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EAP Policy Manual FFY24 Chapter 2 Applications & Application Processing Page 3 Accessibility Federal and state laws require EAP services to be accessible. At a minimum, the following accessibility services must be provided: • Intake sites must be physically accessible to disabled applicants. • Service Providers must have procedures to allow non-English speakers and people with literacy problems to apply for assistance and comply with application requirements (see Language Line). • Service Providers must make provisions to provide services to people with visual impairment. At a minimum, program publications printed must include this statement: “This publication is available in alternative formats upon request.” Upon request, these publications must be made available in large print and Braille. • Service Providers must have procedures to allow applicants who are deaf, deafblind or hard of hearing or who have a speech disability to apply for EAP. If the Service Provider has TTY capability, publicize this number while publicizing EAP. Staff should be trained to operate the equipment. More information about assisting these applicants is available on the Accessibility for People with Hearing and Speech Disabilities tool on the Commerce website. Note: Accessibility services can be difficult to secure for low-incidence populations. Service Providers are encouraged to collaborate across EAP service areas to make EAP accessible. Questions and Complaints EAP applicants and recipients may have questions about how the program works or how their benefits were determined. Others may have complaints about their benefit or how they were treated. EAP customer service requires both be taken seriously and responded to appropriately. Service Providers are required to have written procedures for responding to questions and complaints. These written procedures must be part of the training process for EAP staff and any other staff who answer the telephones or interact with EAP applicants or recipients. The procedures and training must promote maintaining good customer relations and stress the advantage of keeping the question or complaint at the lowest level, including: • Designation of staff who can respond to questions and complaints. • Telephone procedures to give applicants and recipients access to a person who can respond to their questions and complaints. • Information and training about how to respond to questions on eligibility requirements and how benefits were determined, including examples of letters, if a letter should be needed.