09/16/10
Summary:
- Due to the flooding in July 2010 the Department issued Disaster SNAP benefits from August 30, 2010 through September 3, 2010 in 7 counties.
- Because so many people applied for the recent D-SNAP, some offices experienced a hardship in processing their regular work and customers had a hardship in reporting changes.
- The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) granted DHS a waiver to extend the time that customers have to report changes; and to extend approval periods for certain cases. The waivers were granted to help offices return to normal processing.
- The waivers described in this memorandum were approved for all of Cook, DuPage and Stephenson County FCRCs.
- Category 08 and Category 94/96 SNAP cases in Cook, DuPage, and Stephenson, had their approval periods centrally extended for six months.
- All SNAP units in Cook, DuPage, and Stephenson have 30 calendar days to report a change that occurred during the period 08/30/10 through 09/17/10.
Centrally Extended Approval Periods
To help Cook, DuPage, and Stephenson County FCRCs recover from the Disaster SNAP processing and reduce the workload on SNAP REDEs in the upcoming months, we are centrally extending the approval periods on Category 08 Cases and Category 94/96 cases with SNAP benefits.
On 09/14/10, SNAP cases in Cook County had their approval periods centrally extended as follows:
- Cases due for a mail-in REDE (Supplied By code M in Item 80 code 656) with Item 24 End Date of 10/10, extended to new end date of 04/11 with a Supplied By code F in Item 80 code 656.
- Cases due for a mail-in or face-to-face REDE (Supplied By code M or F in Item 80 code 656) with Item 24 End Date of 11/10, extended to new end date of 05/11. If Item 80 656 Supplied By code was coded with an M, it will be changed to an F. If it was coded with an F, it will be changed to an M.
- Cases due for a mail-in or face-to-face REDE (Supplied By code M or F in Item 80 code 656) with Item 24 End Date of 12/10, extended to new end date of 06/11. If Item 80 656 Supplied By code was coded with an M, it will be changed to an F. If it was coded with an F, it will be changed to an M.
- Cases due for a face-to-face REDE (Supplied By code F in Item 80 code 656) with Item 24 End Date of 01/11, extended to new end date of 07/11 with a Supplied By code M in Item 80 code 656.
On 09/16/10, SNAP cases in DuPage and Stephenson will have their approval periods centrally extended as follows:
- Cases due for a mail-in or face-to-face REDE (Supplied By code M or F in Item 80 code 656) with Item 24 End Date of 11/10, extended to new end date of 05/11. If Item 80 656 Supplied By code was coded with an M, it will be changed to an F. If it was coded with an F, it will be changed to an M.
- Cases due for a mail-in or face-to-face REDE (Supplied By code M or F in Item 80 code 656) with Item 24 End Date of 12/10, extended to new end date of 06/11. If Item 80 656 Supplied By code was coded with an M, it will be changed to an F. If it was coded with an F, it will be changed to an M.
- Cases due for a mail-in or face-to-face REDE (Supplied By code M or F in Item 80 code 656) with Item 24 End Date of 01/11, extended to new end date of 07/11. If Item 80 656 Supplied By code was coded with an M, it will be changed to an F. If it was coded with an F, it will be changed to an M.
The action to extend the approval periods, will be centrally processed on the same day using TA 31/TAR 61. The affected cases will be on a one-time listing titled "Cases with Approval Period Extended Due to Disaster", Mobius Report #84500003. The list will show Case Name, Case ID Number, and the new Item 24 Approval Period End Date, and will be divided by caseload and FCRC. The list is for information only, and no FCRC action is required.
Cases that had their approval periods extended were sent Client Notice CN 10.15, Notice of Extended Approval Period (pdf), and Client Notice CN 10.15/S (pdf). The notice tells the customer their new approval period end date, and that they must report if their gross income goes over the maximum income limit for their unit size.
The Unit's Responsibility to Report Changes
Under regular SNAP policy, SNAP units must report changes within 10 calendar days of the date they learn of the change. Under the approved waiver, any SNAP unit in Cook, DuPage, or Stephenson County has 30 calendar days to report a change that occurred during the period 08/30/10 through 09/17/10. If a SNAP unit reports a change that occurred during that period within 30 days of the date of change, there is no overpayment due to the late report.
Example: Ms. G's son moved out of the household on 09/01/10, and she did not report it until 09/24/10. Remove Ms G's son for the next month that can be affected (11/10). Since Ms G reported the change before 10/01/10 (within 30 days), there is no overpayment for 10/10.
Quality Control and ACE Reviews will be conducted using the policies described in this memorandum.
[signed copy on file]
Grace Hong Duffin
Acting Secretary, Illinois Department of Human Services
Forms referenced:
