Federal Government Shutdown 2019 Questions and Answers re: SNAP/MFIP food portion - Economic Assistance and Employment Supports Division
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Economic Assistance and Employment Supports Division
Federal Government Shutdown 2019 Questions and
Answers re: SNAP/MFIP food portion
Federal Government Shutdown 2019 Questions and Answers Version 11 – 02/27/19 1Contents Processing Deadlines and Issuance Timelines........................................................................................................3 Processing Policies and Procedures .......................................................................................................................5 Cash Assistance ................................................................................................................................................... 10 MAXIS .................................................................................................................................................................. 12 Applications ......................................................................................................................................................... 13 EBT....................................................................................................................................................................... 15 What if the Shutdown Ends?............................................................................................................................... 15 External Communications ................................................................................................................................... 16 Recorded Meeting Links ...................................................................................................................................... 17 Sample Notice Being sent to Participants Regarding Early Issuance of February SNAP Benefits ....................... 18 Note: Questions and answers that have been added/updated to the 02/27/19 version of this document are highlighted in yellow and labeled (new) or (updated). Federal Government Shutdown 2019 Questions and Answers Version 11 – 02/27/19 2
Processing Deadlines and Issuance Timelines
1. Question: When do ongoing SNAP and MFIP cases with the food portion, need to be processed for
February benefits?
Answer: Ongoing cases need to have their benefits processed and approved by the end of the business
day on Jan. 15.
2. Question: What does the end of the business day on Jan. 15 mean? Some agencies are open later than others.
Answer: The end of the business day means until the time MAXIS is down for the day. Please check the
TSS Production Calendar located on SIR for updates to when MAXIS will be available on Jan. 15.
3. Question: What happens to cases processed after Jan. 15?
Answer: For ongoing cases that have re-certifications, six-month reviews or household report forms due
for February benefits, and are approved after Jan. 15, USDA has indicated that benefits will be available.
For these cases benefits will be issued via staggered issuance in February.
Please see the application section of this Q&A document for what happens to applications received and
approved after Jan. 15.
4. Question: Is processing cases after Jan. 15 by Jan. 29 still a deadline or has that changed with the most
recent updates from USDA?
Answer: Based on the information we have today from USDA, there is no longer the deadline to process
February cases by Jan. 29. All cases approved, even into February, will receive February food benefits.
5. Question: When will participants receive their March food benefits?
Answer: Participants will receive their March benefits via an adjusted early staggered issuance. This
will help reduce the amount of time SNAP households have to wait between receiving February
benefits, which were issued early, and March benefits. March benefits will be issued as follows:
• Cases ending in the numbers 4, 5 and 6 will receive their food benefits on March 4.
• Cases ending in the numbers 7, 8 and 9 will receive their food benefits on March 5.
• Cases ending in the numbers 0, 1, 2 and 3 will receive their food benefits on March 6.
6. Question: Are Hennepin County SSI cases that receive a cash out for their food benefits impacted by
the reduced March staggered issuance?
Answer: The Hennepin County cash outs for direct deposits and warrants will run as normal.
Direct deposits will be available on March 4. Warrants will be processed and dated Feb. 28. They
will be printed and mailed on March 1. However, clients that receive the cash out on their EBT
cards will receive their March benefits following the adjusted early staggered issuance for March
that is listed above.
7. Question: cases that auto-closed at the end of Feb. for not receiving a Combined Six-Month Review
(CSR) or because a recertification or CSR was incomplete for March benefits and the case is reinstated
in March, when will March benefits be available?
Answer: For these cases March benefits will be available the next business day after the case is
reinstated and approved, including the Hennepin County SSI clients that receive a cash out on their EBT
cards. For Hennepin County SSI cases with a cash out, warrants will be printed and mailed the next
business day. Direct deposits will be available in two business days after the date of approval.
Federal Government Shutdown 2019 Questions and Answers Version 11 – 02/27/19 3Federal Government Shutdown 2019 Questions and Answers Version 11 – 02/27/19 4
Processing Policies and Procedures
1. Question: Can interviews be waived for new applications and recertifications to process them faster?
Answer: No. Interviews still need to be completed to process new applications and recertifications.
2. Question: Are we changing any policies or procedures to process applications, recertifications,
household report forms or six-month reviews faster such as waiving verifications or allowing more client
attestation as verification?
Answer: No. The policies and procedures for processing applications, recertifications, household report
forms and six-month reviews that were in place prior to the federal government shutdown have not
changed.
3. Question: Do we need to manually close cases if we do not receive their recertification, six-month
review or household report form until after Jan. 15 since auto-close will not have happened?
Answer: The cases will auto-close on Jan. 31. You do not need to manually close cases that do not
provide their recertification, household report form or six-month review.
4. Question: Are open cases not going to receive SNAP benefits for February via staggered issuance?
Answer: Staggered issuance will not occur for February benefits on any cases approved by the early
issuance deadline of Jan 15. These cases received their benefits for February on Jan. 19. For approvals
done after Jan. 15, benefits will be issued via staggered issuance in February.
5. Question: How do we process cases that have verifications due after Jan. 15, but do not return them?
Do we still close the case allowing for proper 10-day notice even though the participant already
received benefits? Would that be an overpayment?
Answer: Ongoing cases that you are processing changes for that have verifications due after Jan. 15
were submitted to the EBT vendor for early issuance, and benefits will be available to these households
on Jan. 19. If you receive verifications after Jan. 15, continue to process the case following current
policies and procedures.
EXCEPTION: The following actions cannot be completed on cases where cash and SNAP issuance
statuses are pending:
• Negative actions-if an attempt to approve a case where issuance is pending occurs, the following
online edit will appear: approval of a negative action in a future month is not allowed, issuance
has occurred. Due to this issue workers should not attempt to take a negative action on any cash
or food cases that were processed Jan. 15 for early issuance. Even though 10 day notice was not
until Friday, Jan. 18, with the early issuance jobs running, 10 day notice had to be moved up three
days for cash and food cases that were processed on Jan. 15. Please keep track of cases with
negative actions that could not be approved for Feb. in order to process the negative action in the
future month of March. DHS will provide further instructions on SIR in regards to overpayments
for SNAP cases where a negative action could not be approved due to early issuance. For
overpayment information for cash cases, please see the Cash Assistance section of this document.
Federal Government Shutdown 2019 Questions and Answers Version 11 – 02/27/19 5• Cancellations-if an attempt to cancel a pending cash or SNAP issuance is made, the following
online edit will appear:
Transaction is pending. Cannot cancel.
• Replacements-if an attempt to replace a benefit on a pending cash or SNAP issuance is made, the
following online edit will appear:
Replacement not allowed when transaction is pending or denied.
6. Question: DHS received a question from a retailer about when SNAP benefits will be issued for February
so stores can better prepare for this.
Answer: For cases that are processed by the end of the business day on Jan. 15, benefits were issued on
Jan. 19. Approvals done after Jan. 15 will have benefits available via staggered issuance in February.
7. Question: Did DHS ask USDA to waive the interview requirements for applications and recertifications
so they can be processed faster at this time?
Answer: DHS did ask for waivers from USDA, however, none are available at this time.
8. Question: Are commodities impacted by the federal government shutdown as well?
Answer: Minnesota receives USDA commodity food through several programs. DHS administers The
Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), which provides food and funds to the statewide network
of food banks, food shelves, and meal programs. USDA has stated that TEFAP food deliveries planned
for February will continue. States have received no additional administrative funds since the shutdown
began, and none can be made available until the shutdown ends. USDA has not provided information
about March, should the shutdown continue. Contact Katie Dempsey, 651-201-4422 or
katie.dempsey@state.mn.us, at the Minnesota Department of Health for information about the
Commodities Supplemental Food Program (CSFP). In addition, the Food Distribution Program on Indian
Reservations (FDPIR) (AKA commodities) is also impacted by the partial federal government shutdown.
The FDPIR program is a Federal program through the United States Department of Agriculture and
administered by Tribal Nations. Each Tribal Nation is impacted differently. See the answer to the
question below for more information about FDPIR.
9. Question: Under the assumption commodities are purchased and stored for future issuance, is there
any strategy in place to purchase, store, and issue commodities as an alternate to SNAP/WIC should the
shutdown outlast February issuance?
Answer: As noted in the answer to the question above, Minnesota receives USDA commodity food
through several programs. DHS administers The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), which
provides food and funds to the statewide network of food banks, food shelves, and meal programs.
USDA has stated that TEFAP food deliveries planned for February will continue. States have received no
additional administrative funds since the shutdown began, and none can be made available until the
shutdown ends. As of today, USDA has not provided information about March, should the shutdown
continue. Also, as noted previously, the Food Distribution on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) (AKA
commodities) is administered by the Tribal Nations. Each Tribal Nation who administers FDPIR is
responsible for storing the food and distributing the food. Since each Tribal Nation is responsible for
Federal Government Shutdown 2019 Questions and Answers Version 11 – 02/27/19 6storing and distributing the food their process may be different and impacted by the shutdown
differently. We therefore do not know if there is additional food allotted for individuals who may
potentially not receive SNAP benefits due to the shutdown. If you need any information about a
particular Tribal Nation, a listing of Tribal contacts who administer FDPIR in Minnesota is available on
the FNS website (https://www.fns.usda.gov/fdpir/fdpir-contacts).
10. Question: Will we be able to reinstate benefits for February if needed verifications come in?
Answer: Incomplete/unapproved re-certifications, six-month reviews, household report forms with
mandatory verifications due can still be updated/processed if you receive the verifications. Since the
case won’t auto-close until Jan. 31, reinstatement isn’t necessary, unless you receive the mandatory
verifications after this date. Ongoing cases that you are processing changes for that have verifications
due after Jan. 15 were submitted to the EBT vendor for early issuance, and benefits will be available to
these households on Jan. 19. If you receive verifications after Jan. 15, continue to process the case
following current policies and procedures.
EXCEPTION: The following actions cannot be completed on cases where cash and SNAP issuance
statuses are pending:
• Negative actions-if an attempt to approve a case where issuance is pending occurs, the following
online edit will appear: approval of a negative action in a future month is not allowed, issuance
has occurred. Due to this issue workers should not attempt to take a negative action on any cash
or food cases that were processed Jan. 15 for early issuance. Even though 10 day notice was not
until Friday, Jan. 18, with the early issuance jobs running, 10 day notice had to be moved up three
days for cash and food cases that were processed on Jan. 15. Please keep track of cases with
negative actions that could not be approved for Feb. in order to process the negative action in the
future month of March. DHS will provide further instructions on SIR in regards to overpayments
for SNAP cases where a negative action could not be approved due to early issuance. For
overpayment information for cash cases, please see the Cash Assistance section of this document.
• Cancellations-if an attempt to cancel a pending cash or SNAP issuance is made, the following
online edit will appear:
Transaction is pending. Cannot cancel.
• Replacements-if an attempt to replace a benefit on a pending cash or SNAP issuance is made, the
following online edit will appear:
Replacement not allowed when transaction is pending or denied.
11. Question: If the federal government continues will all SNAP cases have no issuance for March, 2019 and
ongoing?
Answer: USDA has informed us that March benefits will be available.
12. Question: Will open and ongoing cases processed after Jan. 15 have pro-rated benefits for February?
Answer: No. Cases processed after Jan. 15 will not have pro-rated benefits.
Federal Government Shutdown 2019 Questions and Answers Version 11 – 02/27/19 713. Question: For Hennepin County SSI cases that receive a cash out for their food benefits and receive a
warrant, the warrant stub states to not cash the warrant until the first of the month, which in this case
would be Feb. 1. Can clients that receive these warrants cash them before Feb. 1?
Answer: Yes, the warrants can be cashed before Feb. 1. DHS was unable to change the “do not cash
before 2/1/19” text on the check stubs with the early issuance. However, the actual check itself does
not include the “do not cash before 2/1/19” text.
14. Question: If additional benefits are due (for an MFIP or a SNAP case) to the client can we approve once
this is discovered or do we take no action on these changes until the March approval? For example, an
MFIP case was approved for February issuance with child support income from Nov. When child support
income from Dec. is entered in the February budget the MFIP benefit results in an increase as the child
support was less in Dec. Another example is a SNAP case where stop work was just verified today. Can
we adjust SNAP for February?
Answer: For cases that have changes after the early issuance deadline of Jan. 15 that increase benefits,
approve the supplement following current policies and procedures. The supplement will be issued via
nightly issuance. A report titled “Supplement Approvals Feb 2019” has been posted on the MAXIS SIR
page, under MAXIS County Action Reports. This report lists the case number, county, and user ID for
cases with February supplements due that were approved prior to Feb. 5. MAXIS workers should locate
their cases on this report, create new eligibility results, review them very carefully, and approve. There
may be instances where a worker can't re-approve the February supplemental version. In these cases,
please submit a MAXIS BENE Request form located on the MAXIS SIR page. BENE staff will issue benefits
for these cases.
15. Question: How do we process cases that have sanctions for February? Should we send the client a letter
prior to Jan. 18 (10-day cutoff) that their grant will be sanctioned for February? If the shutdown ends
could we then approve those cases with the sanction since they would have been notified of the
sanction? Would there be a possible overpayment if the case has already been approved with the early
issuance deadline of Jan. 15?
Answer: For all programs a sanction cannot be imposed for Feb. on the cases that were sent to the EBT
file on Jan. 15, even if the federal government shutdown ends. A letter can be sent to the client,
however, a sanction cannot be imposed until March. Please write a DAIL/TIKL to follow up and impose
the sanction in Mar. when this processing month becomes available in Feb. Workers should work with
the household to assist with resolving the pending sanction. DHS is working on further guidance for
SNAP cases that have changes that would result in an adverse action, including a sanction, from Jan. 15
through Jan. 18 (10-day cutoff) but were already sent to the EBT file on Jan. 15 for early issuance. Please
see the Cash Assistance section of this document for information on how to process adverse actions,
including sanctions, for cash cases that were sent to the EBT file on Jan. 15 for early issuance.
16. Question: Can we tell participants to specifically try and turn in documents no later than Jan. 15?
Should we add a WCOM to approval notices?
Answer:
a) Clients should be encouraged to turn in verifications as soon as possible. Eligibility workers must
assist clients to obtain verifications. Do not shorten the verification request period. Please follow
the current policies and procedures when processing new applications, ongoing cases and
Federal Government Shutdown 2019 Questions and Answers Version 11 – 02/27/19 8recertifications where you need mandatory verifications. For ongoing SNAP cases that you are
processing changes for with verifications after Jan. 15, these cases were submitted to the EBT
vendor for early issuance. If you receive verifications after Jan. 15, continue to process the case
following current policies and procedures.
EXCEPTION: The following actions cannot be completed on cases where cash and SNAP issuance
statuses are pending:
• Negative actions-if an attempt to approve a case where issuance is pending occurs, the
following online edit will appear: approval of a negative action in a future month is not
allowed, issuance has occurred. Due to this issue workers should not attempt to take a
negative action on any cash or food cases that were processed Jan. 15 for early issuance. Even
though 10 day notice was not until Friday, Jan. 18, with the early issuance jobs running, 10 day
notice had to be moved up three days for cash and food cases that were processed on Jan. 15.
Please keep track of cases with negative actions that could not be approved for February in
order to process the negative action in the future month of March. Do not assess for
overpayments for SNAP cases where a negative action could not be approved due to early
issuance. For overpayment information for cash cases, please see the Cash Assistance section
of this document.
• Cancellations-if an attempt to cancel a pending cash or SNAP issuance is made, the following
online edit will appear:
Transaction is pending. Cannot cancel.
• Replacements-if an attempt to replace a benefit on a pending cash or SNAP issuance is made,
the following online edit will appear:
Replacement not allowed when transaction is pending or denied.
b) At this time, there is no need to use a Worker Comment (WCOM) for SNAP approval notices.
17. Question: In February what should we do with six-month reviews, recertifications and household report
forms due for March?
Answer: Continue to process six-month reviews, recertifications and household report forms due for
March benefits following current policies and procedures. We will provide updates about March
benefits when we receive more information from USDA.
18. Question: If a participant received their February SNAP benefits early in January, can they also receive
the Food Distribution on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) (AKA commodities) in February?
Answer: No. Even though there may have been SNAP benefits issued early in January. due to the partial
federal government shutdown, these are considered February SNAP benefits and are intended to cover
February food needs. Per policy, households may not participate in SNAP and the FDPIR program in the
same month.
Federal Government Shutdown 2019 Questions and Answers Version 11 – 02/27/19 919. Question: Are subsidized school lunches affected by the federal government shut down as well?
Answer: This program is administered by the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE). The email
address for MDE is mde.fns@state.mn.us.
20. Question (updated): Do you have any detail or information from the federal government, or guidance
from DHS, or both, on what kinds of additional costs to counties and tribes (example: overtime) we can
submit for reimbursement from the federal government? Do you have any guidance on what the
procedure would be for submitting expenses for reimbursement?
Answer: DHS is aware that there are concerns from counties and tribes regarding reimbursement for
shutdown related overtime work. DHS is requesting additional information from USDA and exploring
any options that may exist. There is not a policy on federal shutdowns and SNAP related overtime work.
Counties and tribes should continue to submit reimbursement requests for January, February, and
March 2019 following the current policy and procedures.
In addition, counties, please continue to follow current policies on the time study as referenced in the
Income Maintenance Random Moment Study (IMRMS) bulletins. Staff paid from the Income
Maintenance Fund and in a job classification such as financial assistance specialist, financial worker case
aid and child care worker must be participants in the time study. Staff salary and benefits for these
positions cannot be directly charged to a specific program as these employees are mandated to
participate in the time study and their related expenditures must be reported in Section A of the DHS-
2550 cost report. (Bulletin 17-32-03, Attachment A, Page 1, Time Study Participation Overview; and
Bulletin 17-32-04, Attachment B, Page 1, Direct charging of salaries and benefits on the Income
Maintenance Cost Report):
Bulletin 17-32-03
Bulletin 17-32-04
Tribes participating in the Eligibility Worker Tribal Time Study (EWTTS) should complete their quarter 1
2019 cost report following current policies and procedures. Tribes can reach out to Molly Klismith, Time
Studies & Rates Unit Supervisor, for specific cost report questions: molly.klismith@state.mn.us .
Cash Assistance
1. Question: How do we process cash cases that have changes that result in adverse actions (i.e., decrease
in benefits, sanctions, closures) from Jan. 16 through Jan. 18 (10-day cutoff)?
Answer: For ongoing cash cases that did not have a household report form or recertification due for February
and have a change that results in an adverse action, these adverse actions cannot be imposed for
February since the case was sent to the EBT file on Jan. 15 for early issuance. For these cases, write a
DAIL/TIKL to process the adverse action in February for the next available month (March in this case).
For cases that have a household report form due or a recertification that are received after Jan. 15,
process the household report form or recertification and approve the negative action for February.
2. Question: Are there overpayments if we are unable to process adverse actions for February because
the case was already approved with early issuance?
Federal Government Shutdown 2019 Questions and Answers Version 11 – 02/27/19 10Answer: Due to the partial government shutdown, DHS provided instructions to approve February cash
benefits by Jan. 15. If a February cash approval results in an overpayment due to the early approval of
benefits do not assess for overpayments.
Exception for some RCA cases: Assess for February 2019 overpayments if it is a participant’s ninth
month or the client is active on SSI and the February SSI amount is not reduced to reflect the RCA grant.
3. Question: How do we process cash cases that have sanctions for February? Should we send the client a
letter prior to Jan. 18 (10-day cutoff) that their grant will be sanctioned for February? If the shutdown
ends could we then approve those cases with a sanction since they would have been notified of the
sanction? Would there be a possible overpayment if the case has already been approved with the early
issuance deadline of Jan. 15?
Answer: Sanctions are an adverse action and cannot be imposed for the month of February for cash
cases sent to the EBT file on Jan. 15 for early issuance. Sanction notices can be mailed to clients,
however, sanctions cannot be imposed until March. Write a DAIL/TIKL to impose the sanction in March
when this processing month becomes available in February. Staff should assist clients in resolving the
sanction prior to March. Do not assess overpayments for cash approvals that have sanctions from Jan.
16 through Jan. 18 but were already sent to the EBT file on Jan. 15 for early issuance.
4. Question: If a client contacts the agency to close MFIP for February because they are nearing their 60
month time limit and the case has issuance pending due to it being sent to the EBT file on Jan. 15, is
there a way to still close the case?
Answer: At this time any case that has issuance pending due to being sent to the EBT file on Jan. 15 will
not be able to be closed for February for any reason, including a client requesting closure. The case can
be closed for March when this processing month becomes available in February.
5. Question: If a client has a change after Jan. 15 that results in an increase in cash benefits, how do we
process the case?
Answer: For changes to a cash case that occur after Jan. 15 that result in an increase in benefits, update
the case and approve the change following current policies and procedures. The supplement will be
issued via nightly issuance. A report titled “Supplement Approvals Feb 2019” has been posted on the
MAXIS SIR page, under MAXIS County Action Reports. This report lists the case number, county, and
user ID for cases with February supplements due that were approved prior to Feb. 5. MAXIS workers
should locate their cases on this report, create new eligibility results, review them very carefully, and
approve. There may be instances where a worker can't re-approve the February supplemental version.
In these cases, please submit a MAXIS BENE Request form located on the MAXIS SIR page. BENE staff
will issue benefits for these cases.
6. Question: GA case began monthly reporting due to starting a new job, and was being manually
tracked (not on REPT/MONT). A Household Report Form (HRF) was supposed to be due for February
benefits, and under normal circumstances, would have been approved with a decrease in the GA
grant for February. However, because the manual HRF was not received and processed prior to Jan.
15, we were unable to decrease the GA grant for Feb. Should we assess for an overpayment for Feb.
benefits in this situation?
Answer: Do not assess for an overpayment for Feb. benefits. The timing of processing this case was
affected by the shortened processing timeline for Feb. benefits. Any overpayment that occurred
could not have been avoided by either party for this reason. Please ensure the case is subject to
household reporting requirements for March benefits.
Federal Government Shutdown 2019 Questions and Answers Version 11 – 02/27/19 117. Question: When will MFIP cases receive their benefits for March?
Answer: MFIP cases will receive their March cash benefits following the normal time frames. March
MFIP food benefits will be issued via an adjusted early staggered issuance. This will help reduce the
amount of time households have to wait between receiving February food benefits, which were
issued early, and March food benefits. March food benefits will be issued as follows:
• Cases ending in the numbers 4, 5 and 6 will receive their food benefits on March 4.
• Cases ending in the numbers 7, 8 and 9 will receive their food benefits on March 5.
• Cases ending in the numbers 0, 1, 2 and 3 will receive their food benefits on March 6.
8. Question: For MFIP cases that auto-closed at the end of Feb. for not providing a Household Report Form
(HRF) or because the HRF was incomplete for March benefits and the case is reinstated and approved
in March, when will March food benefits be available?
Answer: March food benefits will be available the next business day for these cases.
MAXIS
1. Question: Will MAXIS be available the weekend of Jan. 19 for overtime to meet the Jan. 29 deadline?
Answer: MAXIS will have some availability the weekend of Jan. 19. Please check the TSS Production
Calendar located on SIR for updates to when MAXIS will be available on Jan. 19.
2. Question: Can MAXIS handle this increase of usage?
Answer: Our technical team at DHS is working hard to ensure MAXIS can handle the increased
processing demand.
3. Question: Will a notice be sent to those that did not turn in or have their recertification, six-month
review, or household report form by Jan. 15?
Answer: Autoclose notices will be sent to those cases that have not had a recertification, six-month
review or household report form processed by the end of the business day on Jan. 15.
Federal Government Shutdown 2019 Questions and Answers Version 11 – 02/27/19 12Applications
1. Question: How does the federal government shutdown impact new applications for SNAP received
after Jan. 15?
Answer:
• Applications received prior to or on Jan. 15 and approved by Jan. 15. – Benefits for January.
were issued the day after approval or the same day if REI issuance was approved. February
benefits were issued on Jan. 19.
• Applications received prior to or on Jan. 15, but approved after Jan. 15. - Benefits for January.
will be issued the day after approval or the same day if REI issuance is approved. February
benefits will be issued in February via staggered issuance.
• Applications received and approved after Jan. 15 - Benefits for January and February will be
issued at the same time.
2. Question: For all applications approved after Jan. 15 will benefits be available on the participant’s EBT
card at 10 a.m. the following day or the same day if REI issuance is approved?
Answer: Yes. Daily and REI processes should run as usual.
3. Question: How does the federal government shutdown impact new applications for MFIP and DWP
received after Jan. 15?
Answer: MFIP and DWP applications are not impacted by the federal shutdown. Benefits will continue
to be received ongoing. However, the following applies to new MFIP applications:
• MFIP applications received prior to or on Jan. 15 and approved by Jan. 15. – Cash and food
benefits for January. were issued the day after approval or the same day if REI issuance is
approved. February cash benefits will be issued following regular cash issuance timeframes.
February food benefits were issued Jan. 19.
• MFIP applications received prior to or after Jan. 15 and approved after Jan. 15. – Cash and food
benefits for January. will be issued the day after approval or the same day if REI issuance is
approved. Cash benefits for February will be issued following regular cash issuance timeframes.
February food benefits will be issued in February via staggered issuance.
4. Question: Does the federal government shutdown impact GA or MSA benefits?
Answer: No. These benefits will still be available to participants that are eligible for the programs on the
same day they normally receive these benefits.
5. Question: For expedited SNAP applications received after Jan. 15, will they not be eligible for SNAP
benefits until the shutdown ends?
Answer: Based on information we have today from USDA, any approvals done after Jan. 15 will have
benefits available. For applications received and approved after Jan. 15, benefits for January. and
February should be issued at the same time.
Federal Government Shutdown 2019 Questions and Answers Version 11 – 02/27/19 136. Question: For federal employees that are not currently working or working without pay that apply for
SNAP, how do we treat this income? Do we still budget it or not count it since they cannot reasonably
anticipate to receive it at this time?
Answer: Treat SNAP applications from furloughed employees or federal employees working without pay
as you would any other application, using the best information available at the time of approval. Clients
will then need to follow SNAP reporting requirements to determine when they need to report any
income changes.
7. Question: Will it be a priority to send ApplyMN applications to counties and tribes to process as soon as possible?
Answer: ApplyMN applications are immediately routed to counties/tribes once an applicant submits it
online so there should not be any needed changes in the current process.
8. Question: If we have a pending SNAP case with non-mandatory verifications due after Jan. 15 should
we be allowing the full 10 days for the client to provide the verification before approving the application
or should we approve by Jan. 15 to meet the early issuance deadline?
Answer: Based on the information we have today from USDA, applications approved after Jan. 15
should have benefits available. Follow current policies and procedures for processing applications
where proof of non-mandatory verifications are needed.
9. Question: We have an expedited SNAP application from a client who moved to Minnesota that received
benefits in another state for the month of January, 2019. We have contacted that state and are waiting
for confirmation that they are closing SNAP there effective Feb. 1, 2019, before approving our case. By
policy, we are directed to email BENE, after approving, to request next month’s benefits be issued on
the first of the month (in this case Feb. 1) in order to meet Expedited issuance requirements. How do
we handle issuance to this household if the other State confirms they are closing for February? Do we
follow the same policy regarding BENE? When will the client receive benefits?
Answer: Process the case approving SNAP benefits to be issued once you receive confirmation from the
other state that the SNAP case in that state is closing for Feb. 1. Follow the same procedure for BENE by
emailing them after approval. In this case BENE staff will cancel the staggered issuance and issue the
February benefits on Feb. 1.
10. Question: Will new SNAP applications that we approve after Feb. 1 be issued?
Answer: Based on the information we have today from USDA, applications received and/or approved in
February will receive February benefits.
11. Question: How are applications received in Feb. impacted by the reduced staggered issuance time
frames for March?
Answer: Applications received and approved in Feb. will follow the normal issuance timeframes.
This includes expedited SNAP applications. Participants that have applications approved in Feb. and
are eligible for staggered issuance food benefits for March will receive their March food benefits
following these timeframes:
• Cases ending in the numbers 4, 5 and 6 will receive their food benefits on March 4.
• Cases ending in the numbers 7, 8 and 9 will receive their food benefits on March 5.
• Cases ending in the numbers 0, 1, 2 and 3 will receive their food benefits on March 6.
Federal Government Shutdown 2019 Questions and Answers Version 11 – 02/27/19 14EBT
1. Question: Can clients use prior EBT benefits (e.g., November, December, etc.) in February?
Answer: Yes. Clients will be able to use their prior EBT benefits in February. However, some stores have
been unable to be reauthorized by the USDA at this time so they can no longer accept SNAP. If a client’s
EBT card is not working at that store but they have benefits on the card, they should try another store.
The Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) Website has a retail locator
(https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/retailerlocator) website that can be used to locate other stores that
may potentially be able to accept SNAP.
2. Question: Can counties and tribes still issue new EBT cards?
Answer: Yes. Counties and tribes can continue to issue new EBT cards.
3. Question: Will participants be able to request a new EBT card if theirs is lost, damaged or stolen? Is EBT
impacted by the federal government shutdown?
Answer: At this time, clients can still receive new EBT cards if their card is lost or stolen. Clients can
continue to use their EBT cards if they have existing benefits available.
What if the Shutdown Ends?
1. Question: Now that the federal government has reopened for three weeks, what do we tell the public
about SNAP?
Answer: You can let participants know that most households received Feb. SNAP and MFIP food
benefits in mid-Jan. Households who did not receive their Feb. food benefits early, will receive them
using staggered issuance in Feb. The USDA confirmed it will provide full funding of SNAP and MFIP
food benefits through March 2019. Agencies can continue to process cases for March as usual.
However, March benefits will be issued via an adjusted early staggered issuance. This will help reduce
the amount of time SNAP households have to wait between receiving February benefits, which were
issued early, and March benefits. March benefits will be issued as follows:
• Cases ending in the numbers 4, 5 and 6 will receive their food benefits on March 4.
• Cases ending in the numbers 7, 8 and 9 will receive their food benefits on March 5.
• Cases ending in the numbers 0, 1, 2 and 3 will receive their food benefits on March 6.
You can also direct people to the DHS Public Website (https://mn.gov/dhs/) and FNS’ website:
(https://fns-prod.azureedge.net/sites/default/files/snap/SNAPFacts1-29-19.pdf) for additional
updates.
Federal Government Shutdown 2019 Questions and Answers Version 11 – 02/27/19 15External Communications
1. Question: What communications are being provided to the general public from the state level? Will
there be a press release?
Answer: DHS will update their public facing website (https://mn.gov/dhs/) with updates as we receive them.
On Jan. 17, a press release (https://content.govdelivvery.com/accounts/MNDHS/bulletins/228dd95)
was published with updates about the federal shutdown.
2. Question: What community partners will you be reaching out to on Jan. 14?
Answer: DHS has reached out to community stakeholders to share updates on SNAP and the shutdown.
A recorded webinar is being sent to community based organizations. The webinar will be shared with
community partners who connect with SNAP recipients and represent broad networks such as program
outreach, food shelves, homeless shelters, public health, community action agencies, and culturally
specific service providers to help spread the word.
3. Question: What communication has been given directly to benefit recipients?
Answer: All SNAP and MFIP Recipients will receive a notice that their SNAP and MFIP food portion
benefits for February may be received early on Jan. 19. This was not sent through MAXIS. DHS worked
with the Issuance Operations Center to send the letter the week of Jan. 15. A sample of the letter being
sent to participants is located on the last page of this document.
4. Question: What is the messaging for persons seeking SNAP assistance after the Jan. 15 processing
deadline? Is there any message for how to process new applications should the shutdown continue into
February and beyond?
Answer: USDA has instructed states to continue to process new applications received after the Jan.
15 deadline following current policies and procedures. Please do not tell people they cannot apply for
SNAP due to the federal government shutdown. As of today we have received notification from USDA
that funds should be available for new applications received and approved after Jan. 15.
5. Question: What should we tell local newspapers about the federal government shutdown and its impact on
food benefits? Can we give them a copy of the Federal Government Question and Answers document on SIR?
Answer: Please do not give newspapers the Questions and Answers document on SIR as this is intended
for county and tribal eligibility staff. Please refer newspapers to DHS’ Public Website
(https://mn.gov/dhs/) for information and updates on the federal government shutdown. The
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Fact Sheet (DHS-5738) and the Food and Nutrition
website (https://mn.gov/dhs/people-we-serve/adults/economic-assistance/food-nutrition/) can also be
provided as helpful background information about food benefit programs in Minnesota.
6. Question (New): Will there be a special letter sent to SNAP and MFIP participants regarding the
adjusted, early staggered issuance of March food benefits?
Answer: No, a special letter will not be sent to participants regarding the adjusted early staggered
issuance of food benefits. However, this information is posted on public FAQ document on DHS’ public
website. It is also posted on DHS’ Facebook site.
Federal Government Shutdown 2019 Questions and Answers Version 11 – 02/27/19 16Recorded Meeting Links If you missed the webinar meeting on Jan. 11 with DHS links to the recorded video are below. http://stream5.video.state.mn.us:8080/MNIT/01-11-19-maxis-mentor-mtg.html OR http://stream5.video.mn.gov/MNIT/01-11-19-maxis-mentor-mtg.html Federal Government Shutdown 2019 Questions and Answers Version 11 – 02/27/19 17
Sample Notice Being sent to Participants Regarding Early Issuance of February SNAP Benefits Notice to SNAP Participants about Early February SNAP Benefits Due to the federal government shutdown, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps) benefits for February 2019 will be issued earlier than usual. If you are a current SNAP or Minnesota Family Investment Program participant, expect to receive your February SNAP or MFIP food benefits in mid- to late January. These early benefits are for the entire month of February. You will not receive additional SNAP benefits in February so plan your food budget to last through February. For MFIP participants, your cash issuance date stays the same. It is important to turn in any paperwork that is due to your local county or tribal government office as soon as possible so February benefits can be issued early. Grocery stores, convenience stores, farmers markets and other authorized SNAP retailers are still able to accept SNAP benefits. New SNAP applications are still being accepted at local county and tribal government offices. The Minnesota Department of Human Services, together with our partners, is committed to sending SNAP benefits to you for February. If you have questions about your SNAP case, contact your local human services office. If you need food help, contact the Minnesota Food HelpLine, 1-888-711-1151 or www.mnfoodhelpline.org, or visit the department’s website, https://mn.gov/dhs/. We will provide updated information on this helpline and these websites as soon as we have it. Please check regularly. Federal Government Shutdown 2019 Questions and Answers Version 11 – 02/27/19 18
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