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West Virginia Income Maintenance Manual Chapter 10

West Virginia Income Maintenance Manual Page 13 Chapter 10 The Case Maintenance Process

All SNAP assistance groups (AGs) must report changes related to eligibility and benefit amount at application and redetermination. SNAP AGs are subject to limited reporting requirements, and the reporting requirements in this section apply to recipient AGs only. The reporting requirements for SNAP clients are only for SNAP benefits and do not affect the reporting requirements of any other program of assistance that the AG also receives. Regardless of the SNAP reporting requirement, all changes reported directly by an AG member, the AG’s authorized representative and/or authorized Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cardholder, or from a source that is listed as verified upon receipt below must be acted on, even if the AG is not required to report the information. The AG is not required to report any periodic cost-of-living increases in federal benefits, such as the yearly increase in Retirement, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (RSDI), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Black Lung, or Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits. This exception only applies to mass changes, not to an individual change affecting the level of a client's benefits. See “Other Types of Changes” below. When reported information results in a change in benefits and additional or clarifying information is needed, the Worker must first request the information by using the DFA-6 or verification checklist. If the client does not provide the information within the time frame specified by the Worker, the appropriate action is taken after advance notice. Each reported change is evaluated independently for the appropriate action to be taken. When a reported change results in the change of the certification period, the client must receive advance notice of the change. The table below provides some common examples of reported changes, the impact on the benefit, and the result if requested clarifying information is not returned.

Reported Change Impact on Benefit (Increase or Decrease) When Requested Information Is Not Returned Add AG member Increase Benefits remain the same Remove AG Member Decrease Not applicable; no verification required NOTE: Shelter deductions must be verified at application, redetermination, and after a reported change. If the reported change is not verified, no shelter deduction is allowed. The table below is not a comprehensive list of examples. This table does NOT apply to processing of the interim contact report (PRC2) form.