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FOOD AND NUTRITION SERVICES CERTIFICATION APPLICATIONS FNS 435 DETERMINING ELIGIBILITY

3 FNS 435 Change #XX-2021 November 15, 2021 G. Do not require specific types of verification. It is appropriate to request verification of wages for a specific pay period. It is not appropriate to request check stubs or wage form for a specific pay period as the mandatory verification could be provided in many different forms. H. When documentary evidence cannot be obtained or is insufficient to make eligibility determination or determination of the correct benefit level, a collateral contact or home visit may be necessary. I. A collateral contact may be a person named by the household, or the agency may choose a collateral contact if the collateral contact designated by the household is unacceptable. Examples of acceptable collateral contacts may include employers, landlords, social service agencies, migrant service agencies, and neighbors of the household who can be expected to provide accurate third-party verification. The agency is responsible for obtaining verification from acceptable collateral contacts. J. North Carolina Families Accessing Services through Technology (NC FAST) case files and appropriate evidences must be documented to support eligibility, ineligibility, and benefit level determinations. Documentation must be detailed enough for a reviewer to determine the accuracy of the case file. 435.03 REQUESTING INFORMATION AT APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS A. The worker must provide applicant households with two (2) requests for missing verifications. 1. The first request provided to the applicant household is the DSS-8650A Documents Needed to Complete Your Application. The DSS-8650A is a general information sheet that must be provided to all applicant households at or prior to the date of interview. If the interview is conducted over the telephone the DSS-8650A may be provided by mail. The DSS-8650A provides the household with the following information: • Description of the type of verifications required to process the FNS application. • Examples of the types of documents that can be used to verify information. • Time period that verifications should cover. • How the applicant can provide the verifications. • What will happen to the application if verifications are not provided. • How to obtain help to obtain verifications.