The CAO must assign a certification period according to household circumstances. A household may be certified for one or two months only if the CAO cannot reasonably predict future circumstances or if the household was eligible for expedited benefits for one or two months.
Example: A household applies for both cash assistance and SNAP benefits on April 28 and is entitled to expedited service. An interview for cash assistance is scheduled for May 5. The household provides all required verification. The CAO authorizes SNAP benefits on the 28th. Because the household applied after the 15th, the CAO authorizes SNAP benefits for May. The CAO does not count the cash assistance benefit when figuring out May's SNAP benefit. The CAO certifies the household for a normal period, because the outcome of the cash assistance interview can be handled as a change for June.
NOTE: The expedited and ongoing certification periods do not need to add up to 12 months as they are considered separate
certification periods.
If the CAO interviews the applicant and postpones verification, the CAO must take the following actions:
Establish a certification period according to the household's circumstances.
Authorize noncontinuous eligibility (NCE) for the application month.
Provide a notice of ineligibility stating that benefits will stop until the CAO receives the postponed verification. The notice must state that there will be no Advance Notice of Adverse Action if verification causes changes to eligibility or the benefit amount.
Deny benefits for the second month if postponed verification is not provided within 30 days of the date of application or there is no face-to-face interview.
Authorize benefits for the second and following months after receiving all postponed verifications.
Enter the renewal due date according to the certification period established at application, without requiring a new application.
There is no limit to the number of times a household may be certified under expedited procedures. However, before each expedited certification, the household must:
Provide the verification postponed at the previous expedited certification; or
Have been certified under normal processing standards since that time.
Households whose benefits stop within a certification period are ineligible for expedited service if they reapply before the certification period ends. If a household submits an untimely renewal form (PA 600R) after a certification period ends, the CAO must review for expedited service.
7 CFR § 273.2(i)(4)(v)
Revised October 3, 2014, replacing March 1, 2012