LIHEAP Important Information

Under state or federal law, LiHEAP benefits are not considered income/resources for any purpose, including taxation. 

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Using federal guidance AEO has established both financial and non-financial criteria that must be tested prior to issuing benefits to an applicant household (1) applicant must meet the income eligibility requirement, (2) applicant must have an energy burden, (3) applicant must live in Arkansas, (4) applicant must show proof of identity, (5) applicant must show social security information cards, (6) applicant must show proof of income, (7) applicant must provide utility bills or lease agreement. The financial standards require households to fall at or below the income for a specific household size as outlined on the eligibility chart. Arkansas Energy Office uses a hybrid chart of 60% of State median income and 150% of federal poverty guidelines (FPG) to maximize eligibility. 

A LIHEAP household must have an energy burden on the date of application to be considered eligible for LIHEAP benefits. An applicant has an energy burden if the household has the responsibility for providing home energy including home heating and home electricity that makes a household vulnerable to increases in energy costs. However, households that are not eligible for LIHEAP benefits. For example, a household may purchase fuel from a fuel supplier and receive an energy bill, make undesignated payments in the form of rent, or may heat with wood, et cetera. 

A LIHEAP applicant must live in Arkansas. Although there is no specific requirement that specifies the length of time a person has to reside in Arkansas, visitors to the state are not eligible for LIHEAP benefits. 

Tested requirements include but are not limited to: 

• Household composition 

• Proof of Arkansas residency 

• Proof of citizenship or legal residency if noncitizen 

• Proof of identity 

• Proof of income 

• Proof of valid utility service - energy burden 

• Type of Dwelling 

Applicant Rights 

Below are the rights and responsibilities of each LIHEAP applicant. If the application is received in a manner where the applicant cannot sign the application, the Subgrantee must ensure that the applicant understands each of these rights and responsibilities. 

1. Every applicant will be treated courteously and with dignity and respect. 

2. Every potential applicant can request information regarding eligibility requirements, available services, rights and responsibilities of applicants/recipients and payment procedures. No inquiry will be ignored. This information should be available on the Subgrantee's website as far as practical. 

3. If requested, the applicant will receive an application from the Subgrantee in person or by mail and submit the application without an interview being conducted at the same time. 

4. The applicant may submit an application at any of the Subgrantee offices serving the area of residence by any means accepted by the Subgrantee. It is the applicants responsibility to provide all necessary information and verification. 

5. If the applicant is an individual with a disability, she/he has the right to be provided with the means to submit an application for energy assistance without leaving his/her home. 

6. When taking an application in person or over the phone, Subgrantee should encourage the applicant to provide as much information about their circumstances as possible to establish eligibility and inform them of their responsibility to make a good-faith effort to fully complete the application prior to submittal. 

7. The Subgrantee should inform the applicant that by applying, the applicant authorizes the Subgrantee to release information relating to the application for LIHEAP to the applicant's Energy Supplier(s) to determine eligibility. This includes giving permission to Arkansas Energy Office (AEO) to use information provided on this form for purposes of research, evaluation, and analysis of the program. 

8. The applicant should be informed that the utility service provider will have no control over the data disclosed pursuant to this consent and will not be responsible for monitoring or taking any steps to ensure that the LIHEAP office maintains the confidentiality of the data or uses of the data. 

9. The Subgrantee should advise the applicant that only legal residents of the United States included in the application will be used in determining their household size. The income of any illegal resident aliens living as part of the household must be included on the application to determine the total household income. 

10. The Subgrantee must advise the applicant, when applicable, how benefits will be coordinated on their approved application. 

11. The Subgrantee must not deny benefit assistance on the basis of race, color, sex, age, handicap, religion, national origin, or political belief. 

12. The Subgrantee must advise the applicant that the signature on this application authorizes the agency to make any investigation concerning any household member and/or use a copy of the application as a release of information for securing information needed to determine eligibility for services. 

13. The Subgrantee must inform the applicant that if assistance is received as a result of withholding information or knowingly providing false or fraudulent information regarding the applicant's circumstances, the applicant must repay the dollar amount of assistance received and may face penalty or criminal prosecution. 

14. The Subgrantee must advise the applicant that the information given on the application must be true to the best of the applicant's knowledge and belief. The Subgrantee must also inform the applicant that once the form is signed the applicant is subject to penalties for perjury. 

15. The applicant must be sent written notification of the disposition of the application within thirty (30) days for Regular Assistance and within 18 hours for an emergency Crisis and 48 hours for Crisis after application is complete. 

16. The applicant must receive payment within thirty-five (35) days from the date the application is approved for Regular and twenty (20) days for Crisis Intervention. 

17. The Subgrantee is required to inform the applicant of his/her right to appeal any decision regarding the application, including denial and any delay in decision or delivery of services (refer to Section 12000). 

18. All the applicant's records must be kept confidential. 

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Available Programs 

Regular Assistance Program 

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Regular Assistance is available for eligible households during the application period of the winter and summer programs if funding is available. This type of assistance is a one-time payment per household per program. Subsequent applications for this assistance during the same program by the same household or by a member of a household having received a Regular Assistance benefit will be denied. 

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Crisis Intervention Program (CIP) 

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The household must have an energy-related crisis situation on the date of the CIP application. A CIP benefit is available to an eligible household for whom service has been discontinued or is threatened to be discontinued, who is out of fuel or will run out of fuel, or who is responsible for heating costs that are included in rent and has received an eviction notice. A crisis situation also exists when a household's primary heating system is inoperable (make emergency referral to Weatherization) or a household's fuel tank is inaccessible because of severe weather. 

CIP is available during both the Winter and Summer Programs. This type of assistance is a one-time benefit per household not to exceed $500. However, during the Summer Program, only a crisis situation involving electric service will be considered. A crisis situation must have one or more of the following: 

• Propane or fuel oil below twenty percent (20%); 

• A disconnect notice (electric only during Summer Program); 

• An eviction notice due to non-payment of their energy source; 

• 3 weeks remaining of their wood supply; 

• or A life-threatening situation; 

• Pre-paid electric alerted that the balance will soon exhaust; 

• Service has been disconnected; 

• Applicant is enrolled in a delayed payment arrangement; 

• Past due amount/arrearage on utility bill.