Help New Arrivals Close Out-of-State Benefits, Summer P-EBT, New DTA Notices, DTA Assistance Line Access

FoodSNAP
08/09/23

We hope you are getting some time off this summer to rest up for the fall where both Congress and the MA Legislature will return to their deliberations.There is NO SNAP Coalition meeting on the 4th Tuesday in August. The next Coalition meeting is Tuesday, September 26th from 10-11:30.

In a separate email, we will keep you posted on bill hearings at the State House the weeks of September 11th and 18th, as well as action steps to take with your Member of Congress during the August recess to protect and defend SNAP. 

Here’s some important SNAP policy updates:.

New arrivals to MA: DTA Guidance on protocol for closing SNAP and/or cash benefits in other states

Under federal and state rules, households can only receive SNAP or TANF (TAFDC in MA) cash benefits in one state at a time. However, many newly arriving families who have left former states (such as FL, TX, PA, NJ etc) have struggled to close their cases in the former state in order to receive SNAP or cash benefits in MA. Many newly arriving families are limited English proficient, cannot access the former state’s on-line portals and/or are very confused about how federal benefits like SNAP and TANF (called TAFDC in MA) operate between states. 

DTA recently issued guidance to help DTA workers ensure new arrivals can quickly close their benefits and open a MA case. This is also important information recently shared with the  refugee agencies and the newly created Welcoming Centers, but we want the SNAP Coalition members to know as well:  

  • For any new arrivals who were receiving SNAP or TANF cash benefits in their former state and need help closing their case:

    • For families who have not already tried to close their out-of state case, DTA workers are instructed to help the noncitizen fill out a “Request to Close Out of State Benefits” form. The family can also write a self-declaration with the information DTA needs. DTA will send this form to the Ombuds Office who will follow up with the former state.

  • For families who did try to close their out-of-state case - DTA will also give the family the DTA form to fill out, or accept a self-declaration. The DTA worker must also immediately try to reach the other state. If the worker does not get a response quickly they are instructed to contact the Ombuds for help. 

 

  • If the question of a household’s “residency” comes up, under federal SNAP rules, families or individuals who are homeless or who arrived recently in MA but don’t have proof of MA residency can self-declare their MA residency. 

 

  • Please let MLRI know if you see any problems with new arrivals or homeless families/individuals applying for DTA benefits. pbaker@mlri.org 

Summer P-EBT for K-12 kids: What to do if no benefits were issued on July 25

Hundreds of thousands of K-12 students were issued $120 each in Summer P-EBT on July 25th. Visit MAp-EBT.org to learn more and see who is eligible for Summer P-EBT. 

 

Eligible children were issued Summer P-EBT as long as they were on their school’s list of eligible students sent by the school to the Department of Early and Secondary Education (DESE). However, some schools didn’t send DESE their lists timely, or their lists were missing eligible students. 

 

Good news! There’s still time to get this fixed as long as schools send in their lists, or send in updated lists. For schools who get in lists by September 10, DTA will be issuing Summer P-EBT benefits for kids who were missed in the first round on September 25th. 

 

What you can do if a family says they did not get Summer P-EBT for their K-12 child: 

  • Find out if their school sent in their student list to DESE and if not, to do so this month!

  • If the school sent in the list, but there were missing students, the school can send an additional list of students missed.

  • Please let MLRI know if you have any issues or questions about families who didn’t get PEBT! Contact: vnegus@mlri.org 

DTA’s New Notice to Households about SNAP and Cash Approvals and Changes  

DTA has a new notice that goes out called a “Benefit Decision Notice” (BDN). This notice largely replaces what used to be called the “EBC notice.” The BDN tells households if they have been approved for benefits, if benefits are being recalculated, or if information is missing in a case. 

This BDN is a huge improvement in many ways! It uses more plain language and tries to be more clear with households about what is going on in their case and why.  Here is a sample redacted notice. 

Note that the BDN does not include the “benefits calculation page” that was included in the old DTA notices. We know the benefits calculation page provided concise information for helping agencies to figure out how DTA calculated the benefits, but that page was also very confusing for households. 

MLRI is doing a short webinar on Zoom on August 17 from 10-11 AM  to walk folks through the new notice, show how to use information in the notice to do a SNAP math check using our SNAP calculators, and how to troubleshoot issues/questions. Please click here to register. 

Please let us know what you are seeing with these notices, and what questions or issues you have!

Difficulties getting through DTA Assistance Line - tips for urgent issues

DTA shared at Coalition last week they have been seeing a high volume of calls to the statewide phone line - 877 382 2362. When a certain number of people are on hold, callers may be automatically disconnected from the phone line without getting into the phone line waiting queue. 

Here are recommendations on what to do if you or folks you are working with can’t get through the Assistance Line:

  • Does DTAConnect help solve the problem? For example, people can fill out a Recertification or Interim Report on their DTAConnect account. If the client needs to apply for SNAP, get in an application on DTAConnect.com (don’t delay on submitting!). See more on what DTAConnect can do here.  

  • For older adults age 60+:  Call the Senior Assistance Office and leave a voicemail if the wait times are too long. (833) 712-8027. Let us know if you or your client are either unable to leave a VM, or if your client doesn’t hear back within one business day! 

  • In-person help: For people with urgent issues who are able to do so, go to a local DTA office during business hours. 

  • The DTA Ombuds office: Call the Ombuds at  617-348-5354 and leave a voicemail. Note, the ombuds may also be backed up if the Assistance Line is hard to get through.

  • Document all attempted calls: If you or your client cannot get through to the DTA Assistance Line, we urge you to track the attempted calls.This could be important to show a delay was not the client’s fault. 

  • File an appeal asking for a hearing: People facing a SNAP termination or reduction who can’t reach a DTA worker for help can file an appeal if they disagree with DTA’s decision to stop or reduce their benefits. If an appeal request is filed before the date the termination or reduction goes into effect - unless they are at a Recertification point - their SNAP should continue until there is a fair hearing and the appeal is decided. Here is more information on filing an appeal. 

Please let us know what you and your clients are experiencing!