Enumeration is the process for the Department of Human Services (DHS) to establish that every individual applying for or receiving public assistance benefits has a Social Security Number (SSN). The Department uses the SSN for identification and verification purposes, to cross match with other programs, and to obtain income and resource information. This includes State Data Exchange (SDX), BENDEX, and other Income Eligibility Verification System (IEVS) matches.
Each individual applying for or receiving benefits must provide or apply for an SSN as a condition of eligibility. The parent or the caretaker/relative is responsible for providing or applying for an SSN for an unemancipated minor child. The exceptions to providing or applying for an SSN are as follows:
An individual eligible for emergency Medicaid (see Medical Assistance Handbook, Chapter 322.33).
A Medicaid applicant who is not eligible to receive an SSN.
A Medicaid applicant who does not have an SSN and may only be issued an SSN for a valid non-work reason.
A Medicaid applicant who is a member of a recognized religious sect, adheres to the tenets or teachings of the sect, and refuses to obtain an SSN because of well-established religious objections.
Parents who are not applying for Medicaid benefits for themselves. Policy guidance issued by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) on September 21, 2000 stated that for Medicaid, states can ask non-applicant parents for their SSNs to verify income, but to avoid a potential violation of the Privacy Act, they must clearly indicate that the provision of this information is voluntary and that their SSNs will be used, for example, only to verify their income. States also should inform the non-applicant parents that the failure to provide their SSNs voluntarily will not affect the eligibility of their child, if otherwise eligible.
If the individual cannot provide his SSN, either because he does not remember the number or because he never had an SSN, he must apply for a number at the local Social Security Administration (SSA) office. The County Assistance Office (CAO) will use the Referral to the Social Security Administration (PA 1564, available on Docushare) to refer the individual to SSA. When the individual verifies that he has applied for a number, the CAO will authorize benefits pending issuance and receipt of the number.
The enumeration requirements of this Chapter apply to the following programs:
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).
Medical Assistance (MA), otherwise known as Medicaid.
Emergency Shelter Assistance (ESA).
State Blind Pension (SBP).
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
State Supplementary Payment – Only (SSP-Only).
NOTE: Through the remainder of this Chapter, the term “cash assistance or benefits” includes SBP, Emergency Shelter Assistance, and SSP-Only
The CAO will enter the SSN provided by the individual into the electronic Client Information System (eCIS). This process is known as “posting”. The SSN may also be posted to eCIS through an automated match with SSA. See 950, Appendix A, SSN Posting Report Procedures.
DHS is responsible for verifying the SSN by comparing it with SSA records. This process is known as “validation”. The individual must cooperate to verify his number if it cannot be validated. See Section 950.32, Validation.
An individual may be sanctioned if he refuses to provide, apply for, or validate the SSN. See Sections 950.22, Refusal to Cooperate in Applying for an SSN, and Section 950.321, Failure to Cooperate with Validation Requirements.
Updated July 17 2018, Replacing September 14, 2017