Interviews

A. Interview Requirements All applicant households shall undergo a phone or face-to-face interview with a qualified eligibility technician prior to initial certification and at least once every twelve (12) months. The State Department recommends phone interviews as the default option with face-to-face interviews only scheduled upon client request. If an individual does not list a working phone number on the application, then the local office must provide a number for the client to call the local office. A household certified for twenty-four (24) months is not required to complete an interview at the 12-month Periodic Report Form (PRF) or at twenty-four (24) month recertification, unless the household either requests an interview, is potentially going to be denied for SNAP (24-month households only) or has any outstanding issues or questions about the recertification process. The applicant may include any person(s) they choose for the interview. The individual interviewed may be the head of the household, spouse, or any other responsible member of the household, or an authorized representative. A face-to-face interview may be conducted at the local office or a mutually acceptable location, including the household's residence upon household request. If the interview is to be conducted at the residence, it must be scheduled in advance. The interview shall be conducted as an official and confidential discussion of household circumstances. The applicant's right to privacy shall be protected during the interview. Facilities shall be adequate to preserve the privacy and confidentiality of the interview. The eligibility technician shall not simply review the information entered on the application but shall explore and resolve with the household unclear and incomplete information. Households shall be advised of their rights and responsibilities during the interview, including the appropriate application processing standard and the household's responsibility to report changes. The interviewer must advise households that are applying for other PA programs that any time limits and other requirements for the receipt of other PA do not apply to the receipt of SNAP. Households may still qualify for SNAP if they have reached a time limit, begun working, or lost benefits from another PA program for another reason. Upon determination that a person should be referred to an Employment First Unit, the local office shall explain to the applicant the pertinent work requirements, the rights and responsibilities of work-registered household members, and the consequences of failure to comply. The local office shall provide a written statement of these requirements to each work registrant in the household and to each previously exempt or new household member when that person becomes subject to the work registration and at recertification. B. Scheduling Interviews The local office must schedule an interview for all applicant households who are not interviewed on the same day they apply to the local office. Interviews shall be scheduled for a specific date and time and an appointment letter must be provided to the client at the address on file. All interviews, including the date and time of the interview, shall be documented in the case record. When scheduling interviews, the interview shall be scheduled as promptly as possible to ensure that eligible applicant households receive an opportunity to participate within SNAP’s processing guidelines, as outlined in Section 4.205. When the interview is scheduled, the client shall be notified that if it a responsible member of the household or its authorized representative fails to attend the interview, the household will be responsible for rescheduling and attending an interview within thirty (30) days from the date of application and that failure to do so shall result in the denial of the application. If the local office schedules an interview with the household before the thirtieth (30th) day from the application date and no later than the sixtieth (60th) day, the original application can be used, and benefits are issued from the original date of application. If the household requests an interview date after the thirtieth (30th) day, the local office will deny the application on the thirtieth (30th) day and the household must file a new application. C. Missed Interviews If the household fails to attend its scheduled interview, the local office shall mail the household a notice of missed interview, informing the household that it missed the scheduled interview and that the household is responsible for rescheduling the interview. If the household does not schedule a subsequent interview for a date within thirty (30) calendar days after the application is filed, the application shall be denied by the local office on the thirtieth (30th) day following the date of application. The application shall not be denied before the thirtieth (30th) day. If a household misses its first interview, the household forfeits its right to expedited service, unless the second interview is rescheduled for a date within seven (7) days following the date of application. D. Interviews for PA Households If a household is applying for both PA and SNAP, the local office shall conduct a single interview at initial application for both PA and SNAP purposes. The applicant household shall complete the combined application for PA and SNAP. Following the single interview, the application may be processed by separate workers to determine eligibility and benefit levels for SNAP and PA. A household's eligibility for an out-of-office interview for SNAP purposes does not relieve the household of any responsibility for a face-to-face interview for PA purposes. Except for households which may be eligible under basic categorical eligibility, the household's SNAP eligibility and benefit level shall be based solely on SNAP eligibility criteria, and all households shall be certified in accordance with the noticing, procedural, and timeliness requirements of the SNAP regulations. The PA applicant household shall indicate on the single purpose application if it does not wish to apply for SNAP. E. Interviews for SSI Households Households in which all members are SSI clients and are applying and being interviewed for SNAP by SSA, will not be required to see a SNAP eligibility technician or otherwise be subjected to an additional certification interview. The local office shall accept SSA documentation and shall not contact the household to obtain additional information for the eligibility determination unless the application is improperly completed, mandatory verification required by Section 4.502 is missing, or the local office determines that certain information on the application is questionable. In no event shall the client be required to appear at the local office to finalize the eligibility determination. Further contact made in accordance with this paragraph shall not constitute a second SNAP interview.