NA Approval Periods
Information on this page refers to the Nutrition Assistance program
This section identifies NA Approval Periods.
Policy
NA Approval Periods are automatically assigned based on the budgetary unit’s circumstances taking all of the following criteria into consideration:
A 24-month approval period is assigned when all of the following apply:
No budgetary unit participant receives earned income or self-employment income
All budgetary unit participants who are under age 60 have a disability that meets the NA program criteria (See Elderly or Have a Disability - NA Special Considerations)
A 36-month approval period is assigned to budgetary units approved in any of the following programs:
The Elderly Simplified Application Project (ESAP)
The Arizona Simplified Nutrition Assistance Program (AZSNAP)
A 5-month approval period is assigned when the CA case is closed, and the budgetary unit has been determined eligible for Transitional Benefit Assistance (TBA). (See TBA Transition Process for TBA eligibility and transition process)
All other budgetary units are assigned a 12-month approval period.
A budgetary unit may be eligible for the first approval month and up to 23 additional months based on a single application.
When an approval period ends, a new application is needed for the next approval period.
A budgetary unit may be ineligible for the first approval month but eligible for the following months. In this situation, only one application is used for the denial of the first month and the approval of the second month.
For more information, see Time Frames.
Legal Authorities
last revised 12/27/2022