The Journal of the Arkansas Medical Society Issue 12 Vol 114 | Page 7
“A final notice was sent May 8 specifically to
beneficiaries who were to begin the work require-
ment in June. The group required to start in July
should receive their notice around June 8. (The
30-49-year-olds are being phased in over four
months from June-September.) DHS includes in
these mailings useful information about work re-
quirements, exemptions, allowed activities, how to
use the reporting portal, and how to connect with
the Department of Workforce Services.”
With the work component comes required
community engagement (qualifying “work” or other
activity) and the reporting of it. The 20 hours a week
(or 80 hours per month) required by non-exempt,
able-bodied Arkansas Works recipients may be ful-
filled in numerous ways. In addition to (or in some
cases in place of) being “on the clock,” these indi-
viduals may engage in approved job training, educa-
tion, and volunteer work. In addition to completing
the work hours (or their equivalent), beneficiaries
must report the work online through the state’s Ac-
cess Arkansas portal.**
As part of its campaign to share information
(ongoing) with respect to all things Arkansas Works,
DHS has launched a public-facing, informational
share site. The public share site, or “Dashboard,”
is available at https://ardhs.sharepointsite.net/AR-
Works/default.aspx
“Help is here for patients, for physicians, for ev-
eryone,” said Franklin, “through the Arkansas Works
share-point site. We built this site not only for our
clients, but also for our partners, agents and brokers,
and our staff – to have one place to go to for up-to-
date information. We will also have available on that
site a comprehensive resource map that we’ve put
together to help identify for recipients where to ac-
cess computers, libraries, universities, how to reach
DHS and DWS, transportation and housing informa-
tion, job training sign-up, volunteer opportunities,
and more. It’s a comprehensive portal containing all
the information an individual might need to be able
to get started and comply with work activities. It’s
a work-in-progress but will be updated as we go.”
What do Physicians Most Need
to Know about Arkansas Works?
With the work requirement now being imple-
mented, AMS Executive Vice President David Wroten
asked Franklin to address areas of possible concern
for Society physicians:
• What are the penalties for not fulfilling the work
requirements or failing to report work done?
• Will physicians know if a patient has lost cover-
age or is in jeopardy of losing coverage?
> Continued on page 272
NUMBER 12
JUNE 2018 • 271