218 R.I. Code R. 218-RICR-20-00-1.19 - [Effective 4/29/2025] SNAP Assistance in Disasters (D-SNAP)
A. The
Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Pub. Law
100-707), and the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (as amended through Pub. Law
116-94), provides the authority to establish temporary emergency standards of
eligibility for households who are survivors of a disaster that disrupts
commercial channels of food distribution after those channels have been
restored.
1. During a Presidential or an FNS
declared disaster where a quick response is needed to meet sudden heavy demand
at the SNAP offices and the on-going program cannot meet the food needs of
afflicted households, the approach to be used is emergency SNAP
issuance.
2. The Department of
Human Services will seek approval for authorization to implement Disaster SNAP
(D-SNAP) procedures if, after consultation with officials in the disaster area,
it is determined that it is necessary.
3. Households affected by the disaster are
certified by the procedures outlined in this Section.
4. FNS will specify the period of
authorization which cannot be more than one (1) month.
a. If necessary, the State may apply for
extension of the one (1) month period.
B. Certification Points
1. Normally, certification is handled in the
DHS offices but, if necessary, to the extent possible, certification locations
convenient to disaster victims should be established.
2. In the event of a Presidential-declared
disaster, there will be cooperation with FEMA in establishing certification
points in Disaster Assistance Centers.
C. Eligibility and Certification
1. D-SNAP provides a full month's allotment
to households who may not normally qualify for or participate in SNAP.
a. The allotment for a household is equal to
the maximum monthly allotment for the household size provided under regular
SNAP.
b. D-SNAP allotments are
updated yearly and available on the FNS website at
https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/dsnap/state-agencies-partners-resources.
2. As part of a D-SNAP, DHS may
also automatically or individually supplement the regular SNAP benefits of
ongoing households affected by the disaster to bring them up to the maximum
allotment or replace benefits for food that was lost during the
disaster.
3. To be eligible for
D-SNAP, a household must live in the identified disaster area, have been
affected by the disaster, and meet the following D-SNAP eligibility criteria:
a. Household Composition
(1) Household composition is established as
of the date the disaster struck;
(2) A household includes those people living
together, purchasing and preparing food together at the time of a disaster
and
(3) A D-SNAP household does not
include those people with whom applicants are temporarily staying due to the
disaster.
b. Residency
(1) The household must have lived or worked
in the disaster area at the time of the disaster.
c. Purchase Food
(1) The household must plan on purchasing
food during the disaster benefit period or have purchased food during that time
if the benefit period has passed.
d. Adverse Effects
(1) The household must have experienced at
least one (1) of the following adverse effects in order to be eligible:
(AA) Lost or inaccessible income , which
includes reduction or termination of income , or a delay in receipt of income
during the benefit period due to the disaster.
(BB) Inaccessible liquid resources (e.g.,
banks are closed due to the disaster) during the benefit period.
(CC) Deductible disaster-related expenses:
Out of pocket disaster-related expenses paid (not only incurred) by the
household that are not expected to be reimbursed during the thirty (30) day
benefit period, including damage to or destruction of the household's home or
self-employment business.
4. A household is not eligible for D-SNAP if
it is already being served by the disaster household distribution of USDA
Foods, which is separately authorized under disaster Regulations.
5. Disaster Gross Income Limit
a. D-SNAP groups income and resources
together under one (1) test.
b. The
household's take-home income received (or expected to be received) during the
benefit period plus its accessible liquid resources minus disaster-related
expenses (unreimbursed disaster-related expenses paid or anticipated to be paid
out of pocket during the disaster benefit period) shall not exceed the Disaster
Gross Income Limit (DGIL).
c.
Resources are determined on the first (1st) day of the benefit period; anything
received during the remainder of the benefit period would be counted as
income .
6. Interview
Requirement
a. All D-SNAP applicants must have
a face-to-face interview.
b. All
interviews must be conducted at the D-SNAP site, except in extraordinary
circumstances.
c. As in the regular
program, households unable to apply in person may choose to designate an
authorized representative to apply on their behalf.
7. If the household fails to meet the above
eligibility requirements, eligibility for SNAP assistance is determined in
accordance with ongoing program requirements.
D. Application Processing
1. The agency may accept applications for
D-SNAP benefits from new households and requests for supplements from ongoing
households only during the application period which is approved by
FNS.
2. Verification Rules are
eased during a disaster.
a. Verification
requirements in D-SNAP are three (3) tiered:
(1) Identity must be verified;
(2) Residency and household composition
should be verified where possible; and
(3) Loss/inaccessibility of income or liquid
resources and food loss can be verified if questionable.
E. Benefit Period and
Issuance
1. The benefit period approved by FNS
for each D-SNAP is thirty (30) days, except in extraordinary
circumstances.
2. The benefit
period begins on the date of the disaster or the date of any mandatory
evacuation preceding the disaster.
a. This
date is generally the first (1st) day of the "Incident Period" provided by the
Presidential Disaster Declaration.
3. SNAP benefits may be issued to the head of
the household, the spouse, or an authorized representative.
a. D-SNAP benefits will be issued on an
Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card and will be made available as soon as
possible and no later than three (3) calendar days (except in questionable
cases in which issuance may be delayed up to seven (7) days) from the date the
application was filed.
F. Quality Control Provisions
1. Quality Control is an administrative
system for documenting the extent of and reasons for errors in the eligibility
and basis of issuance of participating households receiving federally funded
SNAP benefits .
a. Based on this documentation,
action must be taken to reduce the incidence of these errors below
pre-established tolerance limits.
b. Cases which are receiving federally funded
SNAP benefits continue to be subject to review under normal quality control
procedures to determine the accuracy of the Federal SNAP.
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