 110% of the federal poverty level as listed in the

• live in Kentucky when the application is made and apply in the county of residence;

To be eligible for receipt of an air conditioner, the household must meet the eligibility requirements for cooling, the household must not have or have access to an air conditioner, and the household must also meet one of the following requirements:

• have a member with a health condition or disability that requires cooling to prevent further deterioration as verified by a physician statement on letter head (examples persons with heart disease, asthma, severe respiratory conditions);
• have a member who is 65 year or older; and/or
• have a member who is under the age of six.

The level of benefit provided to a household will be determined by the household’s percent of poverty, and their type of housing (government subsidized rent or non-subsidized housing).

Households may be eligible for the one-time cooling assistance benefit and for an air conditioner, if all eligibility requirements are met.

Benefits will be paid directly to the household’s electric/cooling provider. "1" Electric will automatically be listed as the "Primary Heat Source" and the "Heat Source Paid" on the application.

All electric/cooling vendors are single-source vendors. The only requirement is a completed Vendor Agreement. If a Vendor Agreement is on file for the previous heating season, it is valid for Summer Cooling. However, the CAA must call the vendor to assure that the vendor plans to participate in Summer Cooling. For all new vendors, an application and Vendor Agreement is required.

A list of all approved vendors must be kept at each application site.

• Each vendor must sign the Vendor Agreement (copy in Forms Section), prior to being accepted as a Vendor for the program.
• The CAA will contact each vendor that participated in the program during the last

• Each vendor MUST provide the agency with a telephone number where they can be contacted.
• Each potential vendor must complete and sign a vendor application that requires the

disclosure of the official name of vendor, business address of vendor,.

• Each CAA shall also recruit minority-owned businesses as vendors in compliance with agency policies and the requirements in the Subcontract Agreement.

Vendors will be paid by one-party checks within three days of receipt of funds from KACA. During the Summer Cooling Component, a consumer may not owe a bill and a credit on their account is allowable.

KACA will purchase air conditioners in accordance with the emergency allocation and then have them shipped to the agencies on an as needed basis. Agencies will need to fax their daily requests for air conditioners to KACA (form enclosed). There should be one request per day from each agency’s central office. There will be a limit of no more than 20 air conditioners approved per agency per day. We will need to take this step because of the limited number of air conditioners.

Requests for air conditioners must be pended until KACA approves the daily request. Consumers should be advised that there is a limited number of air conditioners and that they will be shipped. Shipping time may vary according to suppliers. We will ship the air conditioners to the agencies upon receipt from the supplier.

KACA will then fax a response back to each agency telling them whether the request has been approved and then have the air conditioners shipped to the agency. We are having the air conditioners shipped to the agencies rather than the Consumer because that way we do not have to deal with issues of the Consumer saying they never received the air conditioner. The agency has the option to have the Consumer pick up the air conditioner or can deliver it to the household.

The agency should then mail the vouchers for the approved air conditioners to KACA for tracking purposes.

The eligibility criteria for the air conditioners are as follows:

The household must meet the income guideline and not have or have access to an air conditioner and meet one of the following:

1. A child or children under the age of six; or
2. A member or members over the age of sixty five; or
3. A member with a health condition/disability that requires cooling to prevent the condition from becoming life threatening. Those households with a health condition must produce a doctor’s statement on letterhead.

Th air conditioners will be distributed on a first-come first serve basis and once they are gone, that component of the program is closed.

The agency has the right to require further documentation if it is suspicious about whether the household already has an air conditioner or the doctor’s note is circumspect. Furthermore, once the Consumer has been approved they will be required to sign a form (enclosed) saying that they will not attempt to sell the air conditioner. The form will also state that if the Consumer is caught doing so they will be required to pay back the cost of the air conditioner to the program. We want to have this in the program as a fraud prevention step and internal control.

If additional air conditions are needed and they become available from suppliers, KACA will consider the option of purchasing more air conditioners for distribution.

General requirements, documentation, and forms from the previous heating season’s LIHEAP manual will be utilized. Verification of age, as well as having or having access to an air conditioner, will be by self-declaration, unless there is reason to question the self-declaration. The reason for requesting additional verification must be documented in the case file.

Date: ________________________________

Number of air conditioners Requested:_________________________________

________________________________

************************************************************************

I do hereby agree that by accepting this air conditioner that I will not sell the air conditioner and that I will use it for the purpose of cooling my residence. I have stated that I need it for this purpose. If I attempt to sell this air conditioner I understand that I will have to forfeit the air conditioner and I will have to refund to the agency the price paid for the air conditioner.

I have read the above statement and agree to comply by its terms.

_____________________________ ______________________________

Consumer Signature Date

(By 4:00 p.m. Eastern)

Paper applications are to be sorted by county and by application date and patched per manual.

September 1 -10, 1999 October 10, 1999