1005 Certification Periods

The county department shall establish a definite period of time within which a household shall be eligible to receive benefits. At the expiration of each certification period entitlement to food stamp benefits ends. Further eligibility must be established only upon a recertification based upon a newly completed application, an interview, and verification as required in Section 206. Under no circumstances shall benefits be continued beyond the end of a certification period without a new determination of eligibility. Certification Periods Shall Conform to Calendar Months At initial application the first month in the certification period shall generally be the month of application even if the household’s eligibility is not determined until a subsequent month. For example, if the household files an application in January and the application is not processed until February a 12-month certification period would include January through December. Upon recertification the certification period will begin with the month following the last month of the previous certification period. Guidelines for Establishing the Length of Certification Periods Households must be assigned the longest certification period possible based on the predictability of the household’s circumstances. 1. Households may be assigned one or two month certification periods when it appears likely the household will become ineligible for food assistance in the near future. 2. Households subject to simplified reporting at certification should be assigned a certification period of 12 months. This includes but is not limited to ABAWDS, migrant/seasonal farm workers, homeless, residents of drug and alcoholic treatment centers, and students. 3. Households with stable income, particularly households with elderly or disabled adult members, should be certified for 12 months if other household circumstances are expected to remain stable. 4. Households in which all members are included in a single FA grant should be certified for up to 12 months. The certification period should be aligned to end with the FA review month when possible. 5. Households with all members coded with a work registration code “J” should be assigned a certification period of 4 months.