Hawaii Administrative Rules
Title 17 - DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES
Department of Human Services
Chapter 647 - APPLICATION PROCESSING REQUIREMENTS
Subchapter 4 - SPECIFIC PROVISIONS FOR FOOD STAMPS
Section 17-647-33 - Time limits on disposition of application

(a) The branch shall process all applications as quickly as possible. The branch shall determine a household's eligibility and shall provide an eligible household an opportunity to participate within thirty calendar days after the day the application was filed, except for residents of public institutions who apply jointly for SSI and food stamp benefits prior to release from the institution in accordance with chapter 17-655. An application shall be considered filed the day the appropriate unit office receives an application containing the applicant's name and address, which is signed by either a responsible member of the household or the household's authorized representative. For residents of public institutions who apply for food stamps prior to their release from the institution, the branch shall provide an opportunity to participate within thirty calendar days from the date of release of the applicant from the institution.

(b) An opportunity to participate shall consist of providing a household with an ATP card and having an issuance facility open and available for the household to obtain its allotment. If the ATP card is mailed, an opportunity to participate shall have been provided if the branch mails the ATP card at least two days prior to the expiration of the thirty-day standard and assures that the ATP card may be transacted before the thirty-day standard expires. For example, no opportunity to participate within the thirty-day standard shall be considered to have been given if the ATP card is mailed on the twenty-ninth or thirtieth day. Nor has there been an opportunity to participate if the ATP card is mailed on the twenty-eighth day, and no coupon issuance office is open on the twenty-ninth day so that coupons may be obtained.

(c) Households applying for assistance after the fifteenth of the month who have completed the application process by providing all the required verifications within thirty days of the date of application, or within five days of the date of application for households eligible for processing under the expedited service provisions of subchapter 5, and who have been determined eligible to receive benefits for the initial month of application and the next subsequent month, shall receive the prorated allotment for the initial month of application and the first full month's allotment at the same time. Households for which missing verification or postponed verification have not been provided within the specified timeframes as stated in this subsection shall not be entitled to the provisions of this subsection in receiving combined allotments for the initial month of application and the next subsequent month. However, households who are eligible for expedited services may receive benefits for the initial month under the verification standards as set forth in subchapter 5. Additionally, in accordance with chapter 17-681, benefits of less than ten dollars shall not be issued under the provisions of this subsection.

(d) If an applicant household reports a change in its situation after it has been interviewed but before a disposition has been taken on the household's application, the branch shall consider the change reported by the household effective the date of application. For example, in the following situation where the date of application was May 6, the applicant household was interviewed on May 16 and the household reports an addition to the household on May 20, which was before any disposition was taken on the household's application, the branch shall include the new member into the household effective May 6 after all pertinent information have been obtained and verified for the new member. However, if a change is reported by the applicant household in a subsequent month after the month of application, the branch shall consider the change reported by the household effective the date of application or the first of the month in which the change took effect, whichever is later. For example, if the date of application was June 20, the applicant household was then interviewed on June 2 6, and household reports on July 2 that a new member moved in on June 29, the new member shall be added into the household composition effective June 20, the date of application. However, if the household reported the new member moved in on July 2, the new member shall be included into the household composition effective July 1, the first of the month in which the change took effect.

(e) A household which qualifies for the expedited service and a household considered destitute shall be certified on an expedited basis as specified in subchapter 5.