1405 Untimely Processing

A household which fails to appear for an interview in accordance with the requirements in this section or to submit any missing verification within the State agency’s time frames shall lose its right to uninterrupted benefits as long as such failures occur after the deadline for filing a timely application. Households which refuse to cooperate in providing required information shall be denied. Untimely Applications An identifiable application for continued benefits filed after the 15th day of the last month of the certification period, but prior to the end of the certification period, shall be considered an Untimely Application for Recertification. An identifiable recertification application must include a signature and a date. Households who submit untimely applications lose the right to uninterrupted benefits. The household must be allowed 10 days after the date of the interview to provide the required verification. If the required verification is not received by the 30th day following the date of application, the application must be denied. The household must be sent a manual Notice of Denial. The notice must advise that the case can be reopened if the required verification is received within 30 days after the certification period ends. If the household provides the required verification, the case will be reopened within 5 business days and benefits prorated from the date the required verification is received. If the household fails to provide the required verification within 30 days after the end of the certification period, the household must submit a new application. The county department shall ensure that any eligible household which did not submit a timely application for recertification is provided an opportunity to participate within 30 calendar days after the application is filed. The following applications for recertification shall not be prorated. Households which receive a Notice of Expiration at the time of certification see Section 1401, and are otherwise eligible shall not have benefits for the first month of the new certification period prorated if they file their applications for recertification by the filing deadline in the Notice of Expiration. When a Household Misses the Appointment If a household misses its scheduled interview the county department shall send a Notice of Missed Appointment. The date on this notice must be the 30th day from the date of application. If the household requests a second appointment on or before the 30th day from the date of application, the county department shall schedule a second interview. The household must be allowed 10 days to provide the required verification. If the required verifications are received on or before the 30th day from the date of application, the case is processed and benefits are not prorated. If the second appointment is scheduled before the 30th day from the date of application but with less than 10 days left for the household to provide the verification, the application must not be denied on the 30th day. If the verification is received on or before the 10th day from the date of the second scheduled appointment, the case is processed and benefits for the first month of the new certification period are not prorated. When a Household Files an Untimely Recertification Application and is Subsequently Denied for Missing Appointments: If a household misses its scheduled interview the county department shall send a Notice of Missed Appointment. The date on this notice must be the 30th day from the date of application. If the household does not request a second appointment on or before the 30th day from the date of application, the application must be denied for missing appointments. If the household who has been denied for missing appointments makes contact with the county office in the 30 days after the certification period ends, a new application is not needed. The county office must interview the household and pend for any required verifications. If the household files a new application within the 30 days after the certification period ends, the application must not be registered. The application must be considered an addendum to the original application. If the household provides the requested verifications on or before the 30th day from the date the original certification period ended, the case must be reopened and the benefits must be prorated from the date the household completes all required actions for recertification. Recertification Applications Filed in the 30 Days After the Certification Period Ends When the household fails to file the application before the end of the certification period but files the identifiable application within 30 days after the certification period ends, the application must be considered an application for recertification. An identifiable recertification application must include a signature and a date. These applications may be eligible for expedited services. If determined eligible for expedited services, the application must be processed within the expedite service timeframe. An application for recertification filed within 30 days after the certification period ends that is not eligible for expedited services should be given a 30-day processing standard. If the household does not complete an interview and provide all required verifications on or before the 30th day from the date of application, the household must submit a new application to have eligibility determined. The household must be allowed 10 days after the date of the interview to provide the required verification. If the household files a recertification application in the 30 days after the certification period ends and completes all required actions for recertification within 30 days from the date of the application, benefits for the first month of the new certification period are prorated from the date of the application. Timely Applications with Untimely Interview/Verification A household which submits a timely application for recertification but is either interviewed and/or submits all verification in an untimely manner, but before the end of its current certification period, need not be provided uninterrupted benefits. For eligible households under these circumstances, the county department shall, at a minimum, provide the household an opportunity to participate within 30 calendar days after the date the application was filed. If the county department is unable to provide an eligible household with an opportunity to participate within 30 calendar days after the date the application was filed due to the time period allowed for submitting any missing verification, the county department shall provide the household an opportunity to participate within 5 business days after the date the household provides the missing verification.