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ESA SNAP Policy Manual 184  Processing deadline: ESA must process the application and provide the applicant an opportunity to participate, if eligible, within 30 days, or seven days if entitled to expedited processing, from the date of release of the applicant from the institution.  Initial month’s benefits: If eligible, benefit levels for the initial month of certification will be based on the date of the month the household is released from the institution, and the household will receive benefits from the date of the household's release from the institution to the end of the month. Legal Authority Prerelease applicants (federal): 42 USC § 1383(n), 7 CFR § 273.2(c)(1)(vi), 7 CFR § 273.10(a), 7 CFR § 273.11(i) 14.8 Treatment of Cash Assistance Sanctions for SNAP If the benefits of a household that is receiving cash assistance are reduced because of the failure of a SNAP household member to perform an action required under the assistance program or because of fraud, ESA will not increase the household’s SNAP allotment as the result of the decrease in income. A decrease in cash assistance will usually result in an increased SNAP allotment for the household; however, due to federal regulations, the household must not receive an increase in SNAP benefits. This provision does not apply to initial cash assistance applications or when a new member is determined ineligible. The individual or household against whom the penalty is imposed must have been receiving cash assistance benefits that are reduced, suspended or terminated due to a failure to comply with a cash assistance requirement, or the individual or household has applied for continued benefits and there is no break in participation. This provision only applies to individuals who are receiving SNAP benefits at the time of their failure to comply with the requirements of the cash assistance program. In addition, this provision does not apply to situations such as:  Reaching a time limit for time-limited benefits  Failing to complete the TANF annual redetermination process  Failing to perform an action that the individual is unable to perform as opposed to refusing to perform  Failing to comply with a purely procedural requirement; a procedural requirement is a step that an individual must take to continue receiving benefits in the program, such as providing verification of circumstances (i.e. such as the TANF six percent work sanction or the 25 percent child support sanction) Legal Authority Reduction of public assistance benefits (federal): 7 USC § 2017(d), 7 CFR § 273.11(j)

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