1.
GENERAL RULE
The person interviewed may be any responsible household
member or an authorized representative.
2.
FOR APPLICATION AND ANNUAL
ELIGIBILITY REVIEW
Households must have telephone interviews prior to
certification, except for the following circumstances:
A. The Department shall process all
applications and annual eligibility reviews without an interview until March
31, 2023 unless -
(1) the household requests
an interview,
(2) there is unclear
information on the application or renewal form, or
(3) the household would be determined to be
ineligible based on information provided on the application or renewal
form.
B. Households are
not required to have face-to-face interviews with Office for Family
Independence (OFI) staff for applications or annual eligibility
reviews.
C. Households will be
scheduled for face-to-face interviews at (OFI) regional offices or available
itinerant sites, if requested by the household or their authorized
representative.
D. Households which
have no earned income and in which all adult members are elderly and/or have
disabilities are not required to complete an interview at annual eligibility
review unless -
(1) there is unclear
information on the renewal form, or
(2) the household would be determined to be
ineligible based on information provided on the renewal form.
The Department shall conduct an interview if the
household requests one.
3.
SCHEDULING AND NOTICING
A. All interviews must be scheduled as
promptly as possible to ensure that eligible households receive benefits within
the appropriate time limits for processing.
B. In the case of applications received from
residents of correctional facilities (Section
222-1), a telephone
interview may be completed prior to release at the request of the applicant.
Absent a request from the applicant, the Department may not schedule an
interview date prior to the anticipated release date.
C. If the household fails to complete the
first scheduled interview, the Department shall notify the household in writing
that they are responsible for re-scheduling the interview. If the household
contacts the Office for Family Independence (OFI) within the 30 day application
period, the Department shall schedule a second interview. If, after 30 days
from the date of application (Section
999-1), the household
has failed to complete an interview, the Department shall deny the
application.
D. During the
interview, the Department shall advise the household of their rights and
responsibilities and the consequences of failure to comply with program
requirements. The Department shall provide written notice of rights and
responsibilities and the consequences for failure to comply with program
requirements at each determination whether or not an interview has been
conducted.
4.
DURING THE CERTIFICATION PERIOD
Recipients cannot be required to come
into the office for a face-to-face interview during a certification period;
however, the Department may request an interview in instances of information
that is contradictory to information known to or received by the Department.
The Department shall give the household ten days to respond to the request to
clarify the contradictory information. Failure to resolve the contradiction
results in closure procedures for failure to resolve the contradiction,
not for failure to complete the interview.
