1706 Changes Reported During the Certification Period

The county office should react to the following changes when reported during the certification period. These reported changes and the action taken on these reported changes should be documented. A. Household Reported Changes - Required Changes 1. Income Exceeds the Maximum Allowable (130 of Poverty) The household must report this change by the 10th day of the month after the month during which this change occurs. If the reported income (earned and unearned) is representative of the income the household expects to receive ongoing, within 10 days the county office should send a notice of adverse action to close the case due to excessive income. If the reported income is not representative of the income the household expects to receive ongoing the case should remain open. The eligibility worker should document the case record concerning why this reported income is not representative. For example: All check stubs for the month reported reflect overtime. The eligibility worker should discuss the overtime with the household to determine if the overtime will continue. If the overtime is not expected to continue, no change is due to be made in the budget. 2. ABAWD in a Non-Exempt County If an ABAWD is eligible because he/she is working more than 20 hours weekly, the household must report the reduction of work hours to less than 20 hours a week by the 10th day of the month after the month during which this change occurs. B. Non-Required Changes Voluntarily Reported By the Household 1. Increase in Benefits For changes voluntarily reported by the household that increase benefits, the following actions should be taken: a) Document the reported change and the date of the report. b) Within 10 days determine the effect of the reported change on the household’s eligibility and benefits. c) For a change which results in an increase in a household’s benefits (other than the addition of a new household member or a decrease of $50 or more in the household’s gross income), the household is required to verify this change. When the change, with the verification, is received, the county department shall make the change no later than the first allotment available 10 days after the date the change was reported to the county department. For example, a $30 decrease in income reported on the 15th of May would increase the household’s June allotment. If the same decrease was reported on May 28, and the household’s availability date was on June 4, the household’s allotment would have to be increased by July. For changes which result in an increase in a household’s benefits due to the addition of a new household member who is not a member of another certified household, or due to a decrease of $50 or more in the household’s gross monthly income, the county department shall make the change effective not later than the first allotment available 10 days after the date the change was reported. However, in no event shall the change take effect any later than the month following the month in which the change is reported. If the change is reported too late in the month for the county department to adjust the following month’s allotment, the county department shall issue a Supplementary Allotment in order for the household to obtain the increase in benefits by the 10th day of the following month, or the household’s normal availability date, whichever is later. For example, a household reporting a $100 decrease in income at any time during May would have its June allotment increased. If the household reported the change after the 20th of May and it was too late for the county department to adjust the household’s allotment normally available on June 4, the county department would issue a supplementary allotment for the amount of the increase by June 10. d) Without Verification- When the household reports a change which causes an increase in benefits, but does not provide verification with the change, the county department shall allow the household 10 days from the date the change is reported to provide verification. If the household provides verification within this period, the county department shall take the same action required as if the verification had accompanied the change when it was reported. Thus, the time frame for processing the change shall run from the date the change was reported, not the date within the 10 days the verification was received. If, however, the household fails to provide the required verification within 10 days after the change is reported, but does provide the verification at a later date, then the time frame for processing the change shall run from the date verification is provided rather than from the date the change is reported. The date the change shall be effective is no later than the first allotment available 10 days after the date the verification was provided, except if the change is a new household member or a decrease of $50 or more in the household’s gross monthly income, the change shall be effective no later than the first allotment available 10 days after the date the verification was provided; however, in no event shall the change take effect any later than the month following the month in which the verification was provided. If necessary, a Supplementary Allotment shall be issued following the same procedures discussed earlier. Until the verification of a change which causes an increase in benefits is provided, the household’s benefits shall not be increased due to this change. 2. Decrease in Benefits a) Document the reported change and the date of the report. b) Do not act on this change if the reported change will decrease the household’s benefits. c) Notify the household that the change was received but due to the effect (decrease in benefits) the reported change had on the household’s benefits; the change will not be made. A trial budget should be placed in the case file to indicate the effect of the change, if needed. 3. Other Changes The following changes shall be acted on within 10 days. The household shall be sent a notice of adverse action if these reported changes will cause a decrease or termination of the household’s benefits. a) There has been a change in the household’s PA grant. Changes reported to the Family Assistance worker are considered known to the agency and must be acted on in accordance with the provisions in this chapter. The county department must ensure that information reported to either worker is transmitted between Family Assistance and Food Assistance units in a timely manner so that the appropriate changes can be made by the worker(s) responsible for each program area, if appropriate. [6] b) The household’s voluntary request for case termination: This request may be verbal or in writing. If the report is in the form of a written request, adverse action notice is not due the household. c) Removal of a household member if the household member has applied for separate food assistance benefits or has moved into another participating food assistance case and should be added to that case. d) A change that results in no eligible individual in the home due to the death of all household members (adverse action is not due the household). Unverified Upon Receipt: When the county office receives a report of the death of all household members from a source which is considered unverified upon receipt, the county office must determine if the reported change can be independently verified. Such reports include but are not limited to the household’s authorized representative, a family member, or an obituary. If the reported change can be independently verified from sources such as the household’s Authorized Representative, an obituary, BENDEX, SDX, State Vital Statistics, or MSIQ, the county office must take action to terminate the case. Adverse action is not due to the household. If the reported change cannot be independently verified, the county office must send the household a Request for Additional Information, DHR-FAD-958. The household must be allowed 10 days to respond to the request. If there is no response from the household on or before the 10th day, the county office must send a Notice of Adverse Action, DHR-FAD-657, informing the household of case termination due to the household’s failure to provide verification. e) A change that is considered verified upon receipt. This is: IEVS Information from: ❖ Unemployment Compensation Benefits from the Department of Industrial Relations (UCB) ❖ Social Security Benefits (BENDEX) ❖ SSI Benefits (SDX) SAVE information from the Immigration and Naturalization Service upon requests to verify alien status. Employment and training disqualifications, intentional program disqualifications (IPV’s) and other disqualifications. A change that is considered verified upon receipt means that information is not questionable; the provider is the primary source of the information. If the information is questionable, the information is not considered verified upon receipt and should not be acted upon. f) Information received through IEVS (Exception - BENDEX Death Matches and Prisoner Verification System Matches) from sources that is considered unverified upon receipt (Chapter 2, Section 205 I) and other unverified information received from a third party source such as Quality Control, or an anonymous caller, shall be processed in conjunction with the six-month report if it is received after certification but before the household submits the six-month report. Information received after the six-month report has been processed, shall be handled/cleared at recertification. 4. BENDEX Death Matches and Prisoner Verification Matches BENDEX Death Matches and Prisoner Verification System Matches require contact with the household when received. The county department must follow up on these matches with a notice of match results. Inform the household of the information received by the county department, clearly explain what information the household must provide and the consequences of failure to respond. The county department must remove the individual from the household and adjust the household’s benefits accordingly if the household does not respond to the request or does respond but fails to provide sufficient information to clarify the household's circumstances. Send the household a 10-day Notice of Adverse Action if the action to remove the individual results in a decrease or termination of the household’s benefits. If the information from death and prisoner matches are independently verified by the county department and the effect on the household’s continued eligibility and/or benefit allotment can be readily determined, the county department must send a 10-day Notice of Adverse Action. A notice of match results would not be appropriate. 5. Unclear Information Income Reported During Certification Period – Verification Requirement If the household self-reports a change in income during the certification period and it appears the household will be over the income limit based on the household’s written and/or verbal statements, the household must be given the opportunity to provide verification, as the reported change would be considered unclear information. Even if the change is a required reportable change based on the simplified reporting requirements (e.g., income exceeding 130 percent of the Federal Poverty Level), the county office must provide the household with the opportunity to verify the reported income prior to taking adverse action unless the income can be independently verified. Unclear information is information received during the certification period about a household’s circumstances from which the county office cannot readily determine the effect on the household’s continued eligibility. It is information that is not verified or is verified but the county department needs additional information to determine how to act on the change. Unclear information received during the certification period that is fewer than 60 days old relative to the current month of participation and was required to have been reported by the household or unclear information that appears to conflict with the information provided by the household at the time of certification. This unclear information must be verified with the household through a request for additional information. If the unclear information is not fewer than 60 days old relative to the current month of participation and was not required to be reported or does not significantly conflict with the information provided by the household at the time of certification, the county office must not act on this information or require the household to provide verification until six-month report or recertification, whichever comes first. C. Special Procedures for Reopening Cases after Household Fails to Provide Verification Six-month reporting households that fail to respond to a request for additional information/verification which results in case closure or termination of benefits may have their benefits reinstated if the requested information/verification is submitted to the county office after the case has closed but before the end of the month following case closure/termination. The county office must have issued a written request informing the household of the additional information/verification it must provide and allowed the household 10 days to provide the requested information/verification. The county office must have issued a notice of adverse action explaining the reason for the closure or if approved for expedited services with postponed verification, a notice of action informing the household of the required information/verification, when to return this information/verification, and the action the county office must take if the information/verification is not returned. The special procedures stated below apply to six-month reporting households that report a change after certification but before the six-month report and fail to respond to the county office request for additional information/verification concerning the reported change. If the household provides the missing information/verification after the case has closed but before the end of the month following case closure/termination, benefits must be reinstated within 10 days. Leave the food assistance case closed for the month of reinstatement. The county office must complete a trial budget to determine the amount of prorated benefits the household is entitled to for the month of reinstatement. Issue the household a restoration (Reason Code 19) for the month of reinstatement. The county office must document the reason for the restoration. The month after reinstatement, the county office must reopen the case. The new application date becomes the date the household provided all information/verification. Assign the household the original 12-month certification period. Benefits must not be prorated. Example: Household is certified from March through February. The household reports a change in May for which the county needs additional information/verification. The household fails to respond to a request from the county office and the county office sends a notice of adverse action to close the case effective June 1. The household provides the information/verification on June 6th (month after closure/termination). The county office must run a trial budget for June (use application date of June 6th) to determine if the household is eligible for June and the remainder of the certification period. If eligible, the county office should leave the case closed and issue a restoration for June. Benefits are prorated for the month of June. The next month (July), the county office must reopen the case. The new application date becomes June 6th. The certification period will remain the same, March through February. In those rare occasions when six-month reporting cases are closed/terminated for failure to provide information/verification the end of the fourth month of the certification period and the household provides this information/verification in the fifth month (reopen), contact the State Policy Desk for instructions on reinstating benefits for these households to ensure that SR procedures are followed and tracked sufficiently. These special procedures also apply to six-month reporting households that are approved for expedited services with postponed verification that are terminated for failure to provide mandatory verification but provide this verification in the month after the case is terminated. If the household provides the mandatory verification after the case has closed but before the end of the month following case closure/termination, benefits must be reinstated within 10 days. Example: Household is certified from March through February. The household filed an application for expedited services on March 16th and was approved for expedited services with postponed verification. This household was given a manual notice of action (Form 657) advising of the needed verification and the date by which this information Is due to be submitted to the county office. The household failed to provide the mandatory verification by the end of April. The case is closed April 30th and is sent an automated notice about the closure. The notice informs the household of the termination and why the case was closed. It also informs the household that their case can be reopened without a new application if they provide the missing verification before the end of the month (May). The household provides the mandatory verification on May 6 (month after closure/termination). The county office must run a trial budget for May (use application date of May 6th) to determine if the household is eligible for May and the remainder of the certification period. If eligible, the county office should leave the case closed and issue a restoration for May. Benefits are prorated for the month of May. The next month (June), the county office must reopen the case. The new application date becomes May 6th. The certification period will remain the same, March through February.