Newly-Certified and Ongoing Households

A. All households shall be placed on an issuance schedule so that they receive their benefits on or about the same date each month. The date on which a household receives its initial allotment after certification need not be the date that the household must receive any subsequent allotments. B. All newly certified households shall be given an opportunity to participate no later than thirty (30) calendar days following the date the application was filed. Households eligible for expedited service shall be given an opportunity to participate no later than seven (7) calendar days following the date the application was filed. Day one (1) is the first calendar day after the application is received by a local office in the correct county. An opportunity to participate consists of providing households with an active EBT card and PIN, posting benefits to the household’s EBT account, and making benefits available for spending. Local offices shall utilize a mailing system to mail EBT cards and PINs, if applicable, by the twenty-eighth (28th) day to ensure that the benefits can be spent by the thirty (30) day standard. Local offices shall, at a minimum, use first class mail to send EBT cards to households. C. Households that apply for initial month's benefits after the fifteenth (15th) day of the month, that fulfill eligibility requirements, and are determined eligible to receive benefits for the initial month of application and the next subsequent month, shall receive their prorated allotment for the initial month of application and their first full month's allotment at the same time. Expedited households applying for initial benefits after the fifteenth (15th) of the month for which verification has been postponed shall be entitled to a combined first (1st) and second (2nd) months' benefits in the same timeframes as above. The postponed verification shall be provided prior to the third calendar month or the application shall be denied. D. An eligible household shall have an opportunity to receive its benefits prior to the end of the period of intended use. The period of intended use is defined as the month in which benefits are issued. For households certified after the twentieth (20th) of the month, the period of intended use is the balance of the month for which benefits are authorized through the last day of the following month.