PPER Email 2015- 13: SNAP Reinstatement and Updating the Interview Page on BEACON

To ensure that appointment letters are not automatically sent in error, when an interview is not required, it is important that the Interview page in BEACON be updated to reflect the fact and reason that an appointment is not needed.

When reinstating a SNAP case that closes at Interim Report (IR) or Recertification, determine whether or not an interview is required and update the Interview page on BEACON accordingly. If the Interview page does not reflect the fact that an interview is not required, while the case is in a pending status, a reinstated case may be automatically sent an Interview Appointment letter.

For Annual Reporting (AR) cases, interviews are not required at the IR, unless questionable information is received from the household. When reinstating at IR, the Interview page must be updated as follows:

• select the No radio button in the Held field;
• select the appropriate No reason from the drop-down selection, in this case, Interim Reporting; and
• enter the date on which the No reason was updated in the Reason field.

Unless the reported information is questionable, interviews are not required when processing Recertifications for households in which all household members are elderly or disabled with no earned income. Nor are interviews required for Bay State CAP cases.

When reinstating a case following a Recertification closure, if an interview is not required, follow the bulleted instructions above, choosing the appropriate No reason (Bay State CAP Case or Elderly Disabled with no Earned Income) from the drop-down selections. This will prevent BEACON from sending an Interview Appointment letter.