Verifying Reported Changes
  |
This section includes information on how to determine whether verification is required, and action is needed.
Policy
Policy regarding verification depends on the source of the change.
FAA receives information regarding changes from all of the following sources:
●The budgetary unit
Budgetary Unit Reported Change
FAA requests verification of changes reported by the budgetary unit(g) for information that impacts eligibility and benefit amounts when any of the following occur:
●Enough information is not provided with a reported change to decrease or stop benefits.
●The reported change causes an increase in benefits.
NOTE For NA, verification of relationship and living arrangements is only required when questionable. See Adding A Participant – Overview for mandatory requirements when adding a participant to a budgetary unit
●Questionable information(g) is reported.
●Unverified or verified information that has an unknown impact on the budgetary unit’s eligibility or benefit amount.
NOTE For NA only, when the reported change will potentially cause an NA closure due to excessive income, verification is required. For more information, see Benefit Decreases or Closures due to a Reported Change.
FAA does not request verification of changes reported by the budgetary unit when any of the following occur:
●Enough information is provided with a reported change to decrease or stop benefits.
●The reported information does not impact the budgetary unit’s eligibility or benefits level.
When verification is needed, a notice is sent requesting the verification with the due date by which the verification needs to be returned.
(For more information about when a change goes into effect, see When to Effect Changes)
Benefit Decreases or Closures due to a Reported Change
For NA, when enough information is provided with a reported change in income that causes ineligibility, FAA completes all of the following:
●Verifies the participant’s income using any of the following verification sources:
Hard copy verification when readily available.
Any electronic source that provides information regarding income of a participant.
Collateral contact when hard copy verification or electronic source is not available.
When all other verification sources are not available, attempt a collateral contact with the participant to confirm all necessary information needed to process the change and document the case file(g). When a collateral contact cannot be completed, use the best available information that was provided.
●Budgets the participant’s verified income following policy guidelines. (For more information on budgeting income, see Income Budgeting Basics (internal use only))
●Documents the case file supporting the income budgeted.
When contact is made with the participant, FAA documents the participant’s confirmation that the income is correct.
For CA and all other changes, when enough information is provided with a reported change, FAA effects the decrease or stops benefits without additional verification. Verification is obtained at the next renewal or Mid Approval Contact.
Third-Party Source Reported Change
FAA receives information from all of the following third-party sources:
●Crossmatch reports
●State Verification Exchange System (SVES)
●State or federal agencies
FAA does not request additional verification of the information provided by third-party sources, when any of the following occur:
●The information is verified upon receipt(g).
●FAA receives verification from the primary source of information(g) and enough information is reported to increase, decrease, or stop benefits.
●The reported information does not impact the budgetary unit’s eligibility or benefits level.
FAA increases, decreases, or stops benefits without verification when additional verification is not needed. (For more information about when a change goes into effect, see Effecting Changes.)
When FAA receives information from a third-party source, FAA requests verification when the unclear information meets any of the following criteria:
●Directly conflicts with information used at the time of approval to determine eligibility and benefit level for the current approval period and reflects information that would have been available at the time of approval. (See Example 1 and Example 2 for more information.)
●Indicates a change occurred that the budgetary unit is required to report according to the reporting requirements assigned to the budgetary unit. (For more information on what changes the budgetary unit is required to report, see Standard Reporting or Simplified Reporting)
NOTE When the information reported indicates the change occurred more than 60 calendar days from the first day of the current calendar month, FAA verifies the information with the budgetary unit at the next Mid Approval Contact (MAC) or renewal, whichever comes first.
●The information was received from a prison verification system, or a deceased matching system. (For more information, see Crossmatch Reports.)
When the unclear information does not meet the criteria to request verification from the budgetary unit, FAA reviews the information with the budgetary unit at the next MAC or renewal, whichever comes first.
When verification is needed, a notice is sent requesting the verification with the due date by which the verification needs to be returned.
When unclear information is reported during the approval period and may potentially increase the benefits, FAA sends a voluntary notice requesting the verification. When the budgetary unit responds and provides the verification, FAA acts on the change. (For more information about when a change goes into effect, see When to Effect Changes. When the budgetary unit does not provide the verification requested on the voluntary notice, no adverse action(g) is taken.
Procedures
Changes Between the Application and Eligibility Determination
Changes must be verified before the eligibility determination when a change that effects the benefit amount is reported between the receipt of the application (initial or renewal) and the eligibility determination.
NOTE An application received too early for the renewal must be considered a change during the certification period.
When verification is needed for a reported change, send the Information Needed – NA (F011) notice or the Information Needed - CA/TPEP (A011) notice when the verification is not in the case file(g) and could not be obtained with a collateral contact or system interface.
NOTE When the Information Needed notice due date is after the approval due date, check for returned verification on the approval due date and the participant's tenth day. A participant caused untimely reason may be used for an untimely approval unless one of the following reasons causes use of an FAA untimely reason:
●Verification requested from the participant was provided by the approval due date and FAA did not complete a determination by the timely due date.
●Verification requested from the participant was provided after the approval due date but within the ten calendar days given. However, a determination was not made by the tenth day.
Changes Reported by the Budgetary Unit During the Approval Period
Complete all of the following for each change by close of business the workday(g) after the date the change is received in the FAA office:
●Assign the reported change in ACTS. (For ACTS instructions, see ACTS Alerts.)
●Review the case file(g) and the appropriate screens to determine how the change affects all programs. This includes, and is not limited to, any of the following:
NOTE A reported change may affect the eligibility of additional AZTECS cases. Review CAP3 to identify all open cases in which the participant is known. All affected cases must have all appropriate actions completed in accordance with the reporting standard applied to the affected case.
●When verification is needed for a reported change, send the Information Needed - NA (F011) notice or the Information Needed – CA/TPEP (A011) notice when the verification is not in the case file and cannot be obtained with a collateral contact or system interface.
●When an F011 or A011 notice was sent, extend the ACTS alert. No additional action is needed for this change until the ACTS alert is due.
●Using the guidelines in the policy, redetermine eligibility and the current benefit level for the appropriate month. (See When to Effect Changes for more information.)
NOTE Determine the effect of the change on CA eligibility first. Then determine the effect of the change on eligibility for and benefit levels of other programs.
●When supplements are needed, elevate using the appropriate procedure.
●When a potential overpayment has occurred, elevate using the appropriate procedure.
●Send all appropriate notices.
●Once the change is complete, close the ACTS alert.
Changes Reported by Third-Party Source During the Approval Period
Complete all of the following when a change is reported to FAA by a third-party source(g):
●Review the reported change in ACTS. (For ACTS instructions, see ACTS Alerts.)
●Review the case file(g) and the appropriate screens to determine how the change affects all programs. This includes, and is not limited to, any of the following:
NOTE A reported change may affect the eligibility of additional AZTECS cases. Review CAP3 to identify all open cases in which the participant is known. All affected cases must have all appropriate actions completed in accordance with the reporting standard applied to the affected case.
●When the information is verified upon receipt(g), redetermine eligibility and the benefit level for the appropriate month. (See When to Effect Changes for more information.)
●Do not request additional verification when the information does not require that FAA verify the information immediately. When this occurs, FAA completes all of the following:
Key Y in the UNCLEAR INFO field on INDA and the date the information was received.
Send a Nutrition Assistance (NA) – Voluntary Information (F090) or a Cash Assistance (CA) – Voluntary Information (A090) notice, when the information would potentially cause an increase to the budgetary unit’s benefits.
NOTE When a budgetary unit fails to respond to the F090 or A090, or the information remains unclear, do not take adverse action on the case. Document the case file and ensure the UNCLEAR INFO indicator on INDA is updated with the date the information was received.
Document the case file(g) with all actions taken and why verification is not being requested.
●When an Information Needed - NA(F011) notice, an Information Needed – CA/TPEP(A011) notice, a Nutrition Assistance (NA) - Voluntary (F090) notice, or a Cash Assistance (CA) – Voluntary Information (A090) notice has been sent, extend the ACTS alert.
For additional information, see the Verifying Third-Party Source Reported Changes Decision Tree.
Changes Verified Upon Receipt
Complete all of the following when FAA receives information that is considered Verified Upon Receipt(g):
●Using the guidelines in the policy, redetermine eligibility and the current benefit level for the appropriate month. (See When to Effect Changes for more information.)
●Determine the effect of the change on CA eligibility first. Then determine the effect of the change on eligibility for and benefit levels of other programs.
●When supplements are needed, elevate using the appropriate procedure.
●When a potential overpayment has occurred, elevate using the appropriate procedure.
●Send all appropriate notices.
AZTECS Keying Procedures
Do not request additional verification when the information does not require that FAA verify the information immediately. Complete all of the following:
●Document the case file with all actions taken and why verification is not being requested
●Key a Y in the UNCLEAR INFO field on INDA and the date the information was received
Send a Voluntary Request for Information - NA (F090) or a Voluntary Request for Information – CA (A090) notice, when the information would potentially cause a benefit increase for the budgetary unit.
NOTE When a budgetary unit fails to respond to the F090 or A090, or the information remains unclear, do not take adverse action on the case. Document the case file and ensure the UNCLEAR INFO indicator on INDA is updated with the date the information was received.
When verification of unclear information is postponed, complete all of the following:
●Key Y in the UNCLEAR INFO field on INDA
●Key the report date (MMYY) in the UNCLEAR INFO DATE field on INDA
When the unclear information has been resolved, key R in the UNCLEAR INFO field on INDA.
NOTE Do not remove the date keyed in the UNCLEAR INFO DATE field.
Examples
1) Jane completed an NA interview on 07/01/2021 and during the interview stated she was not working. FAA receives information on 09/30/2021 that Jane started working at Walmart beginning 09/27/2021. This is not conflicting information because the change occurred after approval and the information provided during the NA interview was true at the time.
2) Henry completed an NA interview on 07/01/2021. FAA receives information that Henry started working at TJ MAXX beginning 06/27/2021. This is conflicting information because the information reported during the interview was not true and the information suggests that Henry was employed when he completed his NA interview.
Legal Authorities
7 CFR 273.2(f)(2)
7 CFR 273.12(c)(3)
7 CFR 273.12(c)(3)(i)
7 CFR 273.12(c)(3)(i)(A)
7 CFR 273.12(c)(3)(i)(B)(1)
7 CFR 273.12(c)(3)(i)(C)
7 CFR 273.12(c)(3)(ii)
7 CFR 273.12(c)(3)(iii)
7 CFR 273.12(c)(3)(iii)(A)
7 CFR 273.12(c)(3)(iii)(B)
last revised 08/19/2024