Ops Memo 2011-29: SNAP- Reinstatement of the Elderly/Disabled No Interview Waiver

In November 2009, the Department implemented a USDA approved waiver of the face-to-face interview requirement at recertification. This waiver affected SNAP households where all members were either elderly (60 or older) or disabled and had no earned income (and are not BayState CAP cases).

At the time of implementation, some of the BEACON functioning did not work properly and did not include built-in edits to prevent the SNAP case manager from incorrectly coding the interview method. In a program review conducted six months after the waiver, DTA found a number of inconsistencies in the process of documenting interview information. As a result of the review, USDA advised DTA to temporarily suspend the no interview waiver for elderly/disabled households. DTA has now received approval from the USDA to reinstate the waiver effective immediately. Operations Memo advises SNAP workers of the reinstated waiver.