Hawaii Administrative Rules › Title 17 - DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES › Department of Human Services › Chapter 647 - APPLICATION PROCESSING REQUIREMENTS › Subchapter 4 - SPECIFIC PROVISIONS FOR FOOD STAMPS › Section 17-647-33 - Time limits on disposition of application

Current through June, 2024
(a) The branch
				  shall process all applications as quickly as possible. The branch shall
				  determine a household's eligibility and shall provide an eligible household an
				  opportunity to participate within thirty calendar days after the day the
				  application was filed, except for residents of public institutions who apply
				  jointly for SSI and food stamp benefits prior to release from the institution
				  in accordance with chapter 17-655. An application shall be considered filed the
				  day the appropriate unit office receives an application containing the
				  applicant's name and address, which is signed by either a responsible member of
				  the household or the household's authorized representative. For residents of
				  public institutions who apply for food stamps prior to their release from the
				  institution, the branch shall provide an opportunity to participate within
				  thirty calendar days from the date of release of the applicant from the
				  institution.
(b) An opportunity to
				  participate shall consist of providing a household with an ATP card and having
				  an issuance facility open and available for the household to obtain its
				  allotment. If the ATP card is mailed, an opportunity to participate shall have
				  been provided if the branch mails the ATP card at least two days prior to the
				  expiration of the thirty-day standard and assures that the ATP card may be
				  transacted before the thirty-day standard expires. For example, no opportunity
				  to participate within the thirty-day standard shall be considered to have been
				  given if the ATP card is mailed on the twenty-ninth or thirtieth day. Nor has
				  there been an opportunity to participate if the ATP card is mailed on the
				  twenty-eighth day, and no coupon issuance office is open on the twenty-ninth
				  day so that coupons may be obtained.
(c) Households applying for assistance after
				  the fifteenth of the month who have completed the application process by
				  providing all the required verifications within thirty days of the date of
				  application, or within five days of the date of application for households
				  eligible for processing under the expedited service provisions of subchapter
				  5, and who have been determined
				  eligible to receive benefits for the initial month of application and the next
				  subsequent month, shall receive the prorated allotment for the initial month of
				  application and the first full month's allotment at the same time. Households
				  for which missing verification or postponed verification have not been provided
				  within the specified timeframes as stated in this subsection shall not be
				  entitled to the provisions of this subsection in receiving combined allotments
				  for the initial month of application and the next subsequent month. However,
				  households who are eligible for expedited services may receive benefits for the
				  initial month under the verification standards as set forth in subchapter
				  5. Additionally, in accordance with
				  chapter 17-681, benefits of less than ten dollars shall not be issued under the
				  provisions of this subsection.
(d)
				  If an applicant household reports a change in its situation after it has been
				  interviewed but before a disposition has been taken on the household's
				  application, the branch shall consider the change reported by the household
				  effective the date of application. For example, in the following situation
				  where the date of application was May 6, the applicant household was
				  interviewed on May 16 and the household reports an addition to the household on
				  May 20, which was before any disposition was taken on the household's
				  application, the branch shall include the new member into the household
				  effective May 6 after all pertinent information have been obtained and verified
				  for the new member. However, if a change is reported by the applicant household
				  in a subsequent month after the month of application, the branch shall consider
				  the change reported by the household effective the date of application or the
				  first of the month in which the change took effect, whichever is later. For
				  example, if the date of application was June 20, the applicant household was
				  then interviewed on June 2 6, and household reports on July 2 that a new member
				  moved in on June 29, the new member shall be added into the household
				  composition effective June 20, the date of application. However, if the
				  household reported the new member moved in on July 2, the new member shall be
				  included into the household composition effective July 1, the first of the
				  month in which the change took effect.
(e) A household which qualifies for the
				  expedited service and a household considered destitute shall be certified on an
				  expedited basis as specified in subchapter
				  5.