Policy                                                                       Issuance Number: FSC 02-05

Food Stamp Certification Manual                     Issuance Date: 04-01-02

From: Joni Jones, Director                                Expiration Date: Until Superseded

Subj:  Revised Procedures for Scheduling Out-of-Office Interviews
            Handling Unclear Information

Implementation Date: By federal mandate this policy will be implemented April 1, 2002. Approval of the policy under the Administrative Procedures Act will not occur until April 10, 2002.

Go to the corresponding number in the body of the policy to see the revised policy.

1. [FSC 4420] – Item 3 has been separated into two separate items. The new number 3 now provides information only about the exclusion of life insurance policies as a resource. The new number 4 now provides information only about the exclusion of burial policies as a resource. All subsequent items have been renumbered.
2. [FSC 8230] – A statement has been added to clarify that households must only supply an application containing a name, an address and a signature in order for the county office to schedule an interview.
3. [FSC 8250] – The conditions under which an out-of-office must be scheduled have been revised. Having an AR will no longer be a factor in determining whether to grant an out-of-office interview. Out-of-office interviews will be scheduled upon request for any household where all members are aged and/or disabled and there is no earned income. Also, there are changes in the procedures for granting out-of-office interviews to other households under the hardship provisions.
4. [FSC 10510] – A statement has been added to clarify that when it is time for a household to appear for an interview at recertification, the county offices must schedule this interviews to accommodate the needs of households with special circumstances.
5. [FSC 12400] – There are new procedures for handling reported changes when the worker cannot determine the effect of the reported change on the household’s eligibility and/or benefit level. Workers must send a request for contact to the household before issuing any advance notice of adverse action.
6. [FSC 12410] – The language about changes reported to E&T workers has been removed from the policy. The Food Stamp E&T Program is no longer operated in the DHS county office.

Inquiries to: Betty Helmbeck, Food Stamp Section, 501 682-8284