10:87-2.18 Interview process

(a) All households certified for longer than 12 months, households with only earned income, households with no earned income, working poor households and households in which all members are elderly and/or disabled or those with hardship conditions shall be interviewed by a face-to-face interview, by phone or by a home visit. All applicant households (including those submitting applications by mail, data-fax or electronically) shall have either a face-to-face interview, telephone interview or home visit with a qualified eligibility worker, prior to initial certification and all recertifications. Additionally, a face-to-face interview shall be provided to any household that requests one. All interviews for NJ SNAP benefits shall meet the requirements at (b) through (g) below. (b) The individual interviewed may be the head of household, spouse, any other responsible member of the household or an authorized representative. An applicant may bring any person he or she chooses to the interview. To the extent practicable, the CSSA shall schedule the interview to accommodate the needs of groups with special circumstances, including working households. The language spoken in the home shall be accommodated. (c) The interviewer shall not simply review the information which appears on the application but shall explore and resolve with the household any unclear and incomplete information. Households shall be advised of their rights and responsibilities during the interview, including an explanation of the processing standards and the household's responsibility to report changes. 1. The interviewer shall explain to the applicant the work registration and employment and training requirements and the consequences of a household member quitting his or her job or reducing wages or hours of work without good cause (see N.J.A.C. 10:87-10.6). (d) The interview shall be conducted as an official and confidential discussion of household circumstances. The applicant's right to privacy shall be protected during the interview. Facilities shall be of adequate size and layout to preserve the privacy and confidentiality of the interview. (e) The in-office interview or telephone interview shall be waived for any household, which is unable to appoint an authorized representative (see N.J.A.C. 10:87-2.7) and which has no adult household members able to come to the NJ SNAP office. The CSSA shall conduct a home interview on a case-by-case basis for any household that reports it is unable to appoint an authorized representative and has no members able to come to the NJ SNAP office or available for a telephone interview because of transportation difficulties or similar hardships. The waiver of the face-to-face or telephone interview shall be documented in the case record. 1. Hardship conditions include but are not limited to: illness, care of a household member, hardships due to residency in a rural area, prolonged severe weather, or work hours which preclude an in-office certification. If a waiver is granted, the CSSA shall document the reason for the determination in the case record. 2. The CSSA has the option of conducting a telephone interview or a home visit for those households for whom the office interview is waived. Home visits shall be made only if the date and time of the interview is scheduled in advance at a mutually acceptable location with the household. 3. Waiver of the face-to-face interview does not exempt the household from the verification requirements, although special procedures may be used to permit the household to provide verification and thus obtain its benefits in a timely manner, such as substituting a collateral contact in cases where documentary evidence would normally be provided. 4. Waiver of the face-to-face interview shall not affect the length of the household's certification period. (f) For households that are not interviewed on the day they submit their applications, the CSSA shall schedule all interviews as promptly as possible in order to ensure that eligible households receive an opportunity to participate within 30 days after the application is filed. Initial applicants and recipients applying for recertification who cannot obtain certification services without missing time from work must be given appointments for such services. While appointments outside normal business hours are not required, CSSAs are encouraged to offer them. 1. If a household fails to appear for the first interview, the CSSA shall initiate action to schedule another interview. The interview shall be rescheduled without requiring the household to provide good cause for failing to appear. The CSSA shall notify each household that misses its interview appointment that it missed the scheduled appointment and that the household is responsible for rescheduling the missed interview. The CSSA shall reschedule if requested by the household. However, if the household does not appear for the rescheduled interview, the CSSA need not initiate action to schedule any further interviews unless the household requests that another interview be scheduled. Additionally, a denial of benefits cannot take place prior to the 30th day after the filing of an application based on the fact that an appointment has been missed. (g) For SSI jointly processed households as defined at N.J.A.C. 10:87-2.12(a)3, the SSA/DO shall conduct a single interview for both NJ SNAP benefits and SSI. Jointly processed households shall not be required to see a CSSA eligibility worker or otherwise be subjected to an additional interview by the CSSA in order to obtain NJ SNAP benefits. History HISTORY: Amended by R.1989 d.121, effective February 21, 1989. See: 20 N.J.R. 2689(a), 21 N.J.R. 511(b). Section was Interviews. Recodified from N.J.A.C. 10:87-2.19 and amended by R.2004 d.181, effective May 17, 2004. See: 36 N.J.R. 28(a), 36 N.J.R. 2425(a). Rewrote the section. Amended by R.2009 d.94, effective March 16, 2009. See: 40 N.J.R. 5932(a), 41 N.J.R. 1245(b). In (a), inserted ", households with only earned income, households with no earned income and households in which all members are elderly and/or disabled", inserted "a" preceding "home visit" and inserted "other"; in the introductory paragraph of (e), inserted "in-", inserted "in lieu of a telephone interview", inserted a comma preceding "which" twice and inserted "adult", deleted "because they are elderly or disabled as defined at N.J.A.C. 10:87-2.34" from the end of the first sentence, and inserted the last sentence. Amended by R.2012 d.031, effective February 6, 2012 (operative March 7, 2012). See: 43 N.J.R. 2114(a), 44 N.J.R. 241(a). Rewrote (a) and the introductory paragraph of (e); in (b), inserted the last sentence; and in (g), substituted "NJ SNAP" for "food stamp" twice.