1. (a) Persons who may be selected as protective payee.

   1. (1) A protective payee may be a:

      1. (A) Relative;
      2. (B) Friend;
      3. (C) Neighbor; or
      4. (D) Member of a community service group.
   2. (2) The person to act as a protective payee should be selected by the participant or with the participant’s involvement and consent to the extent possible.

   3. (3) The individual selected to act as payee must:

      1. (A) Show an interest and concern for the family;
      2. (B) Have the ability to help the family make proper use of the assistance payment;
      3. (C) Live near the family or have sufficient means of transportation to enable him or her to maintain close contact with them;
      4. (D) Have the ability to establish and maintain a positive relationship with the family; and
      5. (E) Be a responsible and dependable individual, capable of fulfilling his or her responsibilities to the participant and the agency.

   4. (4)

      1. (A) Except for those specified below, a Department of Human Services employee may serve as the protective payee when it is determined that it would be in the best interests of the family for a staff member to act as the protective payee.
      2. (B) This would be more appropriate in mismanagement situations than in sanction cases.
      3. (C) Therefore, if such a protective payment is determined to be appropriate, then the staff member selected should be a Division of Children and Family Services employee providing protective services to the family.

2. (b) Persons who may not act as protective payee. The following individuals may not be selected as the protective payee:

   1. (1) Any landlord, grocer, or other vendor of goods or services who deals directly with the participant;
   2. (2) The Secretary of the Department of Human Services;
   3. (3) The Director of the Division of County Operations;
   4. (4) The worker establishing eligibility for the family;
   5. (5) Any employee assigned to the Office of Child Support Enforcement of the Revenue Division of the Department of Finance and Administration; or
   6. (6) Any employee assigned to the Office of Finance or any employee assigned the function of handling processes related to the participant.

Codification Notes: This section as promulgated prior to codification into the Code of Arkansas Rules provided as follows: “07/01/97”