1130 Administration and Supervision

1131 Staffing Standards - To meet requirements outlined under the Kansas Civil Service System, local agency employees shall perform the interviews as required in 1412 . Volunteers and other nonagency employees shall not conduct certification interviews to certify applicants, with the exception of SSI households certified under 1417 . Volunteers may be used in related activities such as outreach or assisting applicants in completing the application, other prescreening activities, and securing needed verification. Individuals and organizations who are parties to a strike or lockout and their facilities may not be used in the certification process except as a source of verification for information supplied by the applicant.

1132 Divisions of Responsibility - In order to safeguard certification and issuance records from unauthorized creation or tampering, the Economic and Employment Support Commission has established an organizational structure which divides the responsibility for eligibility determinations and benefit issuance between certification and issuance units.

1132.1 The Certifying Unit - The certification unit shall be responsible for the determination of eligibility and the creation of records and to authorize the issuance of benefits.

1132.2 The Issuance Unit - The issuance unit shall provide certified households with the Kansas Benefits Card to access cash and food assistance benefits. In cases where personnel are periodically, or on a part-time basis, shifted from one unit to another, supervisory control should be sufficient to assure that the unauthorized creation or modification of case records is not possible.

1133 Requirements for Participating State Agencies - (Food Assistance Program Only)

1133.1 Benefits as Income - The food assistance benefit provided any eligible household shall not be considered income or resources for any purpose under any federal, state, or local laws including, but not limited to, laws on taxation, welfare, and public assistance programs.

1133.2 No Aid Reduction - No participating agency shall decrease any assistance otherwise provided an individual or individuals because of the receipt of food assistance benefits.

1133.3 No Sales Tax on Food Assistance Purchases - State and local sales taxes shall not be collected on eligible food purchases made with food assistance benefits. NOTE: Even though sales tax cannot be collected on eligible food purchases made with food assistance benefits, sales tax will be collected on the value of coupons used when making food assistance purchases. For example, a $1.00 coupon is used while purchasing food with food assistance. The $1.00 will be taxed and the client will have to pay sales tax on $1.00.