Section 17-681-54 - Delivery of benefits(a) Households will have their monthly financial assistance, employment and child care payments, and SNAP benefits available on a staggered basis up to the fifth calendar day of each month. Financial and employment and child care assistance households shall have the option of receiving their benefits either through the EBT system or through a direct deposit into a designated financial institution account.(b) A newly approved applicant household or a household whose financial or employment and child care case is reopened in a new month shall have its cash benefits made available in the EBT system no earlier than three working days after the case has been approved in the HAWI or HANA systems if the application is processed in HAWI or HANA before the last four work days of the month. Households whose cases are reopened or whose applications are approved any time during the last four work days of a calendar month will receive their first issued benefits no earlier than three working days after the first work day of the next month. Newly approved cash assistance households, who choose the direct deposit option, will receive their initial benefits approximately three workdays later due to the ACH process.(c) Newly approved SNAP applicant households or households whose SNAP case is reopened shall have its SNAP benefits available the next calendar day after the benefits are authorized in the HAWI system if the application is processed in HAWI before the last four work days of the month. Households whose cases are reopened or whose applications are approved any time during the last four work days of a calendar month will receive their first issued benefits no earlier than the next calendar day after the first work day of the next month.(d) Financial assistance households, who meet the expedited processing criteria for the financial assistance programs in chapter 17-647, shall have their benefits issued in accordance with the imprest fund issuance procedures in section 17-681-9.(e) SNAP households, who meet the expedited service provisions in chapter 17-647, shall have their emergency SNAP benefits issued through the EBT system.[Eff 8/01/98; am 7/16/99; am 10/18/01; am 9/11/03; am and comp 6/24/13] (Auth: HRS § 346-14) (Imp: 7 C.F.R. § 274.2(b),(c),(d) )