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DE DSS - Eligibility Re-determination

Your eligibility for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and General Assistance (GA) must be reviewed at specified times by the Division of Social Services (DSS), as follows:

·      Every six (6) months for TANF and for GA cases where eligibility is based on "unemployability"

·      Every three (3) months for other GA families

·      For GA cases with 12th grade high school students, the re-determination date is scheduled in the month prior to the month of the student’s graduation

Your eligibility is also reviewed when there is a significant change in your circumstances. (See DSS - Change Reporting Requirements for information about the changes that you must report.)

As of April 2005, DSS obtained a waiver from the requirement for a face-to-face interview at eligibility re-determination ("recertification") for Cash Assistance, Food Stamp, and Child Care programs. All households may have a telephone interview at recertification without documenting a hardship for coming into a DSS office. You are still required to complete and mail in a new application form (Form 100) and complete the telephone interview with the DSS office.

If you fail without "good reason" to complete a scheduled re-determination interview, your case will be closed. Examples of good reason for missing a re-determination appointment are:

·      Illness of the payee or another family member requiring the presence of the payee;

·      Court required appearance;

·      Household emergency;

·      Inclement weather which prevents travel;

·      Appointment letter sent to the wrong address.

If your assistance benefits are reduced or terminated as a result of a missed appointment or re-determination, DSS will send you a written notice of the change at least ten (10) days prior to the effective date.

Rules require households to file an application to apply for benefits for not only new households but also households that have recently been determined ineligible. DSS was approved to waive these rules to allow eligibility staff to reinstate closed households without a new application if the household reports and verifies a change in circumstances within 30 days of the date the household became ineligible. This waiver will apply to food stamp, cash assistance, child care and Medicaid cases. This waiver became effective on May 11, 2005 and expires on February 28, 2007.

See also:

DE TANF - Financial Eligibility

DE TANF - Income Eligibility

DE TANF - Resource Eligibility

DE DSS - Contact Information

Source:

DSS Policy Manual (Sect. 2001, 2001.1)
and Administrative Notice A-09-2005

DE DSS Administrative Notice A-12-2005

Back to:

DE Division of Social Services - Overview

DE Benefit Information System Overview

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