DHA WTW Sanction and Exempt Cases

Greetings, Union Brothers and Sisters,

Your 008 board and subject matter experts met with DHA on July 10, 2026, to discuss the process for sanctioning and exempting Welfare-to-Work (WTW) cases.

After hearing concerns about workload balancing, the Department proposed moving sanctioned and exempt cases into a general bank. The goal is to prevent employees from having to monitor and carry cases that do not count toward their assigned caseload. Once a sanction is lifted or an exemption is removed, the case would then be assigned to an available worker.

UPE raised concerns with this approach because temporarily moving a case away from the worker who completed the intake and is familiar with the case history could create additional work for another employee later. When the sanction or exemption ends, the new worker may need to spend significant time reviewing and understanding the case.

We proposed that sanctioned cases be placed into the supervisor-monitored bank. In contrast, exempt cases remain with the original worker since exemptions typically resolve sooner and allow the employee already familiar with the case to complete the work more efficiently. This approach reduces unnecessary duplication and supports better workflow.

The County was receptive to our proposal and also received additional suggestions from UPE on improving workload management and processes. DHA will be reviewing these ideas and providing a response. We will keep members updated as we receive more information.

UPE thanks our 008 subject matter experts, Amanda Burks, Olivia Brown, and Tony DeRego, for their advocacy efforts.

Stay tuned!