11.7.1 Incarceration

W-2W-2Wisconsin Works participants whose incarceration renders them temporarily unable to participate in assigned activities or retain care and control of their children will remain eligible for W-2 payments for up to 30 calendar days, provided they remain otherwise financially and nonfinancially eligible.

The 30-day timeframe allows for short-term incarceration without having to disrupt a participant’s activities, payments, and child care by disenrolling and then re-enrolling them in W-2.

Incarcerated W-2 participants who are unable to participate in work activities or retain care and control of their child(ren) for more than 30 consecutive calendar days are not eligible for W-2 payments.

For More Information on the Following	Review Process Help
Incarceration and Huber Program participation	Process Help 3 Ongoing Case Maintenance
Department of Corrections Record Query	Process Help 44 Data Exchange
Collecting absent parent information	Process Help 65 Absent Parent

11.7.1.1 Prisoner Match Data Exchange

The daily Prisoner Match Data DXDXData Exchange provides information from SSASSASocial Security Administration for all individuals included in the W-2 GroupAn adult custodial parent, all dependent children with respect to whom the individual is a legal custodial parent and all minor children with respect to whom the adult individual’s dependent child is a custodial parent. W-2 Group includes any non-marital co-parent or any spouse of the individual who resides in the same household as the individual and any minor children with respect to whom the spouse or non-marital co-parent is a custodial parent. W-2 Group does not include any person who is receiving cash benefits under a county relief block grant program. This is also referred to as the W-2 Assistance Group (W-2 AG) who are between 18 and 65 years old, as long as there is a valid SSNSSNSocial Security Number (Verification code V, C, or W) on the CWWCWWCARES Worker Web Household Members page during:

Intake;
Review;
Person adds; and
Program adds.

CWW sends the request for prisoner match data via the SOLQ-I DX from the CWW General Case Information page. (See 4.1.5.3)

Three days after CWW runs the data exchange, CWW will set discrepancies and alerts for individuals who have been incarcerated for more than 30 days and have no release date. The results of the data exchange match information appear on CWW Prisoner Response Details page.

When a discrepancy is set, the FEPFEPFinancial and Employment Planner must verify match results through a secondary source and update the case, if necessary.

Secondary verification can be done through:

Contacting the individual;
Phone calls or faxes to the facility; or
Online resources (see table).

Online Verification Resources
State of Wisconsin Offender Locator	For matches within the State of Wisconsin, FEPs can verify the information through the Offender Locator website. This website provides records of incarcerated offenders through the Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC). FEPs can also access this site through VINELink. The database only includes adults who are incarcerated in the Wisconsin prison system. It is a good practice to include aliases in your search.
VINELink	For data exchange results inside or outside the State of Wisconsin, agencies can verify incarceration matches through VINELink, the online version of Victim Information and Notification Everyday (VINE).
Federal Prisoner Information	For federal prisoner matches, FEPs can verify the accuracy at the Federal Bureau of Prison Find an Inmate website. If the online queries do not result in verification of incarceration information for individuals in county jails, workers should continue to use resources at the local agency level such as faxes, phone calls, and contact with the individual to verify the incarceration information.

Online Verification Resources

State of Wisconsin Offender Locator

For matches within the State of Wisconsin, FEPs can verify the information through the Offender Locator website. This website provides records of incarcerated offenders through the Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC).

FEPs can also access this site through VINELink. The database only includes adults who are incarcerated in the Wisconsin prison system. It is a good practice to include aliases in your search.

VINELink

For data exchange results inside or outside the State of Wisconsin, agencies can verify incarceration matches through VINELink, the online version of Victim Information and Notification Everyday (VINE).

Federal Prisoner Information

For federal prisoner matches, FEPs can verify the accuracy at the Federal Bureau of Prison Find an Inmate website.

If the online queries do not result in verification of incarceration information for individuals in county jails, workers should continue to use resources at the local agency level such as faxes, phone calls, and contact with the individual to verify the incarceration information.