PUBLIC ASSISTANCE (PA) HOUSEHOLD CHANGES

A. Households that receive PA benefits which report a change in circumstances to the PA technician shall be considered to have reported the change for SNAP purposes. Information that is reported and verified to a PA program which results in a change to the PA benefit amount and that meets the SNAP rules for verification shall be considered VUR. The date the change is considered reported and verified is the date the PA program processes the change and authorizes the new PA benefit amount. When acting on information considered verified upon receipt (VUR), advance Notice of Adverse Action is required, except as noted in Section 4.608.1. B. When there is a change in a PA case and the local office has sufficient information to make the corresponding SNAP adjustment, the local office shall follow the guidelines listed below. 1. If the change in household circumstances requires a reduction or termination of both PA and SNAP, the following action will be required: a. Send Notices of Action for both programs simultaneously with both notices bearing the same effective date. b. If a household requests a fair hearing any time prior to the effective date of the Notice of Adverse Action, and its certification period has not expired, the household's participation in the program shall be continued on the basis authorized immediately prior to the Notice of Adverse Action, unless the household specifically waives continuation of benefits. Continued benefits shall not be issued for a period beyond the end of the current certification period. c. If the household appeals only a PA adverse action and is granted interim relief, SNAP benefits authorized prior to the adverse action shall continue or be restored. However, the household must reapply if the SNAP certification period expires before the hearing process is completed. d. If the household does not appeal the adverse action to decrease the PA or SNAP benefits within the adverse action period, the changes shall be made in accordance with timeframes outlined in Section 4.603. 2. If the change requires a reduction or termination of PA benefits and/or increases in SNAP benefits, the following action will be required: a. A PA Notice of Adverse Action shall be issued to the household and SNAP benefits shall not be increased until the adverse action period expires. If the household does not appeal, the increase shall be effective in accordance with Section 4.604. The time limit for taking the action to increase SNAP benefits shall be calculated from the date the PA Notice of Adverse Action expires. The Notice of Adverse Action expires eleven (11) calendar days from the date it is issued or fifteen (15) calendar days for households participating in the address confidentiality program (ACP). b. If the household requests a PA appeal and is granted interim relief, the household is entitled only to SNAP benefits that were authorized immediately prior to the PA adverse action and action must be taken to correct the current basis of issuance. A SNAP claim must be made against the household if there was an over-issuance for the period pending the appeal decision. 3. When there is a change in a PA case which results in a termination of PA but there is insufficient information to determine SNAP eligibility, the local office shall follow the guidelines listed below: a. The PA Advance Notice of Adverse Action and a verification request notice are issued simultaneously. The PA notice makes the action effective on the last day of the month the notice is sent (or the last day of the following month, as appropriate, to allow for the required advance notice period). The routine extension on SNAP notices allows the household time to reapply for benefits at the appropriate local office. The verification request notice shall advise the household of the information that needs to be verified for the household to continue to receive SNAP benefits. The eligibility technician shall not take any further action until the PA Notice of Adverse Action period expires or until the household requests an appeal. If the household does not appeal the PA action and request a continuation of benefits, the agency may resume action on the reported change. Depending on the response or non-response to the verification request, the eligibility technician shall adjust the household's benefits if the verification of the household circumstances is received, or issue a Notice of Adverse Action to close the household's case if the household does not respond or refuses to provide information. b. Households requesting a SNAP appeal may be entitled to continued benefits. c. If the household requests only a PA state appeal and is granted interim relief, SNAP benefits authorized immediately prior to the adverse action will continue or be restored. 4. If the situation does not require a PA Notice of Adverse Action, the local office shall act based on the normal change reporting processing time frames and provide proper noticing as described in this section. C. Local offices shall ensure that there is no increase in SNAP benefits to households as the result of a penalty being imposed for an IPV or failure to comply with program requirements for a federal, state, or local means-tested program that distributes publicly funded benefits. The local office shall calculate the SNAP allotment using the benefit amount that would be issued by the federal, state, or local means-tested program if no penalty had been imposed to reduce the benefit amount. A situation where benefits of the other program are being frozen at the current level shall not constitute a penalty subject to these provisions. Changes in household circumstances that are not related to the penalty and result in an increase in SNAP benefits shall also not be affected by these provisions.