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B. Pre-applications are required for applicants requesting service for the first time or if the applicant is no longer in the household of another client.

C. Applicants submitting pre-applications should receive notification of an appointment for services within (15) fifteen business of submission of the pre-application. 1) If the applicant is elderly, disabled, or a family with a child five (5) and under, the appointment date must be within thirty (30) business days. Non-elderly or non- disabled clients must be given an appointment date within forty-five (45) business days. 2) For emergency situations, if the applicant’s application status is life-threatening (LTE), the appointment date must be within 18 hours. If the applicant’s application status is non-life threatening (NON-LTE), the appointment date must be within 48 hours. Verification of emergency must be provided, or the application will be treated as a “Normal” application. (see section 6.11 regarding explanations of LTE and NON-LTE cases) D. If an applicant does not have access to a computer to submit a pre-application, the subgrantee must complete the pre-application by phone or at the intake appointment. The subgrantee must provide the applicant with an intake appointment based on application status (LTE, NON-LTE, Normal).

E. Caseworkers must inform applicants at intake that another pre-application does not need to be completed for future assistance.

Source: Miss. Code Ann. § 43-1-2(4); Miss. Code Ann. § 43-1-4. Revised: January 2026

Rule 5.3 Initiating Application.

A. Subgrantees must receive the pre-application from Virtual ROMA and schedule the applicant an appointment. Appointments booked in IT Front Desk or other scheduling system must be entered in Virtual ROMA daily. (Please view the Virtual ROMA user manual on scheduling appointments) B. If an applicant does not complete a pre-application (regardless of reason), the subgrantee must complete the pre-application during the application process. A manual appointment must be made for the applicant by the subgrantee and the appointment should be documented in Virtual ROMA after the pre-application has been completed.

C. Under no circumstance should an applicant be denied services because the applicant has not completed a pre-application. The subgrantee must assist the applicant with completing a pre-application.