Section 17-686-7 - Verification(a) Summer EBT applications are subject to the following verification requirements:(1) The department or department's designee shall verify an application for cause, on a case-by-case basis, such as in an instance when the department or department's designee is aware of conflicting or inconsistent information from what was provided on the application. (A) The department or department's designee may verify an application for cause at any time during the instructional year or summer operational period, but verification must be completed within thirty days of receipt of the application.(B) Applications verified for cause are not considered part of three per cent sample size described in paragraph (a) (2) of this section.(C) Applications do not need to be selected for verification for cause during the initial application processing. The department or department's designee may become aware of a questionable application after the initial certification was completed and benefits were issued. In this case, the department or department's designee shall verify the application for cause at the time they learn of the questionable or conflicting information.(D) All verification procedures in this section must be followed for applications selected for verification for cause in the same manner as an application randomly selected as part of the sample described in (a)(2)(A) of this section.(2) The department or department's designee shall verify eligibility of children in a sample of household Summer EBT applications approved for benefits for the summer. (A) The sample size shall equal three per cent of all applications approved by the department or department's designee from the start of the instructional year through April 1 of the school year immediately preceding the summer operational period, selected randomly from all applications.(B) The department or department's designee may choose to sample at any frequency prior to April 1, but may not sample any applications after April 1, and the total applications sampled shall not exceed three per cent of the total number of approved applications as of April 1.(b) Applications received after April 1 are still subject to verification for cause on a case-by-case basis.(c) The department or department's designee shall conduct direct verification activities with the programs eligible for use in streamlined certification where available. (1) Direct verification must be conducted prior to contacting the household for documentation.(2) For the purposes of direct verification, documentation may indicate participation in an applicable program or income at any point during the period of eligibility. The information provided only needs to indicate eligibility at a single point in time during the period of eligibility, and not that the child was eligible at the time of application or verification.(d) Verification is not required of households if all children in the household are determined eligible based on the results from direct verifications.(e) Households selected for verification shall be notified in writing that their applications were selected for verification. The notice shall include a telephone number to contact for assistance and shall inform the household on the following: (1) They are required to submit the requested information to verify eligibility for Summer EBT benefits, by the due date determined by the department.(2) They may, instead, submit proof that the children receive assistance under SNAP or TANF; or(3) They may, instead, request that the department or department's designee contact the appropriate officials to confirm that their children are foster children, homeless, migrant, or runaway.(4) Failure to cooperate with verification efforts will result in the termination or expungement of benefits. (f) For the purposes of this section, sources of information for verification may include, but are not limited to, written evidence, individuals outside of the child's household who can verify the child's circumstances, and systems of records as follows: (1) Written evidence must be used as the primary source of information for verification. Written evidence includes written confirmation of a household's circumstances, such as wage stubs, award letters, and letters from employers. Whenever written evidence is insufficient to confirm income information on the application or current eligibility, the department or department's designee may require confirmation from a person outside of the child's household, or accept a statement from an adult member of the child's household.(2) Verbal confirmations of a household's circumstances by a person outside of the household may be made in person or by phone. The verifying department or department's designee official may select a person to contact if the household fails to designate one or designates one which is unacceptable to the verifying department or department's designee official. If the verifying department or department's designee official designates a person, contact shall not be made without providing prior written or oral notice to the household. At the time of this notice, the household must be informed that it may consent to the contact or provide acceptable documentation in another form. If the household refuses to choose one of these options, eligibility shall be terminated in accordance with the normal procedures for failure to cooperate with verification efforts. Individuals outside of the child's household who can verify the child's circumstances could include, but are not limited to: (B) Social service agencies;(3) Agency records to which the department or department's designee may have access are not considered to be the same as a person outside of the child's household who can verify their circumstances. Information concerning income, household size, SNAP or TANF eligibility, maintained by other government agencies to which the verifying agency can legally gain access, must be used to confirm a household's income, size, or receipt of benefits, as applicable. Information may also be obtained from individuals or agencies serving categorically eligible children, including foster, homeless, migrant, or runaway children.(4) Households which dispute the validity of income information acquired through an individual outside of the child's household or a system of records must be given the opportunity to provide other documentation.(g) Households selected and notified of their selection for verification must provide documentation of income. The documentation must indicate the source, amount, and frequency of all household income, and may indicate eligibility at any point during the period of eligibility. The information provided only needs to indicate eligibility for participation in the program at a single point in time during the period of eligibility, not that the child was certified for that program's benefits at the time of application or verification.(h) If a household is selected for verification, and the household's application indicates zero income, the department or department's designee shall request an explanation of how living expenses are met and may request additional written documentation or collateral contacts. The collateral contact may be asked to document the duration and type of assistance that is provided to the household. (i) If a household refuses to cooperate with efforts to verify eligibility for Summer EBT benefits, then they shall be terminated from the program and benefits issued, if any, shall be expunged.(j) The department or department's designee must provide a telephone number to households selected for verification to call free of charge to obtain information about the verification process. The telephone number must be prominently displayed on the letter to households selected for verification.(k) The department or department's designee must make at least two attempts, at least one week apart, to contact any household that does not respond to a verification request. The attempt may be through a telephone call, email, or mail, and must be documented. Non-response to the initial request for verification includes no response, and incomplete or ambiguous responses that do not permit the department to resolve the children's eligibility for Summer EBT benefits.(l) The department or department's designee must complete the following activities if there is an eligibility change as a result of verification:(1) Make appropriate modifications to the initial eligibility determinations.(2) Notify the household of any change in eligibility as a result of verification. The notice must advise the household of:(B) The reasons for the change;(C) Notification of the right to appeal and when the appeal must be filed;(D) Instructions on how to appeal; and(E) The right to reapply at any time during the instructional year or summer operational period.(3) Properly document and retain on file at the department or department's designee the reasons for ineligibility.[Eff 6/10/2024] (Auth: HRS §§91-3, 91-4, 346-14, SLH 2024, Act ___; P.L. 117-328, Title IV, §502, 7 C.F.R. Part 292) (Imp: HRS §346-14; P.L. 117-328, Title IV, §502)