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63 5 . 4 V E R I F I C A T I O N F O R H O M E L E S S H O U S E H O L D S Homeless households claiming actual shelter expenses or those with extremely low shelter costs may provide verification of their shelter expenses to qualify for the homeless shelter deduction (See Section 12.1 Income Deductions/General). If a homeless household has difficulty in obtaining traditional types of verification of shelter costs, a client’s statement is acceptable verification as a last resort.

5 . 5 R E S P O N S I B I L I T Y F O R O B T A I N I N G V E R I F I C A T I O N The household has primary responsibility for providing documentary evidence to support statements on the application and to resolve any questionable information. The Agency must assist the household in obtaining this verification provided the household is cooperating with the Agency as specified in Section 3.5 Household Cooperation in Filing an Application for SNAP. Households may supply documentary evidence in person, through the mail, by facsimile or other electronic device, or through an authorized representative. The Agency must not require the household to present verification in person at the SNAP office. The Agency must accept any reasonable documentary evidence provided by the household and must be primarily concerned with how adequately the verification proves the statements on the application. However, the Agency has primary responsibility for verifying fleeing felon and parole or probation violator status in accordance with Section 7.5 Fleeing Felons and Probation/Parole Violators. If a SNAP applicant's attestation regarding disqualified felon status described in Section 3.11 Attestation Requirement is questionable, the Agency will verify the attestation. Each element of a questionable attestation - that the individual has been convicted of a crime listed in Section 14.12 Disqualification for Certain Convicted Felons, and that the individual is not in compliance with the terms of their sentence - will be verified by the Agency. The Agency will determine whether an attestation is questionable based on the standards established in Section 5.1(15) Verification Prior to Certification (Other factors determined to be questionable). In conducting verifications of questionable attestations under this paragraph, the Agency will establish reasonable and consistent standards, evaluate each case separately, and document the case file accordingly. In cases where verification is incomplete, the Agency must provide the household with a statement of required verification, offer to assist the household in obtaining required verification if the household indicates assistance is needed, and allow the household sufficient time to provide the missing verification. Sufficient time will be at least 10 days from the date of the Agency’s initial request for the particular verification that was missing.