New York Program Access Review

NEW YORK PROGRAM ACCESS REVIEWNOVEMBER-DECEMBER 1998procedure is required universally of all applicants. Failure to complete any ofthese five minimum steps results in the denial of TANF benefits, as well as foodstamp benefits and Medicaid assistance. When action is taken to deny allbenefits for failure to complete any one of these requirements, households arenot notified of their right to pursue their food stamp application independent oftheir TANF application.Food stamp regulations at 7 CFR 273.2 hold applicant households responsiblefor the production of documentation to verify circumstances affecting eligibility,allowing them up to ten days to provide such documentation. When applicanthouseholds provide documentation that is not questionable to support theinformation contained on their application (either at the time of application orwithin the allowable ten day period), it runs counter to the fair service provisionof PRWORA to subject such households to mandatory denial of theirapplications for failure to meet any one of the five minimum steps of the TANFapplication process. We acknowledge HRA’s desire to enhance Food StampProgram accuracy by verifying questionable information. However, whenapplicants present satisfactory documentation of their circumstances, they havemet FSP requirements and should not be subject to more rigorous verificationprocedures.Of 94 denied applications reviewed, 24 were denied either for failure to attendan EVR session (at an HRA facility or in the applicant’s home) [19 cases], or anemployment-related activity [5 cases]. These activities include mandatory “coldcalls”to potential employers and other TANF-related employment requirements.Section 6(d) of the FSA and Federal regulations at 7 CFR 273.7 require eachhousehold member who is not exempt to be registered for employment by theState agency at the time of application. This registration may have specific16