WAG 18-04-03: Acting on Reported Changes

PM 18-04-03

Acting on Reported Changes in General

The Family Community Resource Center (FCRC) must act on reported changes in general. When a Food Assistance (SNAP and State Food) household reports a change, including changes reported at a Redetermination (REDE) or at the Mid-Point Report (MPR), review the effect of the change on the household's eligibility and benefit amount and take the appropriate action. FCRC staff are required to act on reported changes if the changes are clear and verified upon receipt.

Information Received that is Verified Upon Receipt

If the information is considered verified upon receipt and no additional information is needed, action is required. 

Example 1: Ms. K has an active SNAP case in Mid-Point Reporting status. She calls the ABE Call Center to report that her minor child's father, Mr. J, has moved into the household with her and the child. The HSC gathers the individual information for Mr. J., including date of birth, Social Security number and confirms that Mr. J has no income, assets, or allowable expenses. The information for Mr. J is verified upon receipt and clear.  No additional information is needed and Mr. J is added to the household's SNAP case.

Example 2: Customer J reports that customer K has moved in and that they purchase and prepare food together. Customer K's name, date of birth, and Social Security number is provided and Customer K has no income. The information is considered verified upon receipt and action must be taken.

Acting on Reported Changes with Unclear Information

• During the certification period, the FCRC may receive unclear information about changes in the Food Assistance household's circumstances from which it cannot readily determine the effect on the household's continued eligibility for Food Assistance. The FCRC may receive unclear information from a third party or from the Food Assistance household itself. Unclear information is defined as:
  • information that is not verified; or
  • information that is verified but the FCRC needs additional information to act on the change.

The FCRC Must Pursue Verification of Unclear Information if:

1. Is required to be reported according to the reporting status assigned to the household and is less than 60 days old relative to the current month of participation; or
2. The unclear information presents significantly conflicting information than what was provided by the customer at the last Food Assistance application, REDE or MPR.

Send a Verification Checklist (VCL) (IL444-0267) to request verification of the unclear information if it is determined that verifications must be pursued. See section below titled IL444-0267/IL444-0360 C Notices for notice text.

Note: Workers should remind customers whenever possible what their reporting requirements are, how to report their changes and explain what can and cannot be acted on by IDHS.

See the table below for how to act on unclear information received in various scenarios for Change Reporting households and Mid-Point Reporting households, the table is not all-inclusive.

Change Reporting Households

Type of Information Received	FCRC Action
Prisoner or Death Crossmatch which is not auto-processed received	0267 VCL to household
Undeliverable Mail received - no forwarding address.	0267 VCL to household
Head of household (HOH) reports a new household member via telephone. HOH did not have all required information available.	0267 VCL to household
HOH reports a new household member. All required information provided.	Update case with new information
HOH visits FCRC to report new job. Paystubs verified.	Update case with new income
HOH reports change in earned income but no information available for hours or salary.	0267 VCL to household
HOH submits Form IL444-1978 to report birth of child but birthdate is not indicated.	Make courtesy call to HOH to obtain birthdate. Add child to case if DOB obtained. If not obtained, 0267 VCL to household.
Earned income that significantly conflicts with information provided at the time of application.	0267 VCL to household
HOH submits Form IL444-1978 to add 20 year old child to SNAP household but Social Security Number is missing. Age of the information is 60 days or older and does not significantly conflict with information from last REDE.	Make case comment. Follow up at next MPR or REDE, whichever occurs first.
HOH reports a new household member. New member is found on another case.	0267 VCL to the household who reported the new member
Unemployment Insurance Benefits (UIB) Crossmatch Received. Information is less than 60 days old relative to current month.	Add UIB income to case
HOH reports increase in rent via telephone.	Confirm rent amount and utilities. Update case with the information.
HOH reports household member left the home.	Update case with new information

MPR Households

Type of Information Received	FCRC Action
Prisoner or Death Crossmatch which is not auto-processed received	0267 VCL to household
Undeliverable Mail received - no forwarding address.	Make case comment. Follow up at next MPR or REDE, whichever occurs first.
Head of household (HOH) reports a new household member via telephone. HOH did not have all required information available.	Make case comment. Follow up at next MPR or REDE, whichever occurs first.
HOH reports a new household member. All required information provided.	Update case with new information
HOH visits FCRC to report new job. Paystubs verified.	Update case with new income
HOH reports change in earned income but no information available for hours or salary.	Remind HOH of gross income standard if customer on phone or in person; complete case comments. Follow up at next MPR or REDE, whichever occurs first.
HOH submits Form IL444-1978 to report birth of child but birthdate is not indicated.	Make courtesy call to HOH to obtain birthdate. Add child to case if DOB obtained. If not obtained, make case comment and follow up at next MPR or REDE, whichever occurs first.
Earned income that significantly conflicts with information provided at the time of application.	0267 VCL to household
HOH submits Form IL444-1978 to add 20 year old child to SNAP household but Social Security Number is missing. Age of the information is 60 days or older and does not significantly conflict with information from last REDE.	Make case comment. Follow up at next MPR or REDE, whichever occurs first.
HOH reports a new household member. New member is found on another case.	Make case comment. Follow up at next MPR or REDE, whichever occurs first.
HOH reports increase in rent via telephone.	Confirm rent amount and utilities. Update case with the information.
HOH reports household member left the home.	Update case with new information

Reported Physical Address Change Without Reported Shelter Costs

If a household reports a physical address change but does not specify a change in shelter costs (housing and utility costs), a batch generated Request For Shelter Costs Due To Address Change (IL444-5229) will be systematically mailed to the customer giving them an opportunity to confirm or update their shelter costs. It is a voluntary form and negative action is not taken if it is not returned.

A daily batch will look for completed physical address changes on active cases receiving Food Assistance who did not have the Circumstance Start/Change Date (CS/CD) or Reported On Date updated for their housing and utility costs the same day or after the CS/CD for the physical address was updated. Matched cases will receive a batch generated Request For Shelter Costs Due To Address Change (IL444-5229). The form will serve as a courtesy notice to the customer to report their shelter costs. It is a voluntary form and negative action is not taken if it is not returned.

Note: When a customer moves out of Illinois, follow up action on unknown shelter costs is not required, instead their case should be cancelled for failing the Illinois residency requirement, see WAG 03-02-03-a.

FCRC Action - Returned IL444-5229

1. IES: If the Request For Shelter Costs Due To Address Change (IL444-5229) is returned, task 5229 - SNAP Courtesy Notice will be created in the Ready to Certify Queue for worker follow-up.
2. FCRC: After selecting the task from the queue, a worker will review the reported changes on the Request For Shelter Costs Due To Address Change (IL444-5229) and initiate a Case Change an IES.
3. FCRC: Navigate to the appropriate Shelter Expense pages (Shelter Expenses and Utility Standards), update the CS/CD, the Reported On date, and the Date Client Became Aware.
4. FCRC: Update the amount of the Shelter costs and/or select the appropriate utilities. Once updated, run eligibility, certify the case and complete case comments.

• If the customer reports that they are no longer paying any Housing Costs, update the Shelter Expense amount page to reflect $0.00 (zero) for the applicable shelter cost type(s) and update the CS/CD to reflect the dates the information was received from the customer.
• If the customer reports they are no longer paying any utility costs, update the CS/CD to reflect the date the information was received from the customer and deselect the appropriate utilities and/or switch the 'YES/NO' questions to 'NO' in order to end the utility costs.
• If the form is not legible, make one attempt to follow up with the customer by phone. If clarification is not received, only make the changes which are clear, if any. A Verification Checklist (IL444-0267) is not necessary and should not be sent. Complete case comments regarding the changes made and unclear information provided and mark the task complete.

Acting on Undeliverable Mail - New Address Found

When Undeliverable Mail is received in the local office, manually scan and upload the returned mail with a task in the Changes/Misc. Queue. Before working an Undeliverable Mail task for cases review the ECR, the case comments, and the returned envelope for a new address. If a new address is found for cases with Cash or SNAP, update IES with the Circumstance Start/Change Date (CSCD) for the address and enter the most recently received address on the Household Address Page.

Acting on Undeliverable Mail for Change Reporting Households - No New Address Found

If the case has SNAP or Cash and there is not a new address on the returned envelope and a change of address is not found in the ECR or Case Comments, generate a Verification Checklist (IL444-0267) and give or send to the customer. To generate a Verification Checklist (IL444-0267), on the Household Address Page:

1. Update the Address Dates to one day before the Undeliverable Mail was received; and
2. Answer 'YES' to the question 'Has mail been returned undeliverable to this address?'.; and 
3. Click [Save + Continue] and run eligibility.

A Verification Checklist (IL444-0267) will be generated for verification of address. Review the Verification Checklist (IL444-0267) for accuracy and give or send to the customer.

Acting on Undeliverable Mail for MPR Households - No New Address Found

Cases in Mid-Point Reporting Status are not required to report an address change. If the case has SNAP or Cash, is in Mid-Point Reporting Status and there is not a new address on the returned envelope and a change of address is not found in the ECR or Case Comments:

1. Navigate to the Changes/Misc. Queue and mark the Undeliverable Mail task complete.
2. Complete a detailed Case Comment.

Note: If the Undeliverable Mail is a Verification Checklist (IL444-0267) requesting information on a Prisoner or Death Crossmatch, see step #5 in the section below titled: "Procedures for Acting on Unclear Information from a Prisoner or Death Crossmatch".

For more detailed step by step instructions for Acting on Undeliverable Mail, see Undeliverable Mail Task, in the IES Resource Center in IES.

Data Crossmatches

Data Crossmatches More than 60 Days Old

Do not act on information from a data crossmatch or require the household to provide information if the data crossmatch:

1. Is more than 60 days old relative to the current month of participation; or
2. Was not required to be reported; or
3. Does not present significantly conflicting information from that used at the time of certification.

Note: This does not apply to Prisoner or Death Crossmatches.

Example: Ms. C is active for SNAP in Mid-Point Reporting. Ms. C is matched on a DEARS Lottery Winnings Crossmatch that is more than 60 days old relative to the current month of participation. The crossmatch indicates she received lottery winnings of $1,000. The winnings do not meet the $4,500 reporting requirement for lottery winnings. The FCRC is not required to send a VCL to follow-up with the customer. The HSC completes case comments on the details of the crossmatch and marks the task complete, there is nothing to follow up on at the next MPR or REDE.

Determining When to Act on Unclear Information Received from a Data Crossmatch

Follow the procedure below to determine when to act on a data crossmatch. This procedure does not apply to Prisoner or Death Crossmatches.

Data Match Information	Action to Take
Step One Does the information received significantly conflict with the information used to approve the application?	If Yes, follow-up with the Food Assistance household by sending a Verification Checklist (VCL) (IL444-0267) requesting contact and verifications, if needed. See instructions below under the IL444-0267/IL444-0360 C Notices section below. If No, then proceed to Step two.
Step Two Is the information received something the Food Assistance household is required to report based on their assigned reporting status?	If Yes, proceed to Step three. If No, then the FCRC should not act on the information or require the household to provide information. The task will be cleared, a case comment completed, and the information will be followed up on at the next REDE or MPR, whichever comes first.
Step Three Is the information less than 60 days old?	If Yes, follow-up with the Food Assistance household by sending a Verification Checklist (VCL) (IL444-0267) to request contact and verifications, if needed. See instructions under the IL444-0267/IL444-0360 C Notices section below. If No, then the FCRC should not act on the information or require the household to provide information. The task will be cleared, a case comment completed, and the information will be followed up on at the next REDE or MPR, whichever comes first.

Note: The 60 days is not in terms of when the crossmatch is received. The information in the data crossmatch cannot be more than 60 days old relative to the current month of Food Assistance participation.

Procedures for Acting on Unclear Information from a Prisoner or Death Crossmatch

1. (IES) Receives information about customers who may be deceased or incarcerated. If IES is able to confirm exact matches it will attempt to auto-process the match and if successful, no further action is needed by the FCRC. When an exact match cannot be confirmed automatically  and auto-processed, worker intervention is required.
2. (FCRC) Must follow-up on all data matches received on incarcerated or deceased persons which were not able to be auto-processed. For Food Assistance, a Verification Checklist (IL444-0267) must be sent to the customer prior to taking a negative action on the case to ensure that the data source is correct. Include the following on the Verification Checklist (IL444-0267):
   • "We have received information that conflicts with information that you have previously provided. You must respond to this notice and provide the information that is requested within 10 days from the date of this notice. If you do not respond and provide the information within 10 days, your SNAP benefits will be discontinued."
   • "Hemos recibido información que entra en conflicto con la información que nos ha proporcionado con anterioridad. Debe responder a este aviso y proporcionar la información que se solicita dentro de los 10 días siguientes a la fecha de esta notificación. Si usted no responde y proporcionar la información dentro de 10 días, se suspenderán sus beneficios de SNAP".
3. The Verification Checklist (IL444-0267) notice must clearly explain what information the Food Assistance household must provide and the consequences of failing to respond to the notice.
   • For households subject to Change Reporting, if the household does not respond to the Verification Checklist (IL444-0267) regarding the crossmatch, or does respond but fails to provide sufficient information to clarify its circumstances, send a Notice of Decision (IL444-0360 C) to cancel all SNAP/State Food EDGs. A Change Reporting household is required to report changes within 10 calendar days of the date they learn of the change, see (PM 18-04-00).
   • For Mid-Point Reporting households, if the household does not respond to the Verification Checklist (IL444-0267) regarding the crossmatch or does respond but fails to provide sufficient information to clarify its circumstances, remove the individual from the SNAP/State Food EDG and adjust benefits accordingly. For a single person case, cancel the SNAP/State Food EDG. Send a Notice of Decision (IL444-0360 C) to notify the household of the adverse action. A Mid-Point Reporting household is not required to report when someone leaves the household, therefore adverse action is only taken on the ineligible person listed in the crossmatch. If the ineligible person is the HOH, a new application should be completed for the remaining eligible persons.
4. If the household does not respond to the Verification Checklist (IL444-0267), or does respond but refuses to provide sufficient information to clarify its circumstances, complete a manual Notice of Decision (IL444-0360 C). Use the following reason:
   • "Your benefits are being canceled because you failed to provide the requested information/verification as requested in our notice dated" (use the date the Verification Checklist (IL444-0267) was sent to the Food Assistance household).
   • "Sus beneficios se están cancelando porque no proporcionó la información y / o la verificación según lo solicitado en nuestro notificación de fecha" [use the date the Verification Checklist (IL444-0267) was sent to the Food Assistance household].
5. If the Verification Checklist (IL444-0267) is returned as undeliverable, send a Notice of Decision (IL444-0360 C) to the last known address with the appropriate cancellation reason. If working a Prisoner Crossmatch, do not send the notice of adverse action to the DOC facility.
   • Example: The FCRC receives a Prisoner Data Match indicating Mr. B is incarcerated. Mr. B is a one person SNAP household in Change Reporting. He has not reported any changes in his circumstances to the FCRC. The FCRC sends Mr. B a Verification Checklist notice to his last known address to request contact for clarification and/or verification of the unclear information, see PM 18-04-03. The Verification Checklist is returned as Undeliverable Mail. The FCRC sends the notice of adverse action to Mr. B's last known address indicating that his SNAP benefits will be canceled. The case is canceled because the customer cannot be located and eligibility cannot be determined due to the Undeliverable Mail. The information received from the data match is unclear information since there was no contact with the customer to confirm his circumstances.
6. If it is verified that the person is incarcerated or deceased, make the appropriate case changes based on the household's reporting status.
   • Example: Ms. K, her husband BJ, and their son T are in Mid-Point Reporting for SNAP. In October, the FCRC receives a Prisoner Data Match indicating BJ is incarcerated. If BJ is incarcerated, the Mid-Point Reporting household is not required to report it. The FCRC is required to act on the data match by sending the household a Verification Checklist requesting contact for clarification of the unclear information reported on the data match. It is considered unclear information because there is a change in household circumstances that the household has not reported and the information cannot be verified. Ms. K responds to the Verification Checklist within 10 days and reports that BJ has been incarcerated since August. The FCRC removes BJ from the SNAP program and a Notice of Decision is sent notifying the SNAP household of BJ's removal and the reduction in benefits. There is not an overpayment because the Mid-Point Reporting household was not required to report that the household member left the home.
   • Example: In October, the FCRC receives a Death Crossmatch on a member of Ms. J's household who may have passed away in July. Ms. J is in Change Reporting status and has not reported any change in household circumstances. The FCRC sends a Verification Checklist to Ms. J to clarify if the information received in the data match is accurate. Ms. J contacts the FCRC within 10 days and states her son died in July. The FCRC makes the appropriate changes to remove the son from the SNAP case and sends a Notice of Decision notifying the household of the change in benefits due to the removal of a household member.
   • 
7. If it is learned that the individual is not deceased or incarcerated, enter the appropriate source of data that was used to make this determination and manually close the task.

IL444-0267/IL444-0360 C Notices

Only request proof or contact with the customer during the certification period if the information received meets one of the criteria below:

• The information is less than 60 days old relative to the current month; and
• The information was required to be reported according to the reporting status assigned to the case; or
• The unclear information presents significantly conflicting information from what was provided at the last certification.
  1. Send the Food Assistance household a manual  Verification Checklist (VCL) (IL444-0267) to request specific verification(s).
     • Include the following statement: "We have received information that conflicts with information that was previously provided. You must respond to this notice and provide the information that is requested within 10 days from the date of this notice. Failure to respond and provide the requested information within 10 days can result in the cancellation of your Food Assistance benefits." "Hemos recibido información que no concuerda con la información proporcionada anteriormente. Debe responder a este aviso y proporcionar la información solicitada dentro de los 10 días hábiles a partir de la fecha de este aviso. El no responder y no proporcionar la información solicitada dentro de los 10 hábiles días puede resultar en la cancelación de sus beneficios de Asistencia Alimentaria."
     • The VCL notice should inform the Food Assistance household of the verification(s) it must provide or the actions it must take to clarify the circumstances and the adverse actions that will be taken if the household fails to respond.
     • The notice request allows the household 10 days from the date of the request to respond and clarify the circumstances either in via ABE/MMC, telephone, mail, fax, or in person.
     • If the household responds to the notice request and provides sufficient information, act on the new circumstances as appropriate.
  2. If the household does not respond to the VCL or does respond but refuses to provide sufficient information to clarify the circumstances, issue a manual Notice of Decision (IL444-0360C). Use the following reason: "Your Food Assistance benefits are being cancelled due to failure to provide the requested information and/or verification in the notice dated (use date of VCL notice)." "Sus beneficios de Asistencia Alimentaria están siendo cancelados debido a la falta de proporcionar la información solicitada y/o la verificación en el aviso fechado (Use la fecha de la notificación del VCL)."