us-ca/regulation/mpp/63-301 — 63-301 APPLICATION PROCESSING TIME STANDARDS

.31 The CWD shall not deny eligibility to a household due to failure to cooperate when the person(s) who fails to cooperate is outside of the household.

.311 Excluded household members specified in Section 63-402.22 shall not be considered outside of the household for the purposes of Section 63-301.31.

.32 If the household has failed to appear for one scheduled interview and has made no subsequent contact with the CWD to express interest in pursuing the application, the CWD shall send a NOMI as soon as possible. The CWD shall reschedule if the household requests another interview within 30 days of the initial application date. The CWD must not deny a household’s application prior to the 30th day as described in Section 63-300.45(a). The CWD must pro-rate benefits from the date of application if the household schedules a second interview within 30 days of the application date and is found eligible as described in Section 63-300.45(b).

.33 In cases where the CWD was able to conduct an interview and request all of the necessary verification on the same day the application was filed, and no subsequent requests for verification have been made, the application may be denied if the CWD provided assistance to the household in obtaining verification when required as specified in Section 63-300.55 but the household failed to provide the requested verification. The CWD may send a notice of action denying the application on or before the 30th day following the date the application was filed, to be effective the 30th day following the date the application was filed.

.4 Delayed Actions

.41 Determining Cause

.411 A delay shall be considered the fault of the household if the household has failed to complete the application process even though the CWD has taken all the action it is required to take to assist the household. The CWD must have taken the following actions before a delay can be considered the fault of the household:

.412 Delays that are the fault of the CWD include, but are not limited to, those cases where the CWD failed to take the action described above in Sections 63-301.411 (a through c).

.42 Delays Caused by the Household

.421 If the application is denied, the CWD shall notify the household of the action it must take to reactivate its application; that the case will be reopened without a new application if the required action is taken within 30 days of the date the denial notice of action denying the application becomes effective (30 days after the date of application); and that if the household does not take the required action within the second 30-day period (60 days of the date of application), a new application must be submitted in order to participate in the Food Stamp Program.

.422 If the application is held pending, the CWD shall notify the household of the action it must take to complete the application process, and that if the household does not take the required action within 60 days of the date the application was filed, its application shall be denied and a new application must be submitted if the household wishes to participate in the Food Stamp Program.

.423 If the household responds and is determined eligible during the second 30-day period, the CWD shall provide benefits only from the date the CWD received verification that the household completed the required action.

.424 If the household responds and is determined ineligible during the second 30-day processing period, the CWD shall deny the application and provide the household with a notice of action informing them of the denial.

.43 Delays Caused By the CWD

.431 Whenever a delay in the initial 30-day application processing period is the fault of the CWD, the CWD shall take immediate corrective action. The CWD shall not deny the application but instead shall continue to process the application and send the household a notice of action informing them of the pending status of their application by the 30th day following the date the application was filed.

.432 If the household is determined eligible during the second 30-day period, the CWD shall provide benefits retroactive to the date of the application. If the household is determined ineligible during the second 30-day processing period the application shall be denied and the CWD shall provide the household with a notice of action denying their application.

.44 Delays Beyond 60 Days

.441 If the CWD is at fault for not completing the application process by the end of the second 30-day period, and the case file is otherwise complete, the CWD shall continue to process the original application and any supplemental information provided by the household until an eligibility determination is made.

.442 If the CWD is at fault for not completing the application process by the end of the second 30-day period, but the case file is not complete enough to determine eligibility, the CWD shall continue to process the original application and send the household a notice of action informing them that the application is being held pending. The household shall be advised of the action necessary to complete the application process and of the possible entitlement to retroactive benefits as a result of the CWD's failure to process the application in the second 30-day period.

.443 If the household is at fault for not completing the application process by the end of the second 30-day period, the CWD shall deny the application and require the household to file a new application if it wishes to participate. If however, the CWD has chosen the option of holding the application pending only until 30 days following the date of the initial request for the particular verification that was missing, and verification is not received by that 30th day, the CWD may immediately deny the application. The household shall not be entitled to any lost benefits, even if the delay in the initial 30 days was the fault of the CWD.

.5 Expedited Service

.51 Entitlement to Expedited Service

.511 Households with less than $150 in monthly gross income as defined in Section 63-502.1 provided their liquid resources as defined in Section 63-501.11 do not exceed $100;

.512 Migrant or seasonal farmworker households who are destitute as defined in Section 63-503.43 provided their liquid resources as defined in Section 63-501.11 do not exceed $100; or

.513 Households whose combined monthly gross income and liquid resources are less than the household's monthly rent or mortgage, and utilities.

.52 Identifying Households Needing Expedited Service

.521 A CWD employee or volunteer shall inform potential applicants orally of the right to expedited service for eligible households and how to initiate the process, the availability of assistance in filling out the application and shall be responsible for screening applications as they are filed. The CWD also shall advise individuals who inquire about the Food Stamp Program by telephone of the expedited service processing standards for eligible households. The CWD shall assist an applicant, upon request, in filling out forms and completing the application process.

.522 The screening shall consist of a review of the DFA 285-A1 or the SAWS 1 CA1/DFA 285-A1 if the applicant elected to complete the expedited service section. The CWD shall immediately forward the application for processing when it is determined that the applicant is entitled to expedited service.

.523 Households being recertified or reapplying after less than a one-month break in certification shall be entitled to expedited service if determined eligible as specified in Section 63-301.51.

.53 Processing Standards

.531 Expedited Service Households

.532 Out-of-Office Interviews

.533 Late Determinations

.54 Special Procedures for Expediting Service

.541 The CWD shall use the following procedures when expediting certification and issuance:

.542 Once the household has supplied the name of a collateral contact or has asked the CWD for assistance in locating a collateral contact, the CWD shall promptly contact the collateral contact or otherwise assist the household in obtaining the necessary verification.

.543 Households that are certified on an expedited basis and have provided all necessary verification required by Section 63-300.5 within the expedited services time frame as specified in Section 63-301.531 shall be assigned a normal certification period.

.544 Households that are certified on an expedited basis and whose verification is postponed shall be assigned certification periods as follows:

.545 When a certification period of longer than one month is assigned, the CWD shall notify the household, in writing that:

.546 Households which apply for benefits after the 15th of the month and have been determined eligible to receive benefits for the initial month and the subsequent month but have had their verification postponed shall receive both allotments at the same time, in accordance with Section 63-503.16.

.547 Migrant farmworker households shall be entitled to postpone out-of-state verification only once each migrant farm season.

.548 There is no limit to the number of times a household can be certified under expedited service procedures, as long as prior to each expedited certification, the household either completes the verification requirements that were postponed at the last expedited certification or was certified under normal processing standards since the last expedited certification.

.549 Households requesting, but not entitled to expedited service shall have their applications processed according to normal standards.

.6 PA Households

.61 Single Interview

.611 The CWD may hold a separate food stamp interview if necessary to prevent any delay in the processing of expedited service.

.62 Verification Procedures

.63 Application Processing Standards and Procedures

.631 In order to determine if a household will be eligible due to its status as a recipient PA household, the CWD shall be permitted to postpone the food stamp eligibility determination within the 30-day processing standard if the household is not entitled to expedited service and appears to be categorically eligible.

.632 If any potentially categorically eligible household is denied and later determined eligible to receive PA benefits, the CWD shall provide food stamp benefits using the original application and any other pertinent information occurring subsequent to that application.

.633 For all households, the CWD shall anticipate with reasonable certainty the amount and date of receipt of the initial PA payments. Initial PA payments include the first month's basic grant and any immediate need or other PA payments that were issued prior to the authorization of the first month's basic grant.

.634 For all households, portions of initial PA payments intended to retroactively cover a previous month shall be disregarded as lump sum payments as specified in Section 63-502.2.

.7 Categorically Eligible PA Households

.71 Section 63-301.71(MR) shall become inoperative and Section 63-301.71(QR) shall become operative in a county on the date QR/PB becomes effective in that county, pursuant to the Director's QR/PB Declaration.

.72 The eligibility factors which shall be accepted for food stamp eligibility without verification are the resource, gross and net income limits; social security number information; sponsored alien information; and residency.

.73 When determining whether a household is to be considered PA categorically eligible, the CWD shall verify the following factors, only when questionable, as specified in Section 63-300.53.

.731 The household shall contain only food stamp eligible members that are PA recipients as defined in Section 63-102(p).

.732 The household shall meet the definition of a household as specified in Sections 63-102(h) and 63-402.

.733 The household shall include all persons who purchase and prepare food together in one food stamp household regardless of whether or not they are separate units for PA purposes.

.734 The household has not been disqualified or does not include persons who have been disqualified as specified in Section 63-301.73.

.74 The following households shall not be considered categorically eligible and are subject to all food stamp eligibility and benefits provisions if:

.741 Any household member is disqualified for an intentional Program violation as specified in Section 63-805;

.75 The following persons shall not affect the eligibility of an otherwise categorically eligible PA household:

.751 Ineligible non-citizens as defined in Section 63-403.1;

.752 Ineligible students as defined in Section 63-406;

.753 SSI recipients as defined in Section 63-102(s);

.754 SSN-disqualified persons as defined in Section 63-102(s);

.755 Persons institutionalized in an unauthorized facility as defined in Section 63-402.4;

.756 Household members who are disqualified for failure to comply with work requirements as specified in Section 63-407.4; or

.757 GA recipients who receive benefits from a GA program appropriate for categorical eligibility.

.76 For purposes of work registration, the exemptions specified in Section 63-407.2 shall apply to individuals in PA categorically eligible households. Any individual who is not exempt from work registration is subject to the work requirements specified in Section 63-407.

.8 GA Households

.81 CWDs shall advise all GA applicant households of their potential categorical eligibility for Food Stamp benefits and provide these households with a DFA 285-A1 and DFA 285-A2 or the joint application forms. GA households shall not be considered categorically eligible for Food Stamp benefits unless they receive, or are authorized to receive, benefits from a GA program appropriate for categorical eligibility as specified in Section 63-301.82.

.811 CWDs shall allow households in which all members are applying for GA benefits to leave a signed Food Stamp application, which contains, at a minimum, the household's name, address, and signature, at the GA office. The GA office shall forward the application that same day to the appropriate Food Stamp office for processing.

.812 The procedural and timeliness requirements that apply to the non-PA application process shall begin when the Food Stamp office receives the application. Since there may be a delay involved in the transferring of applications from GA offices to food stamp offices, households shall be advised that they may receive faster service if they take the application directly to the Food Stamp office.

.82 Categorically Eligible GA Households

.821 Any household, except those specified in Section 63-301.824, in which all food stamp eligible members receive or are authorized to receive GA benefits from a GA program which meets the following criteria, shall be considered eligible for food stamps because of their status as GA recipients.

.822 The eligibility factors which shall be accepted for food stamp eligibility without verification are the resource (except resource transfers); gross and net income limits, sponsored noncitizen information; and residency.

.823 When determining whether a household is to be considered GA categorically eligible, the CWD shall verify that the household contains only food stamp eligible members who are receiving, or are authorized to receive, GA from a GA program appropriate for categorical eligibility.

.824 A household shall not be considered categorically eligible and is subject to all food stamp eligibility and benefit provisions if:

.825 The following individuals shall not be included as a member of an otherwise categorically eligible household if that person:

.9 Mixed Food Stamp Households

.91 CWDs may use the joint application processing procedures in Section 63-301.6 for mixed FS households. This decision shall not be made on a case-by-case basis, but shall be applied uniformly to all households of this type in the county.

.92 Mixed FS households shall not be considered categorically eligible for food stamp benefits.

.93 CWDs shall exclude any resource of FS household members receiving PA. If a resource is jointly held by a Food Stamp household member who is receiving PA and a Food Stamp household member who is not receiving PA, then exclude the amount that was counted in determining the PA eligibility.

.94 Mixed FS households must meet the food stamp gross and net income standards of eligibility.