Policy                                                                       Issuance Number: FSC 03-13

Food Stamp Certification Manual                     Issuance Date: 10/01/03

From: Joni Jones, Director                                    Expiration Date: Until Superseded

Subj:  Limited Reporting and Semi-Annual Reporting

Limited reporting and the semi-annual report replace the quarterly reporting requirement. This policy directive provides instructions for the implementation of both the limited reporting requirements and semi-annual reporting.

1. Limited Reporting

Limited reporting is a change in the reporting requirements. Households subject to the limited reporting requirement must report if their total gross income begins to exceed the gross income limit for their household size. (Example - The gross income limit for a household of three is $1,654. The household's gross income increases to $1,700. The household must report this change.) Households in non-waived counties must also report if a household member subject to the requirement to work begins to work less than 20 hours per week. Households subject to the limited reporting requirements will be given either a 4-month certification period or a 12-month certification period

2. Semi-Annual Reporting

Households subject to the limited reporting requirement that are given a 12-month certification period will be required to submit a report in the 6^th month of their certification period.

C. Aged/Disabled Households

Households where all members are aged and/or disabled but no household member works or claims a child support deduction will continue to be given 24-month certification periods and classified as occasional reporting households. With this policy revision, household composed entirely of aged and/or disabled adults and minor children will also be assigned a 24-month certification period unless a member of the household works or claims a child support deduction.

Aged/disabled households will be given a 12-month certification period if a household member works or claims a child support deduction. These households will be subject to the limited reporting requirements and required to submit a semi-annual report.

Households classified as occasional reporters must continue to report changes within 10 days of the date the change became known to the household. For these households, the threshold for reporting changes in unearned income has changed from $25 to $50. (Changes in unearned income must be reported when the income increases or decreases by more than $50.)

The new reporting requirements will be implemented 11-01-03. At the end of October, households currently subject to the quarterly reporting requirements will be converted to semi-annual reporting.

All households subject to the semi-annual reporting requirements must be advised of the new limited reporting requirements. Participating households that are currently classified as QR households will be sent a notice advising them of the change in their reporting requirements during the month of October. More information will be provided by screen message when the notices are generated.

After the SR notices are generated, workers must begin notifying households of the change in the reporting requirements at application approval and when September QRs are reinstated. This means that instead of notifying households that they will be subject to quarterly reporting, they will notify households of the new semi-annual reporting requirements. These households will be given or mailed a notice and the new "Limited Reporting Form" (DCO-284).

Effective 11-01-03, the following households will be assigned a four-month certification period and notified of the limited reporting requirements.

• Homeless households
• Households with members who are on strike
• Migrant and seasonal farmworkers who expect to remain in Arkansas

These households will be required to report only if the household's total gross income begins to exceed the gross income limit for the household size.

SUMMARY OF CHANGES

1. FSC 1303 - This section has been revised to reflect the semi-annual reporting requirements.
2. FSC 1310 - A statement has been added to this section to clarify how to handle a case when the household has moved out of the state.
3. FSC 1320 - The policy about providing instructions to the home has been updated.
4. FSC 1621.7.6 - This section has been revised to reflect the semi-annual reporting requirements.
5. FSC 1925 - This section has been revised to reflect the semi-annual reporting requirements.
6. FSC 3310.3 - This section has been revised to reflect the semi-annual reporting requirements.
7. FSC 3413 - This section has been revised to reflect the semi-annual reporting requirements.
8. FSC 3420 - This section has been revised to reflect the semi-annual reporting requirements.
9. FSC 3501 - This section, which contains information about RTW waiver counties, has been moved forward and renumbered from FSC 3550 to FSC 3501. It has also been updated.
10. FSC 3502 - This section, which contains information about RTW waiver counties, has been moved forward and renumbered from FSC 3560 to FSC 3502. The section has been revised to reflect the semi-annual reporting requirements. Also, a screening guide has been added to help workers determine when a personal exemption should be applied.
11. FSC 3520 - The example has been removed.
12. FSC 3522 - 3525 - These sections which provided explicit instructing for disqualifying individuals for failure to comply with the RTW have been deleted. FSC 3531, FSC 3532 and 3540 have been incorporated into FSC 3530. (All four sections provided information about the reinstatement of an individual disqualified for RTW noncompliance.) FSC 3550 & FSC 3560 have been moved to FSC 3501 & FSC 3502 respectively.
13. FSC 3610 - The instructions for work registering a household member have been revised to include instructions for work registration when a semi-annual report is processed.
14. FSC 3620 - The instructions for making an E&T referral have been revised to include instructions for E&T referral when a semi-annual report is processed.
15. FSC 3631 - The instructions for authorizing transportation reimbursements have been clarified.
16. FSC 3650 - Information was added to clarify that the worker must notify DWE when a food stamp case with an E&T participant closes because the semi-annual report was not processed.
17. FSC 3720 - The instructions for making a Workfare Program referral have been revised to include instructions for making a Workfare Program referral when a semi-annual report is processed.
18. FSC 3740 - The instructions for calculating Workfare Program obligation have been revised to include instructions for making a calculating Workfare Program obligation when a semi-annual report is processed.
19. FSC 4840 - The statement about vehicle exclusions applying to certification periods beginning after July 1, 2001 is outdated. It has been removed.
20. FSC 4850 - This section has been revised to remove outdated instructions about vehicle exclusions and to reflect the semi-annual reporting requirements.
21. FSC 5514 - The threshold for verifying reported changes in earned income has been changed from $25.00 to $50.00.
22. FSC 5662 - Instructions have been added for handling self-employment income received by households subject to the limited reporting requirements.
23. FSC 5662.1 - Instructions have been added for handling self-employment income received by households subject to the limited reporting requirements.
24. FSC 5680 - The example has been revised to reflect semi-annual reporting rather than quarterly reporting.
25. FSC 5691 - Instructions have been added for handling self-employment income received by households subject to the limited reporting requirements.
26. FSC 6552 - This section has been revised to reflect the semi-annual reporting requirements.
27. FSC 6627 - This section has been revised to reflect the semi-annual reporting requirements.
28. FSC 6628 - The policy has been updated by removing outdated information about the shelter deduction amounts.
29. FSC 7100 - This section has been revised to reflect the semi-annual reporting requirements.
30. FSC 7200 - This section has been revised to reflect that individuals who don't furnish information about disability are work-registered. The application will not be denied.
31. FSC 7431 - This section has been revised to reflect the limited reporting and semi-annual reporting requirements.
32. FSC 7522 - This section has been revised to reflect the semi-annual reporting requirements.
33. FSC 8240 - Item 10 has been revised to reflect the limited reporting requirements.
34. FSC 8310 - This section has been deleted.
35. FSC 8500 - This section has been updated to mention use of the Request for Verification (DCO-191).
36. FSC 8503 - The time frames for denying applications have been clarified.
37. FSC 8505 - This section has been revised to reflect the limited reported and the semi-annual reporting requirements.
38. FSC 8506 - This section has been updated to mention use of the Request for Verification (DCO-191) and to clarify the application processing time frames.
39. FSC 8520 - This section has been updated to mention use of the Request for Verification (DCO-191) and to clarify the application processing time frames.
40. FSC 8710 - This section has been rewritten to: expand the conditions under which a 24-month certification period may be assigned; to incorporate the 4-month certification periods to be assigned to some limited reporting households, and to limit the households to be assigned a one or two month certification period.
41. FSC 8720 - The section has been revised to incorporate the new rules for assigning certification periods.
42. FSC 8820 - This section has been revised to reflect the limited reporting and semi-annual reporting requirements.
43. FSC 8821 - This section has been revised to reflect the limited reporting and semi-annual reporting requirements.
44. FSC 9510 - This section has been revised to reflect the limited reporting and semi-annual reporting requirements.
45. FSC 10210 - The statement that information must be supplied within 10 days has been removed. Also, the statement about manually issuing DCO-239s when a QR is reinstated has been removed.
46. FSC 10520 - The section has been revised to clarify when a case will be denied for failure to appear for an interview or failure to provide information requested at the interview.
47. FSC 10550 - The benchmark for verifying income changes has been changed to $50.
48. FSC 10610 - Additional information has been added to this section to clarify the time frames for verification at recertification.
49. FSC 10620 - Additional information has been added to this section to clarify the conditions under which a household will be allowed up to provide information after the end of the current certification period.
50. FSC 10630- The first and second paragraphs were revised to clarify when to request an interview at a midpoint review.
51. FSC 10640 - This section, "Adjusting the BD Date", was deleted effective 10-01-03.
52. FSC 10650 - Additional information has been added to clarify the time frames for denying timely filed applications for recertification.
53. FSC 11100 - This section was updated section with the new limited reporting requirements.
54. FSC 11120 - Information about closing cases for failure to cooperate with field investigators and for failure to supply information needed to prepare an overpayment has been removed from this section.
55. FSC 11200 - This section has been updated with the new limited reporting requirements and the increase in the reporting limit for unearned income to more than $50. Also a note was added to clarify how to handle a case when the household has moved out of the state.
56. FSC 11310 - The new requirement for reporting gross income over the household's limit has been added to this section.
57. FSC 11320 - The statement that most categorically eligible households are subject to occasional reporting has been removed.
58. FSC 11330 - This section, which explained the reporting requirements of PA households, has been deleted.
59. FSC 11340 - This section has been rewritten. It now explains the limited reporting requirements.
60. FSC 11341 - This section now explains the reporting requirements of households certified for four months.
61. FSC 11342 - This section now explains the reporting requirements of semi-annual reporting households.
62. FSC 11350 - The definition of an occasional reporting household has been revised to remove any information about quarterly reporting households.
63. FSC 11420 - The threshold for verifying reported changes in unearned income has been revised from changes of more than $25 to changes of more than $50.
64. FSC 11430 - Instructions for shortening certification periods on the FACTS system have been removed.
65. FSC 11460 - The chart has been updated to reflect the new $50 threshold for reporting and verifying unearned income changes.
66. FSC 11500 - This section has been rewritten to reflect the semi-annual reporting requirements.
67. FSC 11510 - This section has been rewritten to reflect the semi-annual reporting and limited reporting requirements.
68. FSC 11520 - This section has been rewritten to reflect the semi-annual reporting requirements.
69. FSC 11530 - This section has been rewritten to reflect the semi-annual reporting requirements.
70. FSC 11531 - This section has been rewritten to reflect the semi-annual reporting requirements.
71. FSC 11540 - This section now contains instructions for completion of the semi-annual report.
72. FSC 11550 - This section now provides information about the verification to be submitted with semi-annual reports.
73. FSC 11560 - This section has been rewritten to reflect the semi-annual reporting requirements.
74. FSC 11561 - This section has been rewritten to reflect the semi-annual reporting requirements.
75. FSC 11562 - This section has been rewritten to reflect the semi-annual reporting requirements.
76. FSC 11570 - This section has been updated to reflect the new semi-annual reporting requirements.
77. FSC 11571 - This section has been updated to reflect the new semi-annual reporting requirements.
78. FSC 11580 - This section has been updated to reflect the new semi-annual reporting requirements.
79. FSC 11620 - This section has been revised to clarify the circumstances under which an interview may be requested at the time of a midpoint review.
80. FSC 12100 - This section has been revised to reflect the semi-annual reporting requirements.
81. FSC 12110 - The statement about the TEA sanction ending in three months has been removed.
82. FSC 12110.2 - The chart that specifies the sanction period has been revised to comply with current TEA policy.
83. FSC 12110.3 - The statement about handling earned income at the time of a voluntary quit has been removed.
84. FSC 12210 - This section has been revised to reflect the semi-annual reporting requirements.
85. FSC 12211 - A statement has been added to this section to clarify how to handle a case when the household has moved out of the state.
86. FSC 12221 - This section has been revised to reflect the limited reporting and semi-annual reporting requirements.
87. FSC 12222 - The revised instructions for referring certain household members to the E&T Program have been added to this section.
88. FSC 12226 - The instructions for keying a change when a household division occurs have been removed.
89. FSC 12227 - The Request for Assistance has been added as the food stamp application form.
90. FSC 12232 to 12233 - These sections have been updated to reflect current policy.
91. FSC 12241 - This section has been updated to reflect current policy and also to reflect the new limited reporting and semi-annual reporting requirements.
92. FSC 12251 - This section has been revised to reflect the semi-annual reporting requirements.
93. FSC 12252 - This section, which dealt with the process for keying a change to FACTS, has been deleted.
94. FSC 12260 - Instructions for keying a change to FACTS have been deleted.
95. FSC 12270 - References to quarterly reporting have been changed to semi-annual reporting.
96. FSC 12300 - This section has been revised to reflect the limited reporting requirements.
97. FSC 12330 - This section has been revised to reflect the limited reporting and semi-annual reporting requirements.
98. FSC 12400 - Information about the FACTS system has been removed.
99. FSC 12410 - This section has been revised to reflect the limited reporting requirements.
100. FSC 12420 - This section has been updated to reflect the limited reporting requirements.
101. FSC 12430 - This section has been revised to reflect the limited reporting and semi-annual reporting requirements.
102. FSC 12440 - This section has been revised to reflect the limited reporting and semi-annual reporting requirements.
103. FSC 12450 - This section has been revised to reflect the limited reporting and semi-annual reporting requirements.
104. FSC 12460 - This section has been revised to reflect the limited reporting and semi-annual reporting requirements.
105. FSC 13200 - This section has been revised to reflect the semi-annual reporting requirements.
106. FSC 13300 - This section has been revised to reflect the semi-annual reporting requirements.
107. FSC 13310 - This section has been revised to reflect the semi-annual reporting requirements.
108. FSC 15400 - This section has been revised to reflect the semi-annual reporting requirements.
109. FSC 16515 - This section has been revised to reflect the semi-annual reporting requirements.

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

Betty.Helmbeck@mail.state.ar.us