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SNAP CERTIFICATION MANUAL – SECTIONS 100 TO 900 800 Quality Assurance (Q.A.) 840 Reviewing Active Cases

840 Reviewing Active Cases SNAP MANUAL 11/01/98 Active cases are defined as those that were certified prior to or during the review month and for which benefits were issued during the review month. The reviewer determines if the household was eligible during the review month. If the household was eligible during the review month, then the reviewer determines if the proper amount of SNAP benefits were issued for that month. In order to accomplish this, the reviewer completes the following steps: 1. Examining the Case Record During this examination, the reviewer identifies specific facts related to the household’s eligibility and basis of issuance of SNAP benefits. It is considered improper for a reviewer either to question a county office worker or to accept information not in the case record from the county office. The case record (including all online screens and reports) is considered the reviewer’s only source of information about the county’s action. 2. Conducting the Field Review During the field review, the Q.A. reviewer obtains information about the household’s actual circumstances during the review month. The reviewer verifies and documents this information. The two basic activities of the field review are interviewing the household and making collateral contacts. A worksheet is used to record the results of the field review. 3. Identifying Variances Using information shown in the case record and information gathered during the field review, the reviewer determines if there are any differences between the information the reviewer has verified, and information used by the county office to issue SNAP benefits. EXAMPLE: If changes have occurred and have been reported or the county has not acted on a reported change within the proper timeframe, a variance will be determined. 4. Making the Review Decision The final step of the review is deciding whether or not the case is in error. The reviewer may determine that a variance has occurred, but the case will not be considered an error case unless the SNAP benefit amount was incorrect by at least $5.00. If the case is