12300 Application Processing

Applications must be made by a parent or guardian of a child or children seeking assistance feeding that child or children during the summer months.

In cases of joint custody, the parent who applied for assistance first will receive benefits for the child. If only one parent is applying for assistance benefits, then the child(ren) is to be included in the assistance household with that parent. No additional statements from either of the parents regarding the living arrangements of the children should be requested as they are not needed to provide assistance to the children in a joint custody situation when only one parent is requesting assistance.

Summer EBT benefits are only issued leading up to and during the Summer Operational Period, which is May 1 through August 31. Applications, however, are accepted throughout the entire year, and eligibility can be established at any time.

Applications will be accepted, an eligibility determination will be made, and notice will be sent, within 15 days of receiving a complete application in the DCF office. If an application is approved, benefits will be issued 7 to 14 days before the start of the Summer Operational Period, during the same time frame as the benefits issued for streamlined certification. The only exception to this is in the case of an application being approved within 15 days of receipt by DCF, then later selected for verification as part of the 3% random sample as of April 1 (see Verification section). If an application is received during the Summer Operational Period, benefits will be issued upon approval of the application but still within 15 days of receipt of a complete application.

A complete Summer EBT application will include:

    1. Names of all household members

    2. Amount, source, and frequency of income for each household member

    3. Signature of an adult household member, including electronic or telephonic signatures

The application date is the date a signed paper application is received at the DCF office or the date a Summer EBT online application is received with an electronic signature through the agency's self-service portal (SSP). An application filled out through the agency's SSP is not complete until it has been electronically signed, submitted and the system issues a confirmation number to the applicant. All eligibility requirements will be tested according to the current household situation. If the application lacks necessary information or verification alternatives are not available, staff will send a "Request for Information (RFI)" notice identifying the information needed to determine eligibility. If the applicant does not provide the requested information or verifications within 10 calendar days, staff will process the denial, generating a system notice mailed to the applicant.

Households that are ineligible for assistance are informed of the reason(s) using a system generated notice.

Households that are eligible for assistance are informed of the benefit amount and expected date of receipt using a system generated notice.

Since Summer EBT operates during a set period during the year and applications are accepted throughout the year household circumstances may change between application submission and benefit issuance. Households are not required to report changes in circumstances during the instructional year or summer operational period, but a household may voluntarily report any changes in income, household composition, or program participation.  Families are able to reapply if their circumstances change and they believe their eligibility status may have changed.

12310 Verification

Applications include a self-attestation statement which will state that the information provided on the application is correct. DCF should use the income provided on the application to determine eligibility without asking the applicant to provide documentation. However, to maintain program integrity and ensure that Summer EBT benefits are issued only to eligible children, verification will be conducted on certain applications. If an application is selected for verification, DCF will need to confirm that all information on the application is accurate by checking it against other sources of information known to DCF to be accurate.

The verification process will happen in two ways, a 3% random sample and verification for cause.

3% Random Sample

A number of applications equal to 3% of all applications approved before April 1 of the instructional year will be randomly chosen for verification. A KEES report will be run to determine the sample. On these applications, all information provided on the application will need to be verified. Once selected for verification, the applicants will not be issued benefits until verification has been completed. DCF will first attempt direct certification, where verification can be done against existing data without needing to request information from the household. If direct verification is not possible, then DCF will send a Request for Information notice, and the household will have 10 days to respond.

Verification for Cause

Applications can be verified for cause on a case-by-case basis if DCF suspects information on an application may be inconsistent or conflicting with information known to DCF. For example, if a household submits two separate applications with different information the worker will verify that application for cause. Applications selected for verification for cause will not be issued benefits until verification is completed and eligibility can be established. These applications do not count toward the 3% random sample described above. Applications received after April 1 will still be subject to verification for cause.  DCF must conduct direct verification and use other sources of administrative data such as Work Number, BARI/BASI, or other sources available. Applications confirmed through direct verification should not be contacted for verification.

In cases when direct verification is not feasible, the eligibility worker must make at least two attempts, at least one week apart, to contact any household that does not respond to a verification request. If households do not respond to verification   inquiries, they lose their benefits and must provide documentation at the time of application in future years.

Households must be notified that their case was selected for verification and if they are determined ineligible.