Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 12, March 22, 2024
a) Every
applicant for assistance shall be sent or given a written notice of disposition
of the application.
b) Every
recipient for assistance shall be sent or given a written notice whenever
assistance is reduced or discontinued.
c) Notices denying, reducing, or
discontinuing assistance shall contain the following information:
1) A clear statement of the action being
taken.
2) A clear statement of the
reason for the action.
3) A
reference to the statute, rule, or policy provision under the authority of
which the action is taken. From March 1997 through March 1998, references to
provisions of the Department's policy manuals using the numbering system in use
in 1996 shall be deemed to be references to the corresponding provisions of the
new numbering system introduced in 1997.
4) A complete statement of the client's right
to appeal (see subsection (d) below and Sections
10.280 through
10.282
).
d) Timely Notice
1) All notices concerning local office
reduction or discontinuance of assistance shall be "timely". A "timely" notice
shall be mailed or given at least ten calendar days prior to the date the
reduction or discontinuance will occur, and shall inform the client that if the
client files an appeal by the date the reduction or discontinuance will occur,
his or her assistance will be continued at its previous level, pending the
results of the appeal unless the client specifically requests that the
assistance benefits not be continued. The notice shall be dated with the date
it is mailed or given. (Day one of the ten-day period is the day following the
date on the notice. Day ten may be no later than the date the reduction or
discontinuance will occur.)
2)
Notices sent concerning reduction or discontinuance of assistance by agency
action initiated centrally may be either "timely" or "adequate", as defined by
federal regulation. When timely notice is not required and an adequate notice
is sent less than ten days before the date of change, the client may receive
continued benefits if the appeal is filed within ten days after the date of
notice. (See 89 Ill. Adm. Code
112.302.)
e) Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families
1) Every recipient who makes a
written request for a grant increase or a special authorization shall be sent
or given written notice of the disposition of the request within 45 days after
the date of the request.
2) Every
recipient who makes a request for Crisis Assistance (89 Ill. Adm. Code 116)
shall be sent or given a written notice of the disposition of the request
within 45 days after the date of the request.
f) A notice will be sent that contains the
name of, and contact information for, the caseworker when a case is transferred
per Section
10.390
g) Approval of General Assistance
as a Result of Cancellation of TANF or AABD or Reduction of TANF (Applicable
Only in City of Chicago)
1) A notice of
intended cancellation or reduction of benefits is sent to a TANF or AABD
recipient, in the City of Chicago, whose assistance is discontinued or a person
deleted from the assistance unit (AFDC only) for one of the following reasons:
A) AABD: no longer blind, disabled.
B) TANF: no longer an eligible child in the
home.
2) If a recipient
from one of the programs listed in subsection (g)(1) of this Section applies
for General Assistance (GA) within 30 days after the notice of cancellation or
reduction of benefits and if that recipient is determined to be eligible for
GA, such benefits shall be authorized with no gap in assistance (see also
Section
10.430
).
h) SNAP households
shall be notified:
1) If there is no change
in benefits following submission of a change report form.
2) If SNAP benefits are being reduced or
discontinued, the following additional information shall be included on the
notice:
A) the telephone number of the local
DHS office;
B) a statement
indicating the household's liability for benefits received while waiting for a
fair hearing decision, if the decision is adverse to the household;
and
C) a statement indicating the
general availability of outside individuals or organizations providing free
legal representation and the telephone numbers of those individuals or
organizations.
3) A
notice of approval shall be sent to eligible households by the
30th day following the date of application. If the
household is found not eligible to participate, the notice of denial shall be
sent by the 30th day following the date of
application.
4) If the local office
cannot act on an application by the 30th day because
the case file is incomplete due to a household's delay, a notice of denial
shall be sent on the 30th day. However, the
household has an additional 30 days to complete the application. If the delay
is caused by the local office, a notice of pending status shall be sent to the
household by the 30th day.