Current through August, 2024
(a) Summer EBT applications are subject to
the following verification requirements:
(1)
The department or department's designee shall verify an application for cause,
on a case-by-case basis, such as in an instance when the department or
department's designee is aware of conflicting or inconsistent information from
what was provided on the application.
(A) The
department or department's designee may verify an application for cause at any
time during the instructional year or summer operational period, but
verification must be completed within thirty days of receipt of the
application.
(B) Applications
verified for cause are not considered part of three per cent sample size
described in paragraph (a) (2) of this section.
(C) Applications do not need to be selected
for verification for cause during the initial application processing. The
department or department's designee may become aware of a questionable
application after the initial certification was completed and benefits were
issued. In this case, the department or department's designee shall verify the
application for cause at the time they learn of the questionable or conflicting
information.
(D) All verification
procedures in this section must be followed for applications selected for
verification for cause in the same manner as an application randomly selected
as part of the sample described in (a)(2)(A) of this
section.
(2) The
department or department's designee shall verify eligibility of children in a
sample of household Summer EBT applications approved for benefits for the
summer.
(A) The sample size shall equal three
per cent of all applications approved by the department or department's
designee from the start of the instructional year through April 1 of the school
year immediately preceding the summer operational period, selected randomly
from all applications.
(B) The
department or department's designee may choose to sample at any frequency prior
to April 1, but may not sample any applications after April 1, and the total
applications sampled shall not exceed three per cent of the total number of
approved applications as of April 1.
(b) Applications received after April 1 are
still subject to verification for cause on a case-by-case basis.
(c) The department or department's designee
shall conduct direct verification activities with the programs eligible for use
in streamlined certification where available.
(1) Direct verification must be conducted
prior to contacting the household for documentation.
(2) For the purposes of direct verification,
documentation may indicate participation in an applicable program or income at
any point during the period of eligibility. The information provided only needs
to indicate eligibility at a single point in time during the period of
eligibility, and not that the child was eligible at the time of application or
verification.
(d)
Verification is not required of households if all children in the household are
determined eligible based on the results from direct verifications.
(e) Households selected for verification
shall be notified in writing that their applications were selected for
verification. The notice shall include a telephone number to contact for
assistance and shall inform the household on the following:
(1) They are required to submit the requested
information to verify eligibility for Summer EBT benefits, by the due date
determined by the department.
(2)
They may, instead, submit proof that the children receive assistance under SNAP
or TANF; or
(3) They may, instead,
request that the department or department's designee contact the appropriate
officials to confirm that their children are foster children, homeless,
migrant, or runaway.
(4) Failure to
cooperate with verification efforts will result in the termination or
expungement of benefits.
(f) For the purposes of this section, sources
of information for verification may include, but are not limited to, written
evidence, individuals outside of the child's household who can verify the
child's circumstances, and systems of records as follows:
(1) Written evidence must be used as the
primary source of information for verification. Written evidence includes
written confirmation of a household's circumstances, such as wage stubs, award
letters, and letters from employers. Whenever written evidence is insufficient
to confirm income information on the application or current eligibility, the
department or department's designee may require confirmation from a person
outside of the child's household, or accept a statement from an adult member of
the child's household.
(2) Verbal
confirmations of a household's circumstances by a person outside of the
household may be made in person or by phone. The verifying department or
department's designee official may select a person to contact if the household
fails to designate one or designates one which is unacceptable to the verifying
department or department's designee official. If the verifying department or
department's designee official designates a person, contact shall not be made
without providing prior written or oral notice to the household. At the time of
this notice, the household must be informed that it may consent to the contact
or provide acceptable documentation in another form. If the household refuses
to choose one of these options, eligibility shall be terminated in accordance
with the normal procedures for failure to cooperate with verification efforts.
Individuals outside of the child's household who can verify the child's
circumstances could include, but are not limited to:
(A) Employers;
(B) Social service agencies;
(C) School officials; or
(D) Migrant agencies.
(3) Agency records to which the department or
department's designee may have access are not considered to be the same as a
person outside of the child's household who can verify their circumstances.
Information concerning income, household size, SNAP or TANF eligibility,
maintained by other government agencies to which the verifying agency can
legally gain access, must be used to confirm a household's income, size, or
receipt of benefits, as applicable. Information may also be obtained from
individuals or agencies serving categorically eligible children, including
foster, homeless, migrant, or runaway children.
(4) Households which dispute the validity of
income information acquired through an individual outside of the child's
household or a system of records must be given the opportunity to provide other
documentation.
(g)
Households selected and notified of their selection for verification must
provide documentation of income. The documentation must indicate the source,
amount, and frequency of all household income, and may indicate eligibility at
any point during the period of eligibility. The information provided only needs
to indicate eligibility for participation in the program at a single point in
time during the period of eligibility, not that the child was certified for
that program's benefits at the time of application or verification.
(h) If a household is selected for
verification, and the household's application indicates zero income, the
department or department's designee shall request an explanation of how living
expenses are met and may request additional written documentation or collateral
contacts. The collateral contact may be asked to document the duration and type
of assistance that is provided to the household.
(i) If a household refuses to cooperate with
efforts to verify eligibility for Summer EBT benefits, then they shall be
terminated from the program and benefits issued, if any, shall be
expunged.
(j) The department or
department's designee must provide a telephone number to households selected
for verification to call free of charge to obtain information about the
verification process. The telephone number must be prominently displayed on the
letter to households selected for verification.
(k) The department or department's designee
must make at least two attempts, at least one week apart, to contact any
household that does not respond to a verification request. The attempt may be
through a telephone call, email, or mail, and must be documented. Non-response
to the initial request for verification includes no response, and incomplete or
ambiguous responses that do not permit the department to resolve the children's
eligibility for Summer EBT benefits.
(l) The department or department's designee
must complete the following activities if there is an eligibility change as a
result of verification:
(1) Make appropriate
modifications to the initial eligibility determinations.
(2) Notify the household of any change in
eligibility as a result of verification. The notice must advise the household
of:
(A) The change;
(B) The reasons for the change;
(C) Notification of the right to appeal and
when the appeal must be filed;
(D)
Instructions on how to appeal; and
(E) The right to reapply at any time during
the instructional year or summer operational period.
(3) Properly document and retain on file at
the department or department's designee the reasons for
ineligibility.
