Current through 2024-38, September 18, 2024
1.
GENERAL RULE
The person interviewed may be any responsible household
member or an authorized representative.
2.
FOR APPLICATION AND ANNUAL
ELIGIBILITY REVIEW
Households must have telephone interviews prior to
certification, except for the following circumstances:
A. The Department shall process all
applications and annual eligibility reviews without an interview until March
31, 2023 unless -
(1) the household requests
an interview,
(2) there is unclear
information on the application or renewal form, or
(3) the household would be determined to be
ineligible based on information provided on the application or renewal
form.
B. Households are
not required to have face-to-face interviews with Office for Family
Independence (OFI) staff for applications or annual eligibility
reviews.
C. Households will be
scheduled for face-to-face interviews at (OFI) regional offices or available
itinerant sites, if requested by the household or their authorized
representative.
D. Households which
have no earned income and in which all adult members are elderly and/or have
disabilities are not required to complete an interview at annual eligibility
review unless -
(1) there is unclear
information on the renewal form, or
(2) the household would be determined to be
ineligible based on information provided on the renewal form.
The Department shall conduct an interview if the
household requests one.
3.
SCHEDULING AND NOTICING
A. All interviews must be scheduled as
promptly as possible to ensure that eligible households receive benefits within
the appropriate time limits for processing.
B. In the case of applications received from
residents of correctional facilities (Section 222-1), a telephone interview may
be completed prior to release at the request of the applicant. Absent a request
from the applicant, the Department may not schedule an interview date prior to
the anticipated release date.
C. If
the household fails to complete the first scheduled interview, the Department
shall notify the household in writing that they are responsible for
re-scheduling the interview. If the household contacts the Office for Family
Independence (OFI) within the 30 day application period, the Department shall
schedule a second interview. If, after 30 days from the date of application
(Section 999-1), the household has failed to complete an interview, the
Department shall deny the application.
D. During the interview, the Department shall
advise the household of their rights and responsibilities and the consequences
of failure to comply with program requirements. The Department shall provide
written notice of rights and responsibilities and the consequences for failure
to comply with program requirements at each determination whether or not an
interview has been conducted.
4.
DURING THE CERTIFICATION
PERIOD
Recipients cannot be required to come
into the office for a face-to-face interview during a certification period;
however, the Department may request an interview in instances of information
that is contradictory to information known to or received by the Department.
The Department shall give the household ten days to respond to the request to
clarify the contradictory information. Failure to resolve the contradiction
results in closure procedures for failure to resolve the contradiction,
not for failure to complete the interview.
