Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 106 CMR - DEPARTMENT OF TRANSITIONAL ASSISTANCE › Title 106 CMR 366.000 - Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): additional certification functions › Section 366.320 - Household Responsibilities

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
(A)
Filing a Timely Application
. Households that are
			 issued a Notice of Expiration at the time of certification have 15 days from
			 the date the notice is received to submit a timely application. The Department
			 shall use the postmark on the notice, plus two days for mailing time, as an aid
			 in determining if households were allowed adequate time. In cases of a dispute,
			 households may demonstrate that the notice was not, in fact, received in a
			 timely manner.
Households sent a separate notice during their certification
				period shall be considered to have timely reapplied if they file a new
				application by the 15th day of the last month of
				their certification period.
Households consisting solely of SSI applicants or recipients
				(pure SSI households) may make a timely application for recertification at a
				Social Security Administration (SSA) office. An application shall be considered
				filed for normal processing purposes when the signed application is received by
				the SSA. SSA will forward the completed application and all available
				verification to the Department.
(B)
Being
			 Interviewed
. The Department may schedule an interview prior to the
			 date the application is timely filed, but cannot deny the household for failure
			 to appear for that interview. The interview shall be scheduled on or after the
			 date the application was timely filed, if the interview has not been previously
			 scheduled, or if the household failed to appear for an interview scheduled
			 prior to filing a timely application and has requested another interview. If
			 the household does not appear for an interview scheduled in accordance with 106
			 CMR 366.320(B), the Department must notify the household that it missed the
			 interview appointment and that the household is responsible for rescheduling
			 the missed interview.
Pure SSI households that have completed the application for
				recertification at the SSA office shall not be required to complete a second
				interview.
(C)
Providing Verification
. The following verification
			 requirements shall be met at recertification. (
See
106 CMR
			 365.180:
Categorically Eligible
			 Assistance Units
for verification factors that are deemed for
			 categorically eligible households.) Additional verification is not required
			 unless the information provided is questionable.
Time frames (at least ten calendar days from the date of the
				Department's initial request) may be established within which the household
				must submit any required verification requested to ensure its rights to
				uninterrupted benefits.
(1)
Gross Countable Income
. The amount of the household's
			 gross countable monthly income, as defined in
			 106 CMR 363.200:
Income
, shall be verified prior to recertification. If all
			 attempts to verify the gross countable income are unsuccessful because a
			 third-party has failed to cooperate, the Department shall determine the
			 household's gross countable monthly income based on the best available
			 information.
Noncountable income shall be verified only if the information
				provided by the household is questionable.
(2)
Noncitizen
			 Status
. Noncitizen status shall be verified prior to
			 recertification only when the household reports a change in the noncitizen
			 status of a household member.
(3)
Medical Expenses
. The amount of allowable medical
			 expenses, including the amount of reimbursement (
e.g
., by a
			 third-party insurer), shall be verified prior to recertification if their use
			 would result in a larger deduction. Other factors related to the medical
			 expenses, such as the type of service provided or the eligibility of the person
			 incurring the cost, shall be verified only if the information provided by the
			 household is questionable.
(4)
Liquid Assets
. The current value of the household's
			 countable liquid assets, as defined in
			 106 CMR 363.100:
Assets
, shall be verified in accordance with
			 106 CMR 363.130:
Countable Assets
prior to recertification.
(5)
Social Security
			 Numbers
. The Social Security number (SSN) of each household member
			 shall be verified in accordance with
			 106 CMR
			 362.500:
Social Security
			 Numbers
.
(6)
Disability
. The disability of a household member, as
			 it pertains to household composition, shall be verified prior to
			 recertification in accordance with
			 106 CMR
			 361.210:
Elderly or Disabled
			 Individuals
.
(7)
Legally Obligated Child Support Payments
. The
			 household shall be required to verify the amount of legally obligated child
			 support a household member pays to a non-household member prior to
			 recertification.
(8)
Additional Verification Requirements
.
(a) All other eligibility factors, financial
			 or nonfinancial, shall be verified prior to recertification when the
			 information provided by the applicant is questionable and affects the
			 household's eligibility or benefit level. Other eligibility factors include
			 loans, residency, household composition, citizenship, student eligibility,
			 circumstances related to work registration, and certain deductible
			 expenses.
(b) These factors shall
			 be verified prior to recertification when the Department decides to require
			 verification of additional information. Such verifications must be required
			 statewide and shall not be imposed on a case-by-case basis on particular
			 households.