If a household meets any one of the criteria for expedited service and is eligible for benefits, the CAO must make sure the first benefit is available within five calendar days. 7 CFR § 273.2(i)3)(i)
The five-day count begins the day after the application is filed and runs for five days in a row. Weekends and holidays are part of the five-day count.
The CAO must issue the PA EBT ACCESS card and authorize benefits on or before the fourth calendar day after the application filing day, so that benefits are available on the EBT system on day five.
The EBT system links the new EBT card and account overnight.
If the five-day count begins on Wednesday, the CAO must issue the PA EBT ACCESS card on Thursday or Friday to meet the deadline.
If the first day of the five-day count is followed by four nonbusiness days, the CAO must issue the card on day one to meet the five-day deadline.
Example: Mr. Davis files an application for SNAP benefits on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. He qualifies for expedited service. The five-day count begins Wednesday. The CAO issues the PA EBT ACCESS card no later than Wednesday, because the CAO is closed Thursday and Friday for the Thanksgiving holiday.
If the CAO does a telephone interview with a household entitled to a waiver of the office interview and mails the application to the household for signature, mailing time is not part of the five-day expedited deadline. Mailing time includes the days the application is in the mail to and from the household and the days the household has the application. 7 CFR § 273.2(i)3)(iii)
If the preliminary review does not show that a household is entitled to expedited service and then the CAO discovers that the household is entitled, the five-day count begins with the date the CAO discovers the entitlement. 7 CFR § 273.2(i)3)(iv)
The CAO must not delay issuing expedited benefits to households applying for other programs. The CAO may schedule interviews for the other programs within the five-day expedited time frame. If the household remains eligible for SNAP benefits, they must be able to get the first benefit in EBT no later than the fifth calendar day. 7 CFR § 273.2(i)(4)
Example: A household applies for both cash assistance and SNAP on Monday. The preliminary review shows the household is entitled to expedited service. The CAO must authorize SNAP benefits no later than the close of business on Friday. The CAO schedules an interview for cash assistance on Wednesday and delays the SNAP authorization while awaiting the outcome of the cash assistance interview. If the household misses the cash assistance appointment, the CAO still has enough time to meet the Friday expedited service deadline.
NOTE: The CAO must not delay processing expedited benefits while waiting for verification needed to decide the household's eligibility for another program.
Persons receiving or applying for SSI benefits may apply for SNAP benefits at the Social Security Administration (SSA) office.
The SSA will do the following:
Review all SNAP applications for expedited service on the day it receives the application. 7 CFR § 273.2(k)(1)(i)(I)
Mark "EXPEDITED PROCESSING" on the PA 600 for all households meeting expedited criteria and tell the applicant that benefits may be available sooner if the household applies directly at the CAO.
Verify identity.
Refer non-SSI households that want to apply for SNAP benefits to the correct CAO. 7 CFR § 273.2(k)(1)(i)(H)
The CAO must do the following:
Review all applications from the SSA for expedited service on the day it receives the application. The CAO is not required to do a face-to-face interview. 7 CFR § 273.2(k)(1)(i)(J)
Begin the five-day time frame for authorizing benefits on the date it receives the application. 7 CFR § 273.2(k)(1)(i)(F)
Reissued March 1, 2012, replacing September 2, 2005