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Providing Information

The third purpose of the interview is to provide information and explain the program. Eligibility workers must advise households of their rights and responsibilities during the interview, including the appropriate application processing standard and the household’s responsibility to report changes. Among household’s rights are:
 

  • The right to file an application as long as it contains the applicant’s name, address, and signature.
  • The right to file an application without having an interview first.
  • The right to be interviewed so that incomplete information is thoroughly reviewed and examined and that applicant rights and responsibilities are explained.

This information may be provided through whatever means the state deems appropriate. For example, you may pause an interview to play a recorded message explaining the household’s rights and responsibilities, as long as the household is afforded an opportunity to ask questions of an eligibility worker. 7 CFR 272.5(b)

Household Reporting Responsibilities

For households assigned to simplified reporting, the eligibility worker must provide the household at the initial certification and recertification with a written and oral explanation of how simplified reporting works. For households required to submit a periodic report, the worker must provide a written and oral explanation of the reporting requirements, including the following:

  • The additional changes that must be addressed and verified in the periodic report.
  • When the report is due.
  • How to obtain assistance in filing the periodic report.
  • The consequences of failing to file a report.

For households subject to change reporting or other reporting systems, eligibility workers must provide a change report form to newly certified households at the time of certification or recertification and should explain what must be reported and the required time frame for reporting changes. As with simplified reporting, the interview is the best opportunity to communicate these requirements to applicants. 7 CFR 273.12(a)

Notice of Work Requirements

Eligibility staff must provide a comprehensive oral explanation to the household of each applicable work requirement pertaining to individuals in the household. It is a best practice for states to provide the oral explanation during the interview and to allow the household to ask clarifying questions; however, it is not required to occur as part of the interview. You must also provide a written notice of all work requirements and identify which household member is subject to which work requirement. This applies to the general work requirements, including mandatory SNAP E&T, and the ABAWD work requirement. We have published a customizable model consolidated work notice and plain language script that you can use as a resource to fulfill this requirement. These tools can be found as part of the SNAP Model Notice Toolkit. 7 CFR 273.7(c)(1)(ii)-(iii)

Social Security Numbers (SSNs) and Privacy Considerations

Eligibility workers must notify all households applying for SNAP benefits of the following information:

  • The information required by the application, including SSNs of each household member, is used to determine SNAP eligibility and is authorized under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008. You may verify the information through computer matching programs to monitor compliance with program regulations.
  • This information may be shared with other federal and state agencies for official examination and with law enforcement officials for the purpose of apprehending persons fleeing to avoid the law.
  • If a SNAP claim arises against the household, the information on its application, including all SSNs, may be referred to federal and state agencies and private claims collection agencies for claims collection action.
  • Providing the requested information, including the SSN of each household member, is voluntary. However, individuals who do not provide an SSN will not receive SNAP benefits. Any SSNs provided will be used and disclosed in the same manner as SSNs of eligible household members.

As a best practice, this information may be included on the application or recertification document or on a supplemental notification provided with all applications. If the information is provided in written form, it does not need to be covered verbally. 7 CFR 273.2(b)(4)