TN 27 (08-14)

Field offices (FOs) receive reports of beneficiary and recipient confinements from various sources. Beneficiaries and recipients may self-report their confinement or interested third parties (such as representative payees and legal guardians) may report their confinement. In addition, correctional and mental health institutions may report inmate confinements to FOs outside the electronic reporting process. Regardless the source of the inmate reports, the receiving FO has the responsibility to process all reports of confinement that will affect Title II payment or Title XVI eligibility.

FO processing of inmate reports requires the input of inmate data into the Social Security Administration’s (SSA’s) inmate matching operation by manually entering the information directly into the Prisoner Update Processing System (PUPS). For more information on the inmate matching operation, see GN 02607.410B.

A. Manually entering inmate information into PUPS

If an FO receives an inmate report from either someone other than an institution or from an institution that submits inmate information non-electronically, the FO processes the report by manually establishing a PUPS record for each reported inmate. Establishing a PUPS record requires completing a series of input screens to access PUPS, verify the reported Social Security Number (SSN), and enter inmate data. With this data, PUPS completes the inmate matching operation as described in GN 02607.410B.

When PUPS creates inmate records from manual FO inputs, it assigns jurisdiction of the PUPS pending record to the FO servicing the beneficiary's or recipient's mailing address, but does not generate a PUPS alert to the servicing office. Nevertheless, the servicing FO is responsible for working the case to completion. Therefore, when a non-servicing office creates a PUPS record manually, it should immediately notify the servicing FO of the new pending PUPS record.

1. Accessing PUPS

1. Select Function 33 (Prison System/Fugitive Felons) on the SSA Main Menu to display the Prison Systems/Fugitive Felons Sub-Menu (PFSM) screen. For information on the PFSM, see MSOM PRISON 001.002;

2. Select Function 1 (PUPS) on the PFSM to display the Prison System Menu (PSMU) screen;

3. On the PSMU screen, enter:

   • “1” (Establish) in the SELECT MODE field;

   • “1” (Prisoner) in the SELECT FUNCTION field; and

   • the inmate’s own SSN in the Beneficiary/Recipient SSN field to display the PUPS Prisoner SSN Verification (PUSV) screen.

2. SSN verification

Complete the PUSV screen as instructed in MSOM PRISON 003.002. Upon completion of the PUSV screen for each reported inmate, PUPS matches the SSN and other identification on the screen with the NUMIDENT to verify the reported inmate SSN and generates a message on the results of the SSN verification.

3. Completing the PUPS record

The steps for completing a PUPS record depend on whether the SSN verifies.

a. SSN verifies—no Title II entitlement or Title XVI eligibility found

Take no further action on the PUPS record. Press ENTER to start a new record or PF3 to exit from the PUSV screen. PUPS creates a skeleton record of the reported inmate for possible future use. For information on skeleton records, see MSOM PRISON 003.001-J and GN 02607.520.

b. SSN verifies—active Title II entitlement or Title XVI eligibility

On the PUSV screen:

• for first-party reports, enter “SELF” in the RID field; or

• for third-party reports, enter “OTHR” in the RID field.

On the Prisoner Report History (PURS) screen:

• enter the inmate data as instructed in MSOM PRISON 003.005. If inmate data needed for completing the PURS screen is missing from the report, contact the reporting institution as indicated on the Facility Identification Query (QFID). (For information on QFID, see MSOM PRISON 002.013.); and

• complete the INMATE NUMBER field, if known. The inmate number is critical in determining the identity of the inmate.

On the Prisoner Remarks (PRMK) screen, add all other information that may be helpful in processing the case, such as where the inmate is/was confined. For instructions on completing the PRMK screen, see MSOM PRISON 003.010.

NOTE: If the name, date of birth and confinement date on an inmate report match a pending PUPS record, PUPS will not establish a second PUPS record. If necessary to reestablish a PUPS record (e.g., an erroneously cleared PUPS record), enter the confinement date as one day before or one day after the actual confinement date. Document why you reestablished the record on the PRMK screen.

c. SSN does not verify

Try to obtain an accurate SSN by either contacting the institution or from an ALPHIDENT query. If you find a valid SSN, complete the PURS screen. If you cannot find an accurate SSN, no further action is necessary.

To obtain an ALPHIDENT query, see MSOM QUERIES 003.003.

B. Additional processing for reports from institutions

In addition to establishing a PUPS record for each reported inmate as instructed in GN 02607.460A.3. in this section, other actions may be necessary depending on whether the facility submits a single report or multiple monthly reports and whether the FO will process the report data in one day or over multiple days.

1. Facility submits single monthly report—FO processes in one-day

If keying all inmate data from the monthly report to PUPS in one day, process as follows:

1. Keep stroke tallies of the number of SSNs that verify and those that do not verify as displayed on the Prisoner Entitlement Selection List (PUSL) screen. You will need these tallies to complete the Incarceration Report Identification Data (IRID) screen in the Incarceration Reporting Control System (IRCS). For information on IRCS, see MSOM PRISON 002.001.

2. After completing all PUPS entries, complete the IRID screen. For instructions on completing the IRID screen, see MSOM PRISON 002.004.

2. Facility submits single monthly report—FO processes over multiple days

If keying the inmate data into PUPS over multiple days, process as follows:

1. Enter information from the current report in the following IRID fields:

   • Receipt Date;

   • Report Date; and

   • Reporting Period

2. Delete existing information from the following IRID fields:

   • Process Date;

   • Verified Count; and

   • Unverified Count

3. Keep a stroke tally of the number of SSNs that verify and those that do not verify.

4. After completing all PUPS entries, return to the IRID screen and complete the following fields:

   • Process Date—enter the date you completed the PUPS entries;

   • Verified Count; and

   • Unverified Count

3. Facility submits reports for multiple months

Processing of multiple monthly reports depends on whether the submitted reports are for successive or non-successive months. Always enter report data for multiple monthly reports into IRCS in sequential date order. Reports processed out of sequence may cause erroneous overdue prison report alerts.

a. Months not in succession

Beginning with the earliest submitted month, process each monthly report as instructed in either GN 02607.460B.1. or GN 02607.460B.2. in this section depending on whether you complete the processing in one or multiple days. Repeat this process for each of the multiple monthly reports. You can enter multiple inmate reports into IRID using the same receipt and report dates.

b. Months in succession

Establish individual PUPS records for the multiple monthly inmate reports as instructed in either GN 02607.460B.1. or GN 02607.460B.2. in this section depending on whether you complete the processing in one or multiple days. The following IRID fields require unique entries:

• Reporting Period—enter the beginning and ending dates for the report months (e.g., 01012014 THRU 03312014);

• Process Date—enter the date you completed the PUPS entries for all of the monthly reports;

• Verified Count—enter the total count for all of the months; and

• Unverified Count—enter the total count for all of the months.

C. FO processing of negative inmate reports

If an institution reports that it had no new inmate admissions or convictions during a monthly reporting period, annotate the negative report to IRCS by completing all fields in the Report Data section of the IRID screen. Use the same date entry for the Receipt Date, Report Date, and Process Date. Enter zeros in the Verified Count and Unverified Count fields.

Recording negative reports promptly will properly credit the institution with a timely report and prevent the generation of an Overdue Prison Report alert. Do not input a negative report for an institution if it does not submit a report to SSA.

D. References

• GN 03001.012 Title II Due Process Requirements for Determining the Identity of A Person Making A First Or Third Party Report

• SI 02301.010 How to Act on Reports

• GN 02607.705 Suspending Title XVI Payments