Expedited Benefits Documentation

Whether a household completes any part of Expedited Benefits section on the CalFresh application, all applications must be screened for ES, and the County Use Section pertaining to ES must be completed by the EW to indicate that:

• The case was evaluated for ES, and
• ES was approved or denied.

The reasons for denial should be documented in the case record.

Timeliness Standards

The County must provide households with an active EBT card and PIN number made available to access benefits that have been posted onto their EBT account and made available for use within the ES issuance timeline. Refer to Issuance Deadline [63-301.531].

The County must post benefits to the household’s EBT account and mail or have EBT cards available for pick-up in time to ensure that the recipient can access his/her benefits by the three day ES timeframe. Mailing time does not count toward the ES three day timeframe.

For applications completed with an interactive interview, and a telephonic signature is acquired, the filling date is the date of the interview. The three-day ES timeline begins from the date TS is captured.

ExampleExample

Reminder: If the client was not eligible for ES at application but the ES application is pending, the worker must deny the ES application in CalSAWS before approving regular CalFresh benefits. Otherwise, if the clients situation has changed since the application, CalSAWS will approve the CalFresh ES application along with the regular CalFresh application, causing the case to be out of compliance with CalFresh ES regulations.

ExampleExample

Issuance Deadline [63-301.531]

Follow the chart below to determine the CalFresh issuance deadline for an ES household.

APPLICATION TYPE	DEADLINE
New application	3rd calendar day after the date of application. (Even if the normal staggered issuance date is after this date).
RC or reapplication after less than a month's break in benefits.	Whichever is later: 3rd calendar day after the date of application, or The HH's normal issuance date.

ExampleExample

An eligible household files an ES application on Monday. Begin counting the three days on Tuesday. Benefits must be available to the household by Thursday, the third calendar day.

 

ExampleExample

A weekend (Saturday and Sunday) counts as one calendar day. However, when the third calendar day after the date of application falls on a weekend or holiday, benefits must be made available to the recipient on the first workday immediately preceding the weekend or holiday.

ExampleExample

If an ES application is filed on Thursday, benefits must be made available to the household on Monday. However, if Monday is a holiday, benefits must be made available on Friday (or Saturday, if benefits can be issued on that day).

Processing Delays and Impact on ES Entitlement

A delay in meeting the three-day expedited processing timeframe does not change a household’s entitlement to ES. A household’s entitlement to ES is not lost due to a delay in meeting the expedited processing timeframe. Therefore, if a household is entitled to ES, and the EW cannot schedule the initial interview within the three-day expedited processing timeframe, the EW must continue processing the application on an expedited basis. The requirement to process an application on an expedited basis stands even if an interview cannot be scheduled within three-days. In the case of an expedited processing delay, the household remains entitled to ES until the household receives their benefits. Exception: There are two exceptions to this rule. A household may lose ES entitlement if (1) the household’s circumstances change and the household no longer meets the criteria for ES entitlement or (2) the household is scheduled for an initial interview within the three-day expedited processing timeframe and the household misses the scheduled interview. Under these two circumstances the household will lose ES entitlement and the household’s application will be processed under the normal CalFresh processing timeframe.

.Mail Applications

When a mail application is received incomplete and must be returned to the client, do not count the following days as part of the ES processing time period:

• Days the application is in the mail to and from the household, or
• Days the application is in the household's possession.

SSN Requirement [63-404.21]

ES households are not required to provide or apply for a SSN until after receiving their first allotment. They must, however, provide an SSN or proof of application for an SSN for all household members before the next issuance.

Work Registration [63-301.541(d), 63-407.1]

All nonexempt household members must be registered for work before ES CalFresh may be issued.

Questionable work registration exemptions must be verified prior to issuance, if possible. However, verification must be postponed if it will prevent issuing benefits by the ES deadline.

Verification [63-301.54]

Use the chart below to determine ES verification requirements.

Mandatory Verification	Verification That May Be Postponed
Identity must be verified before issuing ES benefits. A picture ID is NOT required.	When necessary to issue benefits by the ES deadline, verification for the eligibility factors below may be postponed. Make all reasonable efforts to obtain these verifications before issuing benefits, but do not delay benefit issuance beyond the ES issuance deadline. Residence (may be postponed indefinitely for homeless HHs, and until next RC for migrant farmworker or newly arrived HHs) SSN Income Deductions All other required verification.
	Postponement Time Period
	For a migrant HH missing out-of-state verification,	Until the 60th day after the application date.* (Recertify the HH for a normal certification period while waiting for the verification.)
	For all other HHs,	Until the 30th day after the application date.* (Recertify for a normal certification period while waiting for the verification.)
* Exception: Residence verification may be postponed: Until the next RC for migrant farmworker or newly arrived HHs. Indefinitely for homeless HHs.

When Postponed Verification Isn't Received [63-301.541]

Follow the chart below when a postponed verification is not received by the applicable deadline (60 days for out-of-state migrant household verification; 30 days for all other households).

 

• If the missing verification affects the HH’s eligibility or benefit level, then discontinue the entire HH. A NOA is not required.
• If the missing verification affects an individual HH member's eligibility, discontinue the individual. Send an adequate (not 10-day) NOA to advise the household that benefits are reduced.
• If the missing verification affects the child support deduction, compute eligibility and benefits without the deduction.

NOA Requirement [63-504.261]

ES ACTION	NOA REQUIREMENT
Approval or denial of ES	A separate ES approval or denial NOA is not required in addition to the normal CalFresh approval or denial NOA. However, certain information must be added to the approval NOA for ES households with postponed verification. [Refer to the pages on postponed verification later in this section for a list of this information.]
HH discontinued because postponed verification wasn't provided	A NOA is not required.
HH member discontinued because postponed verification for that member only wasn't received; HH benefits will be reduced	Send an adequate (not 10-day) NOA to advise the HH that benefits will be reduced because postponed verification was not received for the individual HH member.
Eligibility and benefits computed without a child support deduction because postponed verification wasn’t provided	Send an adequate (not 10-day) NOA to advise HH that benefits will be reduced or discontinued because postponed verification was not received for child support.

Related Topics

Expedited Services