| DCLPublicationDate: 11/1/99 DCLID: GEN-99-35 AwardYear: Summary: The following document contains the new Total and Permanent Disability Cancellation Request form for the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program and the Federal William D. Ford Direct Loan Program. November 1999 GEN-99-35 99-G-323 99-L-216 Dear Guaranty Agency Director: The Department of Education's Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently issued an audit report on the process for granting total and permanent disability discharges of Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program loans. OIG concluded that inappropriate discharges were being provided to borrowers because of weaknesses in the current system for determining eligibility for such discharges. In response to OIGs recommendations, the Department has made minor revisions to the combined FFEL/Direct Loan Total and Permanent Disability Cancellation Request form that was recently approved for use in an April 1999 Dear Guaranty Agency Director letter. We have separated the last sentence of the second paragraph under Section 3 into a new paragraph. The sentence now reads: I am a (check one) [ ] doctor of medicine [ ] doctor of osteopathy legally authorized to practice in the state of ______ and my professional license number issued by that state is _______________. We have also included a space in the signature block for the date. These changes are intended to deter incorrect or fraudulent certification of the forms. They may also facilitate random checking of disability certifications to ensure that the physician's name and professional license number match up with state licensing records. Implementation and Transition to New Forms Program participants are reminded that no changes to, deletions from, or additions to the prescribed language in these materials will be permitted. Printing instructions remain the same as when the Total and Permanent Disability Cancellation Request form was originally distributed to the community. The revised form must be used when providing disability cancellation applications on or after January 1, 2000.The Total and Permanent Disability Cancellation Request form approved in the April 1999 Dear Guaranty Agency Director letter may still be processed after that date, but the revised form must be sent to all borrowers requesting total and permanent disability cancellations on or after January 1, 2000. Further Revisions to the Total and Permanent Disability Cancellation Request In consultation with guaranty agencies, lenders, and other interested parties, we expect to propose further changes to the Total and Permanent Disability Cancellation Request form to collect additional information regarding the borrower's disabling condition and prognosis for recovery. This will assist agency staff in determining whether a borrower is eligible for a loan discharge due to a total and permanent disability. We look forward to working with you to further enhance the disability discharge form. Change of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Inventory Control Number The OMB control number for the Total and Permanent Disability Cancellation Request form, as well as the other combined FFEL/Direct Loan Discharge forms, has been changed to 1845-0015. Previously, Student Financial Assistance (SFA) forms were part of the Office of Postsecondary Education's forms inventory, under the OMB control number prefix of 1840. OMB has changed the inventory control number prefix for SFA forms to 1845. Revised versions of the other combined FFEL/Direct Loan Discharge forms with the new OMB control number will be provided to the community shortly. Since the new OMB control number does not affect the content of these forms, guaranty agencies and lenders may implement them as their printing schedule permits. However, as stated above, the revised Total and Permanent Disability Cancellation Request form must be implemented by January 1, 2000. Obtaining Copies for Reproduction We have made arrangements to provide the necessary output for this form. The form will be available in PDF format on the Department's IFAP web site at http://ifap.ed.gov and on the NCHELP web site at www.nchelp.org. Guaranty agencies are responsible for ensuring that the forms used by the agency are identical to the forms approved by the Secretary. No changes may be made to the forms except those expressly authorized by the Department. Sincerely, Jeff Baker, Director Program Development Division Attachment |