10 CCR 2506-1-4.202 - FILING AN APPLICATION

A. Regardless of what type of application system is used, the local office must provide a means for applicants to immediately begin the application process. The household shall be advised it may file an incomplete application form if the form contains a name, address, and is signed by a responsible household member or the household's authorized representative. Signatures include handwritten signatures, electronic signature techniques, recorded telephonic signatures, or documented gestured signatures. A valid handwritten signature includes a designation of an X. Local offices shall accept applications for SNAP during normal business hours and shall not be restricted to a certain day or time of day. The household shall be advised that it need not be interviewed before filing an application. The local office shall inform applicants that receiving SNAP will have no bearing on any other program's time limits that may apply to the household.

B. Persons who request information for SNAP must be advised of expedited service provisions and encouraged to apply so that eligibility processing can begin. County local offices shall encourage the filing of an application form on the same day the household or its representative contacts the local office in person or by telephone and expresses interest in obtaining SNAP, or indicates the household is without food or the means to obtain food.

C. Local offices shall make application forms readily accessible to applicant households, as well as to groups and organizations, and shall also provide an application form to anyone who requests the form. If a household contacting the local office by telephone does not wish to come to the appropriate office to file the application that same day and instead prefers receiving an application through the mail, the local office shall mail an application form to the household on the same day the telephone request is received. An application shall also be mailed on the same day a written request for SNAP is received.

Application forms shall be made available in Spanish, or other appropriate languages for use in those counties where it has been determined in conjunction with the State local office that there are a significant number of households without an adult member fluent in English.

D. The state or local office shall annotate the application form by recording the date the form was received. All valid applications which are paper, transmitted by fax or other electronic transmissions, are acceptable. When an application is submitted through such means outside of business hours, the application filing date shall be recorded as the next business day.

E. Households must file applications by submitting the forms in person, through an authorized representative, by fax or other electronic transmission, by mail, or by completing an online electronic application. The local office must inform the applicant that they can obtain a copy of their application and provide the household with a copy of their completed application upon the request of the client. A copy of a completed application can be a copy of the information provided by the client that was used or will be used to determine a household's eligibility and benefit allotment. At the option of the household, this may be provided in an electronic format.

F. Applications are valid for a period of sixty (60) calendar days or until eligibility has been determined, whichever is sooner. Once eligibility has been determined, households must submit a new application if the household:

1. Failed to attend an interview in the first thirty (30) days of the application, or

2. Was determined ineligible due to household circumstances.

G. Local offices shall record in the automated system racial and ethnic data provided by an applicant household. The purpose of obtaining this information is not to affect the eligibility or the level of benefits, but rather to ensure that SNAP benefits are distributed without regard to race, color, or national origin. In those instances when the information is not provided voluntarily by the household on the application form, the local office shall use alternative means of collecting the ethnic and racial data on households, such as by observation during the interview. Under no circumstance should an eligibility technician challenge or change a self-declaration made by a household member.

4.202.1 Public Assistance (PA) Applications and Processing

A. Households applying for PA shall be notified of their right to apply for SNAP at the same time and shall be allowed to apply for SNAP at the same time they apply for PA benefits.

B. The local office shall provide benefits using the original application and any other pertinent information occurring after that application for any household filing a joint application for SNAP and PA benefits. The original application and relevant subsequent information shall also be used for households that are categorically eligible when they are determined eligible to receive PA after being denied for SNAP. The local office shall not re-interview the household but shall use mail or telephone contact to obtain information about any changes.

C. Households whose PA applications are denied shall not be required to file a new SNAP application. The household shall have its SNAP eligibility determined or continued based on the applications filed jointly for PA and SNAP purposes and any other documented information obtained after the application that may have been used in the PA determination.

4.202.2 Application Filing by Ineligible Individuals

The ineligibility of certain individuals for SNAP benefits will not prohibit the remaining household members from applying for and receiving SNAP. Ineligible individuals living in an applicant household shall not be considered eligible household members for SNAP purposes; however, the ineligible individual's income and resources are considered in the household's eligibility determination and benefit allotment.

When the eligible members of a household are all unemancipated minors and the only adult is an ineligible individual, the ineligible individual may apply on behalf of the eligible minors without being considered as having applied for themself. However, if there is any other eligible adult in the household, even though they would not normally be considered the head of household, that eligible person should file an application as the head of household.

4.202.3 SSI Households Submitting SNAP Applications to the Social Security Administration (SSA)

A. Whenever a member of a household consisting only of SSI clients transacts business at an SSA office, the member has a right to apply for SNAP at the SSA office or the local office. The SSA office is not required to accept applications for SSI clients who are not members in a household consisting entirely of SSI clients unless a county has out stationed an eligibility technician at the SSA office. The SSA office will refer non-SSI households to the correct local office. An SSI client shall be informed at the SSA office of the availability of SNAP benefits and the availability of the SNAP application at the SSA office. The SSA office shall also complete joint SSI and SNAP applications for residents of public institutions who apply for SSI prior to their release from the institutions. The clients shall be permitted to apply for SNAP while they apply for SSI.

B. The SSA office will accept and complete SNAP applications from SSI households and forward them, within one working day after receipt of a signed application, to the appropriate local office. The SSA will use the SNAP application. The application will be transmitted to the local office with documentation of verification obtained. When an SSA office sends a SNAP application and supporting documentation to an incorrect local office, the application and documentation shall be sent to the correct office within one working day.

C. The SSA office is required to prescreen all SNAP applications for entitlement to expedited service and shall mark "expedited processing" on the first page of all applications of households that appear to be entitled to such processing. The SSA will inform households which appear to meet the criteria for expedited service that benefits may be issued a few days sooner if the household applies directly at the local office. The household may take the application from the SSA office to a local office for screening, interviewing, and processing of the application. Each local office shall furnish the SSA office(s) serving its geographical area with a street map and/or map defining its boundaries together with the addresses of the local offices in the project area.

D. The local office shall prescreen all applications received from the SSA office for entitlement to expedited service on the day the application is received at the correct local office. All households entitled to expedited service shall be certified in accordance with Sections 4.205.1 and 4.205.11, except that the expedited processing time standard shall begin on the date the application is received at a local office in the correct county. To prevent duplication, the local office shall develop and implement a method to determine if members of SSI households whose applications are forwarded by the SSA office are currently participating in SNAP.

4.202.31 SSI Telephone Applications and Recertifications Completed by the SSA

A. If an SSA office takes an SSI application or recertification on the telephone from a household consisting only of SSI clients, a SNAP application shall also be completed during the telephone interview and shall be mailed by the SSA office to the client for signature for return to the SSA office or to the local office. The SSA office shall then forward any SNAP applications it receives to the local office. The local office shall not require the household to be interviewed again. The local office may contact the household further to obtain additional information for the eligibility determination.

B. The SSA office shall mail information of the client's right to file a SNAP application at the SSA office if all members or their household are SSI clients, or at their local office, and their right to an interview to be performed by the local office.

C. For households consisting entirely of SSI clients who apply for SNAP certification at an SSA office, the application shall be considered filed for normal processing purposes when the application is received by the SSA.

4.202.32 SSI and SNAP Joint Processing

A. In those instances where an application has been completed at the SSA office, the local office shall ensure that information required by Section 4.502 is verified prior to certification for households initially applying, and households entitled to expedited certification services shall be processed in accordance with Sections 4.205.1 and 4.205.11. In those cases where the SSI household submits its SNAP application to the local office rather than through the SSA office, all verification, including that pertaining to SSA program benefits, shall be provided by the household, by State Data Exchange (SDX) or Beneficiary Data Exchange (BENDEX), or obtained by the local office rather than being provided by the SSA.

For those cases in which SSI and SNAP are being processed simultaneously, the local office shall question the household and/or use SDX listings to obtain information on SSI determinations. If the information cannot be obtained through SDX listings and/or questioning the households, a written inquiry may be made to the SSA office to obtain information of the status of SSI determinations. Within ten (10) calendar days of learning of the determination of the SSI application, the local office shall act in accordance with Section 4.604.

B. The expedited processing time standard for clients who filed prior to the release from a public institution will begin on the date that the individual is released from the public institution. The SSA shall notify the local office of the date of release of the client from the institution. Benefits shall be restored back to the date of a client's release from a public institution if, while in the institution, the client jointly applied for SSI and SNAP, but the local office was not notified on a timely basis of the client's release.

4.202.33 Out Stationing Eligibility Technicians in SSA Offices

If the local office, with the approval of the State Department, chooses to outstation eligibility technicians at SSA offices, with SSA's concurrence, the following actions shall be completed:

A. SSA will provide adequate space for SNAP eligibility technician in SSA offices;

B. The local office shall have at least one out stationed technician on duty at all time periods during which households will be referred for SNAP application processing. In most cases, this would require the availability of an out stationed technician throughout normal SSA business hours;

C. The following households shall be entitled to file SNAP applications with, and be interviewed by, an out stationed eligibility technician:

1. Households containing an SSI client.

2. Households which do not have an SSI client but which contain an applicant for or recipient of benefits under Title II of the Social Security Act, if the county and the SSA have an agreement to allow the processing of such households at SSA offices.

D. Households shall be interviewed for SNAP on the day of application unless there is insufficient time to conduct an interview. The county shall arrange for the out stationed technician to interview clients as soon as possible;

E. The out stationed eligibility technician(s) shall not refuse to provide service to a client because they do not reside in the county or project area in which the SSA office is located, if they reside within the jurisdiction served by the SSA office and the State. The county is not required to process the applications of persons who are not residing within the SSA office's jurisdiction but who do reside within the county's jurisdiction, other than to forward the forms to the correct local offices;

F. The county may permit the eligibility technician out stationed at the SSA office to determine the eligibility of households, or may require that completed applications be forwarded elsewhere for the eligibility determination;

G. Applications from households entitled to joint processing through an out stationed eligibility technician shall be considered filed on the date they are submitted to that technician. Both the normal and expedited service time standards shall begin on that date; and,

H. Households not entitled to joint processing shall be entitled to obtain and submit applications at the SSA office. The out stationed eligibility technician need not process these applications except to forward them to correct local office where they shall be considered filed upon receipt. Both the normal and expedited service time standards shall begin on that date.

Notes

10 CCR 2506-1-4.202

37 CR 15, August 10, 2014, effective 9/1/2014 37 CR 21, November 10,2014, effective 12/1/2014 38 CR 23, December 10, 2015, effective 1/1/2016 39 CR 01, January 10, 2016, effective 2/1/2016 39 CR 05, March 10, 2016, effective 4/1/2016 39 CR 07, April 10, 2016, effective 5/1/2016 39 CR 15, August 10, 2016, effective 9/1/2016 39 CR 17, September 10, 2016, effective 10/1/2016 39 CR 19, October 10, 2016, effective 11/1/2016 39 CR 23, December 10, 2016, effective 1/1/2017 40 CR 11, June 10, 2017, effective 7/1/2017 40 CR 17, September 10, 2017, effective 10/1/2017 41 CR 15, August 10, 2018, effective 9/1/2018 40 CR 23, December 10, 2017, effective 12/30/2018 42 CR 01, January 10, 2019, effective 2/1/2019 42 CR 03, February 10, 2019, effective 3/15/2019 42 CR 17, September 10, 2019, effective 10/1/2019 42 CR 18, October 10, 2019, effective 10/1/2019 42 CR 23, December 10, 2019, effective 12/30/2019 43 CR 01, January 10, 2020, effective 1/30/2020 43 CR 05, March 10, 2020, effective 2/7/2020 43 CR 07, April 10, 2020, effective 4/30/2020 43 CR 21, November 10, 2020, effective 11/30/2020 44 CR 21, November 10, 2021, effective 11/30/2021 45 CR 05, March 10, 2022, effective 3/30/2022 45 CR 19, October 10, 2022, effective 10/1/2022 45 CR 19, October 10, 2022, effective 11/1/2022 45 CR 21, November 10, 2022, effective 11/30/2022 46 CR 17, September 10, 2023, effective 9/30/2023