Micro-Communities Representative Payee Service

Scope: The Department of Community Response seeks a Contractor to provide Representative Payee Services for up to 140 participants, at any given time, staying at the City’s micro-community sites. Micro-community sites will provide supportive interim housing for seniors (55+) who are on fixed income, such as Social Security benefits or SSI, or do not have the ability to generate sufficient income to achieve independent housing stability.The selected contractor will serve as the Representative Payee (“Rep Payee”) for micro-community participants and manage their Social Security or SSI benefits to ensure the micro-community program fee is collected. Rep Payee services will be paid for by DCR at no cost to micro-community participants. Beneficiaries may elect to fully utilize the Rep Payee to manage their benefits for other needs and expenses.Key responsibilities of the Representative Payee will include:• Facilitate the application process to become a Rep Payee for micro-community participants, including working with participants to fill out, collect, and submit required paperwork to the Social Security Administration;• Serve as a liaison between micro-community participants and the SSA and address any issues until the selected contractor is approved to serve as a Rep Payee;• Collaborate with DCR to develop secure internal procedures and guidelines for a payment collection system for micro-community program fees on behalf of the City;• Ensure payment of beneficiaries’ micro-community program fee in a timely and secure manner; remaining funds should be returned to beneficiaries via a preferred method unless otherwise directed by the beneficiary;• At the discretion of the beneficiary, manage their funds to ensure basic and current needs are met, such as food, personal care items, and/or medical expenses;• Maintain proper record keeping of beneficiary transactions, including accounting for all funds received and expended;• Complete all services in accordance with SSA guidelines and regulations, including the submission of annual required SSA reporting;• Maintain regular communication with beneficiaries to determine their current needs and spending preferences; and• Facilitate the process to discontinue Rep Payee Services for participants who leave the micro-community program and return all unspent funds to beneficiaries.