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Page | 275 14440 INTERVIEWS AT RENEWALS

Timely interviews will ensure that the Benefits Specialists have ample time to complete the processing of renewals. Interviews should be scheduled at the beginning of the month to allow for time to complete all the necessary interviews for households that are required to complete a renewal in that month.

If a household missed their first scheduled interview and didn’t submit a renewal application (EA- 301), it is the household’s responsibility to contact the Benefits Specialists to reschedule a missed interview. There is no need to send a notice of missed interview (DSS EA-333).

If the renewal application form was submitted, and they did not attend the scheduled interview or only a partial interview was completed, a notice of missed interview (EA-333) or ACCESS macro notice must be sent informing the household of the missed interview and their responsibility to contact the benefits specialist to re-schedule the interview.

Benefits Specialist should ensure that the EA-300 cover letter, and checklist is sent with an interview date if the household returns the renewal form (301) after the case was closed for failure to return the renewal.

Good interview skills are important for benefits specialists to ensure accurate and complete information has been reported on the renewal form. These skills are especially important when going through renewals that have been completed online, as the only information listed on the online renewal is what the recipient answered yes to or changed.

14450 TIMELY PARTICIPATION AT RENEWAL

The Benefits Specialist must take action on timely renewals and provide eligible households with an opportunity to uninterrupted benefits.

A. Households given their renewal notice at the time of the last certification will be notified of the eligibility decision and, if eligible, have an opportunity to participate within 30 calendar days of their last opportunity to participate. This provision is intended to ensure that an eligible household can receive benefits on or before the same date in succeeding months and that no months are omitted.

B. Households submitting their application for renewal by the 15th of the last month of the current certification period shall be considered to have made a timely renewal.

C. Households who have met all renewal requirements shall be notified of their eligibility or ineligibility by the end of their current certification period and must have an opportunity to participate by their normal issuance cycle in the following month. If the end of the month falls on a non-work day, the notice must be provided by the last previous work day. Note: The Specialist will call the household at the time of the scheduled interview whether or not the household submitted the renewal application. Example: Ralph was mailed a renewal form on November 18th for a January renewal. The renewal form requested that the EA-301 be returned by December 8th with an appointment scheduled on December 10th. Ralph did not return the renewal form (301) by the 8th, but the worker still called the household on the 10th. The worker did not reach Ralph, and the case was closed for failure to renew on December 11th. On December 18th, Ralph’s renewal paperwork was received in the office by mail. The Benefits Specialist must send an EA-300 scheduling an interview. The EA-333 is not used in this circumstance since the EA-301 was not received prior to the first scheduled interview.