Section 1240-01-14-.14 - SSI/FOOD STAMP JOINT APPLICATIONThis section describes the joint application processing procedures and action that must be taken by the Social Security Administration and the Department of Human Services when an SSI household applies for food stamps at the Social Security Administration Office. Certification of these households must be accomplished by joint processing. The application will be taken by the Social Security Administration and eligibility determination will be made by the Department. The Food Stamp Act of 1977 provides for certain households containing applicants for and recipients of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) to apply for food stamps at offices of the Social Security Administration. Many SSI recipients are also eligible for food stamps, but have found participation difficult. To make it easier for SSI recipients to obtain food stamps, the Secretaries of Agriculture and Health and Human Services have developed a procedure by which households in which all members are SSI recipients could apply for food stamps at the Social Security Office.
(1) SSI Households. For purposes of this section, SSI is defined as Federal SSI payments made under Title XVI of the Social Security Act, federally administered optional supplemental payments under Section 1616 of that act, or federally administered mandatory supplementary payments under 212 (a) of Public Law 93-66. Pure SSI households are those households in which all members are applying for or are participating in SSI.(a) Entitlement to Joint Processing. Joint processing of food stamp allocations at the SSI Office will be limited to pure SSI households; that is, households in which all members are applicants for or recipients of SSI, and who are neither certified for food stamps nor have applied for food stamps within the past 30 days or do not have an application pending for food stamps. These household's food stamp eligibility and benefit levels shall be based solely on food stamp eligibility criteria in accordance with the notice, procedural, and timeliness requirements of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 and its implementing regulations. The county office shall make an eligibility determination based on information provided by SSA and/or by the household.(2) Responsibilities of SSA.(a) Initial Application and Eligibility Determination.1. The SSA Office will complete and forward food stamp applications to the local Food Stamp Office when SSI households apply for food stamps at the SSA Office. Whenever a member of the household consisting only of SSI applicants or recipients applies for SSI or at redetermination for SSI at the SSA Office, the SSA shall inform the household of:(i) Its right to apply for food stamps at the SSA Office without going to the Food Stamp Office; and(ii) Its right to apply at a Food Stamp Office if it chooses to do so.2. Filing an Application. For purposes of this joint processing procedure, SSA will use the National Food Stamp Application Form instead of the DHS Application for Assistance. An application for food stamps is a signed form FNS-385 Application for Food Stamps submitted to SSA by the SSI household. Applications may be filed in person, by mail or by an authorized representative. Application must be made during regular working hours.3. Handling of Application for Food Stamps. The SSA will accept and complete food stamp application for pure SSI households received at the SSA Office and forward them within one working day after receipt of a signed application to a designated county office. Form SSA 42.33, Social Security Administration Transmittal for Food Stamp Applications, which will contain references to verification obtained by the SSA employee will also be forwarded to the designated county office with the signed application form.4. Interviewing Households. Households in which all members are applying for or participating in SSI will not be required to see a state eligibility worker or otherwise be subjected to an additional state interview. The SSI household must be interviewed by SSA and submit a signed application prior to eligibility determination by DHS. Interviews may be held in the following manner: (i) Telephone Interview. If SSA takes and SSI application or redetermination on the telephone from a member of the pure SSI household, a food stamp application shall also be completed during the telephone interview. In these cases, the food stamp application shall be mailed to the claimant for signature for return to the SSA Office or to the designated county office. The county office shall not require the household to be interviewed again in the Food Stamp Office.(ii) Face to Face Interview. The SSA will accept and complete applications from pure SSI households at the SSA Office. All signed applications received by SSA shall be forwarded to the designated DHS Office within one working day after receipt of the signed application.5. Prescreening for Expedited Service. The SSA shall prescreen all applications for entitlement to expedited service on the day the application is received in the SSA Office and shall mark "Expedited Processing" on the first page of each household's application that appears to be entitled to expedited service. The SSA will inform households which appear to meet the criteria for expedited service that benefits may be issued a few days sooner if the household applies directly at the Food Stamp Office. The household may take the application from SSA to the Food Stamp Office for screening, an interview, and processing of the application.6. Standard of Promptness. The SSA shall forward applications received from SSI households to the designated Food Stamp Office within one working day after receipt of a signed application.7. Reserved for Future Use.8. SSI Recipients Redetermined by Mail. The SSA shall send a stuffer to SSI recipients redetermined by mail informing them of their right to file a food stamp application at the SSI Office (if they are members of a pure SSI household) or at the local Food Stamp Office and their right to an out of office interview to be performed by the county office if the household is unable to appoint an authorized representative.9. Referral of Non SSI Households. The SSA shall refer non SSI households and those in which not all members have applied for or receive SSI to the correct Food Stamp Office. The county office shall process those applications in accordance with the timeliness standards in 1240-1-17.(b) Recertification. 1. Jointly processed households which have received Form HS-0258, Notice Concerning Your Application or Redetermination, shall be entitled to make a timely application for food stamp recertification at the SSA Office when the following criteria are met: (i) The food stamp certification is ending;(ii) Household is still pure SSI;(iii) Initial food stamp application was filed with SSA;(iv) Household chooses to file with SSA.2. The SSA Office shall accept the application of a pure SSI household and forward the completed application, SSA 42.33 Social Security Administration Transmittal for Food Stamp Applications, and any available verification to the designated Food Stamp Office.(3) Responsibilities of the Department (DHS). The county office shall make an eligibility determination and issue food stamp benefits to eligible SSI households whose application are forwarded by SSA. (a) Providing Address of County Office. The local Food Stamp Office shall designate an address for the SSA to forward food stamp applications and accompanying information.(b) Contacting the Wrong Office. If the application for food stamps is sent to the wrong office by SSA, the application should be sent to the correct office by the county office within one working day of its receipt in the wrong county office.(c) Informational Material for Applicants. The State Office shall provide the county office with informational material to be forwarded to the SSA Office serving the area. This material will include the following information:1. Address and telephone number of the household's correct Food Stamp Office.2. Information for the applicant/recipient. The informational material will contain the following: (i) The remaining actions to be taken in the application process;(ii) That a household should be notified of the food stamp determination within 30 days and should contact the DHS Office if it receives no notification within 30 days or has other questions or problems;(iii) The client's rights and responsibilities;(iv) How and where to obtain coupons; and(v) How to use coupons, including the commodities clients may purchase with food coupons.(d) Determining Participation. The county office shall determine if members of SSI households whose applications are forwarded by the SSA are already participating in the Food Stamp Program.(e) Disposition of Applications. The application continues in the application stage until action is taken to approve or deny the case. Disposition of the application should be made in accordance with 1240-1-14-.07.(f) Standard of Promptness. 1. Normal Processing. The worker shall make an eligibility determination and issue food stamps to eligible SSI households within 30 days following the date the application was received by the SSA. Applications shall be considered filed for normal processing standards when the signed application is received by SSA.2. The worker shall prescreen all applications received from the SSA for entitlement to expedited service on the date the application is received in the correct Food Stamp Office. For SSI households entitled to expedited service, the county office shall mail the household's ATP card or coupons no later than the close of business of the 5th calendar day following the date the application was received in the correct county office.(g) The county office shall complete the application process and approve or deny timely application for recertification in accordance with 1240-1-19-.01. A face-to-face interview shall be waived if requested by a household consisting entirely of SSI participants unable to appoint an authorized representative. The county office shall provide these households with Form HS-0258, Notice Concerning Your Application or Redetermination, in accordance with 1240-1-19-.01 except that such notification shall inform households consisting entirely of SSI recipients that they are entitled to a waiver of a face-to-face interview if the household is unable to appoint an authorized representative.(4) Verification Procedures. Regardless of whether the SSA or the county office conducts the interview, the required verification must be made prior to a certification of the household for food stamp benefits. Verification is the use of third party information or documentation to establish the accuracy of the application. Form SSA 42.33, Social Security Administration Transmittal for Food Stamp Applications, shall be used for verification purposes of information on the application form. However, the worker shall insure that information required as listed below is verified prior to certification of households initially applying in accordance with 1240-1-16. (a) Verification for Expedited Processing. The worker shall postpone the verification required above. However, the household's identity and residency must be verified through a collateral contact or readily available documentary evidence in accordance with section 1240-1-5-.07. The SSA 42.33, Social Security Administration Transmittal for Food Stamp Applications, shall be used for verification. SDX and Bendex may be used to verify information.(b) Contact with the Household. After the application is received from the SSA, the worker shall not contact the household further in order to obtain information for certification for food stamp benefits unless the application is improperly completed; mandatory verification is missing; or the worker determines that certain information on the application is questionable. The applicant shall not be required under any circumstances to appear at the Food Stamp Office to finalize the eligibility determination. Further contact with the household made in accordance with this subparagraph shall not constitute a second food stamp certification interview.(c) Methods of Verification.1. The county office shall not require the household to personally present verification at a Food Stamp Office. The following may be used to verify information: (i) Form SSA 42.33 Social Security Administration Transmittal for Food Stamp Applications;(iii) Bendex. Bendex may be used to verify benefit payments or individuals receiving SSI or SSA;(iv) Documentary Evidence;2. Form SSA 42.33 and SDX/Bendex are the sources of verification that the worker shall use unless they do not contain the necessary information to determine eligibility for food stamps. If the necessary information cannot be verified from these sources, the worker may use an alternate method in accordance with 1240-1-16.(5) Assigning Certification Periods. Households certified under joint processing procedures shall be certified for up to twelve months in accordance with 1240-1-7 P eriods of Eligibility and 1240-1-5-.08 D estitute Households.(6) SSI Determination Results in Denial. In cases jointly processed in which the SSI determination results in denial and the worker believes that food stamp eligibility may be affected, the worker shall send the household Form HS-0258, Notice Concerning Your Application or Redetermination, advising that the certification period will expire at the end of the month following the month in which the notice is sent and that it must reapply if it wishes to continue to participate. Then notice shall also explain that its certification period is expiring because of changes in circumstances which may affect food stamp eligibility or benefit level and that the household may be entitled to an out-of-the-office interview in accordance with 1240-1-15-.06.(7) Changes in Circumstances. When changes occur within the certification period which affect the household's eligibility or level of benefits, action must be taken to adjust the benefits. (a) Household Responsibilities. Households shall report changes in accordance with 1240-1-19-.04 of Volume II of the Family Assistance Manual.(b) Worker's Responsibilities. 1. The worker shall inform the household at each application and recertification of its responsibility to report changes, and action shall be taken on such changes in accordance with 1240-1-19-.04 of Volume II of the Family Assistance Manual.2. The worker shall monitor the SDX tape on a regular basis to determine the disposition of the application for SSI. Action shall be taken within 10 days of learning of the determination of applications for SSI to adjust benefits in accordance with 1240-1-19-.04 of Volume II of the Family Assistance Manual.(8) SSI Households Applying at the County Office. The county office shall allow SSI households to submit food stamp applications at the local Food Stamp Office. In such cases, all verifications, including that pertaining to SSI Program benefits, shall be provided by the household, by SDX or Bendex, or obtained by the county office rather than being provided by the SSA.(9) Restoration of Lost Benefits. The county office shall restore to the household benefits which were lost whenever the loss was caused by an error by the county office or by the SSA through joint processing. Such an error shall include, but not be limited to, the loss of an applicant's food stamp application after it has been filed with SSA. Lost benefits shall be restored in accordance with 1240-1-21.(10) Work Registration Requirements. Household members who are applying for SSI and for food stamps under joint processing procedures shall have the requirement for work registration waived until:(a) They are determined eligible for SSI and thereby become exempt from work registration; or(b) They are determined ineligible for SSI and, where applicable, a determination of their work registration status is then made through recertification procedures in accordance with 1240-1-14-.14(6) or through other means.(11) Mass Changes. The county office shall be responsible for automatically adjusting a household's food stamp benefit level to reflect the cost-of-living increases received in Social Security and SSI benefits.(12) Recertification. The county office shall complete the application process and approve or deny timely applications for recertification in accordance with Volume II of the Family Assistance Manual. A face to face interview shall be waived if requested by a household consisting entirely of SSI participants unable to appoint an authorized representative. The county office shall provide these households with Form HS-0258 Notice Concerning Your Application on Redetermination in accordance with 1240-1-19-.01 except that such notification shall inform households consisting entirely of SSI recipients that they are entitled to a waiver of a face-to-face interview, if the household is unable to appoint an authorized representative. SSI households which have received Form HS-0258 Notice Concerning Your Application or Redetermination shall be entitled to make a timely application for food stamp recertification at the SSA office. The SSA shall accept and forward the application and supporting verification to the local food stamp office. These households shall not be required to appear at a second office interview; however, the county office may conduct an out-of-office interview, if necessary.Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1240-01-14-.14
Original rule filed August 15, 1980; effective September 29, 1980. Amendment filed December 10, 1981; effective January 25, 1982. Amendment filed March 28, 1983; effective April 27, 1983.Authority: T.C.A. §§ 14-27-104 and 14-27-107; PL 97-35; 7 CFR 272.2(k)(i), 273.2(i)(2).