| SUBJECT: |
| ELIGIBLE/INELIGIBLE STUDENT DETERMINATION FOR FOOD STAMPS |
| DISCUSSION: |
Effective immediately, changes
are made in FAMIS to allow the entry of student eligibility information
for food stamp applicants or participants for prior months and future
months.
The changes are:
If an EU member is not enrolled in school, and therefore not a student, enter NE in the Status field on the Education/Student Information (FMAJ) screen. Do not enter anything in the Eligible Student field. This field is used only when the Status field entry is full time, half time, or part time. This is not a change in procedure, but is a clarification. Many EU members were coded as not enrolled, but had an “N” in the Eligible Student field. Prior to making this programming change, individuals did not fail with an incorrect code entered in the Eligible Student field. With the programming change mentioned above, the EU member will now fail due to this incorrect information being entered Code "D", does not apply, is created for the Eligible Student field to correct those situations where incorrect data has been entered. Use code "D" only when the information entered and committed in the Eligible Student and Effective Date fields is incorrect and no other code is appropriate. For example, the worker enters "N" in the Eligible Student field, the current date in the Effective Date field and commits the data for an EU member who is not currently enrolled and will not be enrolled during the certification period. Spacing out the existing information in the Eligible Student field will not remove the data. To correct the data,
System changes have been made to allow the entry of past and future dates for student eligibility on the Education/Student Information (FMAJ) screen. There is no system limitation on the number of months to go back to enter a past date. A future date may only be two months forward. Enter the first day of the month in which an eligibility determination is being completed. Make a student eligibility determination for up to two months in the future when it is known at the time of determining eligibility that an EU member will or will not be attending an institution of higher education and will or will not be an eligible student. When an application is left in the controlled flow and picked up in a month following the month of application, a prior date can be entered in the Effective Date field. Ensure that the student eligibility information entered is correct for each month an eligibility determination is being made. Entry of an Eligible Student code and a past or future date in the Effective Date field on the Education/Student Information (FMAJ) screen will create an eligibility determination based on when the EU member becomes an eligible or ineligible student as appropriate to the situation. When an EU member is not currently enrolled in an institution of higher education but will be enrolled within two months from the date of application, complete the Education/Student Information (FMAJ) screen as follows to obtain the correct eligibility determination:
It is necessary to both add and update student eligibility information when an applicant who is an eligible student at the time of application will become an ineligible student within two months from the date of application. Information on the Education/Student Information (FMAJ) screen can be both added and updated before continuing in the controlled flow. To both add and update student eligibility information, complete the following steps:
Updating Information At the next certification or next contact, review the data on the Education/Student Information (FMAJ) screen to determine if the information is correct. If a "Y", "D", or "E" is displayed in the Eligible Student field, and that data is not applicable to the current situation, it is necessary to correct that data and update the Eligible Student and Effective Date fields with the current student information to get the correct eligibility determination. When changing the Effective Date field, enter the first day of the month in which an eligibility determination is being completed. If the current date is used in the Effective Date field, the system uses the information available on the first day of the month and makes the eligibility determination based on that data. EXAMPLE: Ms. K is applying for food stamp benefits on December 8, 2003. She last applied for food stamps in January 2003 at which time she was an ineligible student and a "N" appears in the Eligible Student field. Ms. K is currently an eligible student. Ms. K's Eligible Student code is updated to "y" and Effective Date is updated to December 1, 2003. The system determines Ms. K eligible for benefits beginning in the month of December. If the worker had used December 8, 2003, in the Effective Date field for Ms. K, the system would have determined her ineligible in the month of December and eligible in the month of January. To view the history of an individual EU member's student eligibility/ineligibility, press F6=ELSTUDTL (eligible student detail) Active Individual Becomes Student In addition to updating the information on the Education/Student Information (FMAJ) screen when an active EU member becomes a student, also add the details. Go to the Education Detail (FMAI) screen and add education details. The Education/Student Information user guide will contain these changes. |
| NECESSARY ACTION: |
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