Page 40

VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES APPLICATION PROCESSING

10/24 VOLUME V, PART II, PAGE 4

Example

An applicant files an application. The BPS notifies the applicant of the interview requirement and schedules an interview. The applicant must refuse the interview, not merely fail to appear for the interview in order for the BPS to deny the application for refusal to cooperate.

If there is any question as to whether the household failed to cooperate or refused to cooperate, the BPS must not deny the household for refusal to cooperate and the BPS must assist the household, as appropriate.

The household will also be ineligible if it refuses to cooperate in any subsequent review of its eligibility, including reviews generated by reported changes and at recertification. Once denied or terminated for refusal to cooperate, the household may reapply but will not be eligible until its members cooperate with the local department. In addition, the household will be ineligible if the members refuse to cooperate for a subsequent review of its eligibility as part of a quality control review. If the BPS closes a household's case for refusal to cooperate with a quality control review, the household will not be eligible again until it cooperates with the quality control reviewer if the household reapplies before the end of the quality control reporting year (generally January 21), regardless of the original sample month.

The household will not be ineligible when a person outside the household fails to cooperate with a request for verification. The agency may not consider disqualified or ineligible people excluded from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program as nonhousehold members. See Part VI.C.

D. INTERVIEWS (7 CFR 273.2(e)(1) and (3))

All applicant households, including those submitting applications by mail, fax, telephone, or electronically, must have an interview with a qualified BPS before initial certification, certification based on a reapplication, or for recertification. The individual interviewed may be the head of household, spouse, any responsible member of the household, or an authorized representative. For the purposes of this manual, when adults and children reside together, a responsible household member means a household member 18 years of age or older who has sufficient knowledge of the household's circumstances to provide any necessary information. The applicant may bring anyone to the interview as desired.

The certification interview may occur by telephone or may occur in the local department or other mutually acceptable site if the household requests a face-to-face interview or if the worker determines a face-to-face interview is warranted for the household. (The agency does not need to document the reason a telephone interview was conducted or why an in-office interview was held.) The interview may take place in the applicant’s home provided the BPS arranges for the visit in advance as per Part III.A.3.

The interviewer must not simply review the information that appears on the application but must explore and resolve with the household unclear and incomplete information. At the same time, the BPS must make the applicant feel at ease. The interview must include:

TRANSMITTAL #35