Applicants that meet expedited service criterion and have their identity verified should receive Food Stamp benefits within 7 calendar days of application for the current and next calendar month. Expedited applicants must meet all other program guidelines by the end of the next month for continued benefits.
Offer all applicants denied expedited service a conference to be held within two working days with the ES supervisor. Prior to authorizing the benefit on the Action Authorization (FM3H) screen, review the discovery date field to ensure the correct discovery date is entered.
Refer to the Procedure Guide Timely Delivery of Expedited Food Stamp Benefits for assistance.
FSD staff shall screen all applications for the following information to determine if an applicant meets the expedited eligibility during the month of application:
All expedited applications are sent to a specified FSD office for specialized processing.
EUs making an initial application, who are eligible for food stamps, and meet any one of the expedited criteria are qualified for expedited service:
NOTE: EUs other than migrant or seasonal farm worker EUs cannot be classified as destitute.
The following is used to determine if, for the screening month, the total EU income is less than $150 and resources are less than $100 OR that income and resources are less than shelter costs.
NOTE: Liquid resources include cash on hand or in a checking account, savings or credit union accounts, U.S. Savings Bonds, stocks, notes receivable, marketable assets, and lump sum payments.
EXAMPLE: Mrs. A is a self-employed sales representative for a cosmetic company. She has expenses for producing income. The eligibility specialist enters the expenses on the Income Expense (FMX1) screen. FAMIS subtracts the self-employment expenses from her self-employment income to determine the monthly income to be shown on the Expedited Summary (FM48) screen.
EXAMPLE: Mrs. A has a part-time job and was approved for SSA on 1/18. It is not certain that Mrs. A will receive an SSA check in the month of February. Therefore, only the income from her employment is counted for the month of February. If it is certain Mrs. A will receive the SSA payment in February, it is counted as income for February.
Only migrant or seasonal farm workers are designated as destitute. Evaluate each migrant or seasonal farm worker EU to determine if the EU can be considered destitute even if it otherwise qualifies for expedited service. The destitute evaluation entitles the EU to different income calculation policies for the first month of the certification period. See Definition of Destitute for policy on how to determine destitute.
Use the following budgeting procedures for destitute migrant/seasonal farm workers for the first month of the certification period only.
Migrant/seasonal farm workers who are not destitute are subject to regular budgeting procedures.
EXAMPLE: Income from a previous grower received on 6/2 is the only source of income for Mrs. A's migrant EU. The new grower will not pay her until 6/18. Mrs. A applies for food stamps on 6/5. She is considered eligible for expedited services, as she will receive no income from this terminated source during the balance of the month of application or not more than the $25 from the new source within ten calendar days. The budget will not show the income from the new source as it will not be received between the first of the month of application and the date of application. Budget the income received on 6/2.
Evaluate changes in circumstances, on pending initial applications correctly screened as non-expedited at application, which become known to FSD to determine whether expedited service criteria is met. The change may be reported by the EU or discovered via information obtained from another source, such as employer contact. To qualify for expedited services, the change must affect expedited eligibility for the month the application was originally screened for expedited services.
Enter the change into the appropriate screens in FAMIS and run a new eligibility determination (EDRES). FAMIS determines if the change results in qualification for expedited services, and sets the action of APEX (approval for expedite) on the Action Authorization (FM3H) screen. Authorize the APEX action and issue the expedited benefit. If the application date is different from the date of the APEX action, the message “Expedited Issuance-Check Discovery Date” appears on the Action Authorization (FM3H) screen to alert eligibility specialists to check the discovery date. Prior to authorizing the benefit, review and enter the correct discovery date in the Date of Discovery field. Record a comment if the discovery date is different from the application date on the Action Authorization (FM3H) screen. Refer to the Timely Delivery of Expedited Food Stamp Benefits for assistance.
FAMIS displays the message “Invalid Discovery Date” on the Action Authorization (FM3H) screen when no entry is made in the Date of Discovery field, the authorization date is other that the date of application, and the eligibility specialist tries to authorize. Enter the correct date of discovery and authorize the action.
If the APEX action is not authorized by the eligibility specialist, FAMIS authorizes the action during the overnight batch process. The date of discovery defaults to the date of application and will not be updated.
EXAMPLE: Mr. Smith initially applies for food stamps on 6/10. He is screened for expedited services at the time of application and does not meet expedited criteria. On 6/16, he reports he was laid off work on 6/12. He will receive only three paychecks totalling $391.50 in June and has no liquid resources. Mr. Smith's shelter costs of $424 now exceed his monthly gross income and resources. His application must be expedited for June with a date of discovery of 6/16 and he must receive his benefits by 6/23. The eligibility specialist enters 06/16 in the Date of Discovery field on the Action Authorization (FM3H) screen. Record information regarding the date of discovery on the comment screen from the Action Authorization (FM3H) screen.
EXAMPLE: Mr. Smith's case was closed on 7/15, after he received July benefits. He applies on 7/20. He does not meet expedited services criteria on the date of application as he was called back to work in July. On 8/2, he reports he was laid off again and will only receive one paycheck of $185 in August. His application is re-evaluated and his shelter expenses of $424 now exceed his income. He qualifies for expedited services for the first month of the new certification period, August. He must receive his benefits by 8/9. The seven-day time frame is used as the first work day of the new certification period passed. Enter 8/2 as the date of discovery on the Action Authorization (FM3H) screen. Record information regarding the date of discovery on the comment screen from the Action Authorization (FM3H) screen.
When an application is mailed or faxed to the county office, date stamp the application the day it is received. If the application is received in the county office on a holiday/weekend, the date of application is the first working day after the holiday/weekend. If the application is received during the business week but after normal working hours, it is dated the next business day.
Date stamp all mailed or faxed applications when received. Register the application and flow to the FAMIS Food Stamp Interview (FM1B) screen. FAMIS system defaults to "Do you need to schedule an interview? "Y" and the type of interview "OND". FAMIS sends the EU an FA334, Appointment Letter in the overnight batch.
Contact (cold call) the EU by phone the same day the mail-in application is received. If the applicant can be reached, review the EU's rights and responsibilities and interview the applicant completing the controlled flow, including screening for expedited eligibility. If the applicant cannot be reached, and the application contains enough information, along with the name, address and signature, and identity is verified, complete the controlled flow through Expedited Summary (FM48) . If the Expedited Summary indicates the EU is eligible for expedited benefits, press the F23 Authorize Expedited key and authorize the benefits with a postponed interview.
NOTE: If the application shows a "yes" answer to prepaid burial, striker or a declaration question you must stop the controlled flow on that screen and wait for contact with the applicant. An expedited decision cannot be made without further information regarding these eligibility factors. The application will remain in the controlled flow
If the EU fails to complete the interview within 5 calendar days from the application date, FAMIS sends the EU an FA335, Notice of Missed Interview, and notifies the EU that they must reschedule the interview by the 30th day following the application date.
The date of discovery is the date the application is complete and it is known that the EU qualifies for expedited benefits.
Enter the date of discovery on the Action Authorization (FM3H) prior to authorizing the APEX action. Refer to the procedure guide Timely Delivery of Expedited Food Stamp Benefits for assistance on entering the date of discovery date.
EXAMPLE: Mrs. B's Food Stamp application was received in the county office mail on 5/1. Mrs. B's application cannot be expedited because we did not have verification of identity. Mrs. B completes the interview on 5/4, provides verification of identity and meets expedited eligibility criteria. Enter 5/4 as the date of discovery on the Action Authorization (FM3H) screen. Record the information regarding the date of discovery on the comment screen from the Action Authorization (FM3H) screen.