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TANF TANF TANF TANF TANF TANF

SNAP SNAP SNAP SNAP SNAP SNAP

B-220.1 Division of Welfare and Supportive Services ISSUING BENEFITS Eligibility and Payments Manual Benefit Amount 20 Jan 01 MTL 01/20 220.1 Benefit Amount ● The amount of the benefit is based on the assistance unit size and net income. ● Issue benefits for less than $10 only for – supplemental payments, and – payments made after recoupment is processed. ● A household allotment (benefit) is based on household size and net income. ● The system will not issue benefits for $1, $3, or $5, and will round up these benefits to $2, $4, or $6. 230

AUTHORIZING BENEFITS TANF and SNAP benefits are authorized by the case manager when they post an eligible version for the program in the system. 230.1 Issuance of Benefits via Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) EBT is a system that allows a recipient to authorize transfer of their government benefits from a federal account to a retailer account to pay for products received. When a household is certified to receive either TANF or SNAP benefits, their benefit amount is deposited into their EBT account monthly. They access their account by use of an EBT card and Personal Identification Number (PIN). The EBT card is a plastic card similar to a debit or credit card. When paying for groceries other services, or to access funds from their TANF benefits, the EBT card is swiped through a Point-of-Sale (POS) terminal, and the recipient enters their PIN to access the account. The processor verifies the PIN and the account balance, and sends an authorization back to the retailer/individual. The recipient’s account is then debited for the amount of the purchase/withdrawn amount. The recipient will receive a receipt indicating the amount of the debit and the balance of their remaining benefits. 230.2 EBT Benefit Availability EBT issuances are transmitted to the EBT contractor each business day. Newly approved benefits are deposited into the EBT account by 7:00 a.m. the next morning with the benefit immediately accessible thereafter with a valid EBT card and PIN. Monthly EBT issuances are available on the issuance effective date regardless of holidays or weekends. SNAP ongoing monthly EBT issuance effective dates are based on the last digit of the head of household’s birth year (0 through 9). Example: The head of household was born in 1990 so the case issuance date is the 10th of the month or born in 1994 so the issuance date is the 4th of the month.