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VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES VERIFICATION/DOCUMENTATION

10/25 VOLUME V, PART III, PAGE 11

Medical standard deduction was not used during previous certification period

Actual expenses exceeding $235 per month Household must declare monthly expenses of $35 or more. Verify the expenses Verify any expenses reasonably expected to be incurred in the certification period. Child support expense Verify new obligation if the obligation changed. Verify the amount paid. Work hours or other work activity hours of an individual subject to the work requirement who is not receiving time-limited benefits because of a work activity Verify the number of work hours, hours in a work program, or volunteering is a weekly average of 20 hours or more. Verify that the number of hours assigned for the SNAP E&T work experience component is met.

In addition to the items above, the agency must address the following items:

Change in alien status Change affecting entitlement to utility and/or telephone standard Change in loans Identity of the person filing the recertification application if this person's identity had not previously been verified Change in residency Newly obtained Social Security numbers Incomplete, inaccurate, or inconsistent items Questionable information, as defined in Part III.A.2

E. VERIFICATION DURING THE CERTIFICATION PERIOD

The provisions of this chapter do not apply to changed elements reported through the Interim Report (Part XIV.C.2.c) or when verification is not routinely required. The verification requirements addressed here are not dependent on whether a household is required to report the change. The BPS must address changes, as outlined in Part XIV.A.2, and may need to verify the information regardless of whether the household is required to report the change. See Part XIV.A.1 for reporting requirements.

1. Impact on the Benefit Level

During the certification period, households may need to verify information if household circumstances change. For changed information that is unrelated to the Interim Report, households must verify elements that cause benefits to increase. The benefit amount for the first month after the change may reflect the reported change without verification, if the verification is unavailable.

The BPS must obtain verification of the change before the household can receive the second issuance of benefits that reflects the change. If the household does not provide verification within 10 days of the verification request, the BPS must change the allotment back to the original amount certified before the change was entered. The BPS does not have to issue an advance notice if benefits revert to the original level because of the lack of verification if the previous notice advised the household that this would happen at the time of the increase.

TRANSMITTAL #36