Hotline 12/11: SNAP, annual reporting, self-employment

Date:
Author:
DTA

If you have any questions on this column or other policy and procedural material, please have your Hotline
designee call the Policy Hotline at 617-348-8478.

Q. I was reviewing my client’s Interim Report and noticed that one of the household members is
currently self-employed. Since self-employment is one of the exceptions to the Annual Reporting
(AR) requirements, should I take this case off of annual reporting?

A. You should take this case off of annual reporting, but not at this time. If the client completes the
Interim Report and indicates that he no longer has income or that he is now self-employed,
remember to make these changes and wrap-up the case in BEACON for the remaining months of the
client’s certification period. However, at the end of the second six-month period, during the client’s
annual report month, if he is still self-employed then he should be taken off of AR at that time.

Q. Aside from the self-employed, are there other exceptions to the AR requirements?

A. Yes. Remember that in addition to the self-employed, the following Non Public Assistance (NPA)
households must be taken off of AR during their annual report month:

  • an NPA household that has a related TAFDC Monthly Reporting household;
  • an NPA household that has a related TAFDC Extension household;
  • an NPA household that is a TBA SNAP household;
  • an NPA household that has a person who is SNAP Work Program required; or
  • all adult members of the SNAP household are elderly or disabled and have no earnings.

Note: Households that currently have no earned or unearned income, even if they have a history of
income, must not be placed on annual reporting. These cases are to be given a one-year certification
period as outlined in Field Operations Memo 2008-14.

For more information on Annual Reporting, refer to Operations Memo 2011-31 and for more
information on Interim Reporting, refer to Operations Memo 2011-43.

Q. A SNAP client called to report that her husband left the home last week. She does not believe he
will be returning and he left with the EBT card. I plan to change the head of household in this case
from the husband to the wife. Also, I would like to re-issue this month’s SNAP benefits to the
household, under the wife’s name. Do the SNAP regulations allow for duplicating this issuance?

A. SNAP policy prohibits the duplication of benefit issuances, unless the household consists of residents
of a battered women’s shelter and their children. If your household meets the battered women’s
exception, as defined in 106 CMR 365.550, remember to establish an overpayment claim on the
former head of household at the same time that any duplicate issuances are approved. For more
information on overissuance claims in SNAP, refer to 106 CMR 367.495. For more information on
the rules against duplicate issuances, refer to 106 CMR 362.100.

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