| Director's Corner
Thanks to everyone for their
hard work during this summer’s “busy season” for TAA and Dislocated
Worker! We’re seeing a great deal more awareness of Minnesota’s case
management model, and we hope that the small increase in TAA staff has had some
visible, positive impact on your own work and operations. We know there’s
still work to do, on our end as much as anyone else’s, and we’ll keep striving
to improve our response and processing times. Look for specific
information on how we track that progress, in the issues to come.
Meanwhile – TAA “training
season” is coming soon! We traditionally hold a series of small,
TAA-specific trainings around the state in October and/or early November.
We’ll do the same this year. We are determining specific topics and sites
now; if you have feedback on what issues you would find most relevant,
or if you wish to host such a training for your counselors and visitors
from other agencies, please contact Amy Carlson right away (contact info
in sidebar). We’re looking forward to seeing you soon!
Reimbursement Process
These
are the steps a client must take in order for TAA to cover the cost of out of
pocket expenses.
1. Prior
to the purchase, the client must send an itemized list of all required expenses
to his TAA Specialist.
2. If
a required expense is over $700.00, two estimates from separate vendors must be
provided by the client to TAA.
3. If
the purchase is for multiple items and exceeding $700.00, a completed Tool Quote
Comparison Chart
(see attached spreadsheet) will need to accompany the two vendor
estimates that are being submitted to the TAA Specialist.
4. Once
TAA receives these items, TAA will review the information and let the client
know if TAA can cover the costs.
5. TAA
will then instruct the client on what vendor they must order from.
Required
documentation needs to be provided to TAA before a reimbursement can be
generated.
1. All receipts
submitted to TAA must be itemized and include the following
documentation:
a. Expenses
paid in cash must have a receipt showing “paid in cash”.
b. Expenses
paid with a debit or credit card must be accompanied by a copy of the credit
card or bank statement showing the payment has cleared. The statement needs to
show the account holders name. If the statement does not show the account
holder’s name, the client will need to provide a copy of the credit/debit card showing
the account holder’s name and the last four digits of the card number.
c. Expenses
paid by someone else on behalf of the client using a debit or credit card must
be accompanied by a copy of a credit card or bank statement showing the payment
has cleared. The statement needs to show the account holders name. If the
statement does not show the account holder’s name, the client will need to
provide a copy of the credit/debit card showing the account holder’s name and
the last four digits of the card number.
2. The
person who paid the required expense will need to register as a vendor on the Swift
accounting system (see attachment for Vendor registration instructions) and
provide TAA with his assigned Vendor ID. The reimbursement will then be
processed by TAA and payment made directly to the payer.
(TAA cannot reimburse for alcoholic beverages,
hotel incidentals, or other misc. charges)
Client's Process for Required Training Related Purchases
Clients must
follow this process in order for TAA to cover the costs of required training
related purchases of Computers, Software, Tools, and Other Miscellaneous Required
items.
1. Proof of Requirement: Send a list
of all required items needed for the specific training program in which the client
is enrolled to her TAA Specialist. This
list must come from the school and have the specific training program title
noted. Approved documentation options are:
a. A program specific
syllabus, on school letter head, or signed by the instructor.
b. An email
from the program’s Instructor citing the program title and including an
itemized list of required items.
c. A letter
from the program’s Instructor on school letterhead citing the program title and
an itemized list of required items.
2. Cost of Items: Client must
provide vendor estimates.
a. When the calculated
cost of all the required items is less than $700.00, TAA needs only one quote
from the client listing all items required.
b. When the
calculated cost of all the required items exceeds $700.00, the client will need
to provide TAA two quotes from two separate vendors.
c. All quotes submitted
to TAA will need to be itemized and include the vendor’s contact information, remittance
address, phone number, and email address.
3. Tool Quote Comparison Chart: The client will
be required to complete this spreadsheet if there is more than one item
required to purchase. (see attached spreadsheet)
a. The client
will need to list all the required items in the “List of Required Tools”
Column.
b. The client
will then input all the costs related to each item listed on the vendor quote.
Once TAA
receives these documents, TAA will review the information and let the client
know if TAA can cover the costs. TAA will then instruct the client as to what vendor
they must order from.
In some
cases, TAA can send a Purchase Order to the Vendor to pay the costs
directly. In other cases the client may
need to make the purchase herself and request a reimbursement from TAA.
(See
the Reimbursement Process for more details)
Reminder: TAA must pre-approve all required training
related purchases before the purchase is made.
We strive for the information in this newsletter to be relevant and
useful, and we encourage you to provide feedback and suggestions for future TAA
Topics or TAA Success Stories. To contact the TAA team regarding this
newsletter, please e-mail: deed.taa@state.mn.us and type “TAA
Newsletter” in the subject line.
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