705-3 THE INTERVIEW
705-3 A. WHEN IS AN INTERVIEW REQUIRED?
Interviews are mandatory for all ATAP applicants. An interview is required at the time of initial application and once every 12 months thereafter.
Note:
An interview does not need to be completed if a household submits their recertification after the end of the certification period but within the following month and they are not due for their annual interview.
705-3 B. WHO MUST PARTICIPATE IN THE INTERVIEW?
A member of the applicant family who can sign the application form or an individual authorized by the family must participate in the interview.
705-3 C. WHO CAN CONDUCT THE INTERVIEW?
DPA Caseworker: Most individuals will be interviewed by a DPA caseworker in the DPA office or by telephone.
DPA Contracted Fee Agent: In communities where there is no DPA office, the fee agent conducts the interview for individuals who want to apply for public assistance. The fee agent will complete a Fee Agent Interview Report form (FA #1) and submit it with each application.
Native Family Assistance Program (NFAP): We will accept the NFAP interview, if one is conducted, and not require the individual to be interviewed again. If the NFAP interview notes are not provided with the application, the caseworker will obtain them from the NFAP agency.
Note:
Regardless of who conducts the interview, if additional information or verification is needed to process the application, the caseworker will contact the applicant to get this information.
705-3 D. HOW TO CONDUCT AN INTERVIEW
Interviews can be conducted face-to-face, by phone or, in rare circumstances when a face-to-face or phone interview is not possible, by correspondence.
The caseworker may require a face-to-face interview if they determine it is appropriate to the situation unless attending in person is a hardship to the household. A face-to-face interview must be provided when requested by the household.
705-3 E. SCHEDULING INTERVIEWS
Interviews must be scheduled for applicants who cannot be interviewed on the day they submit a physical or telephonic application. The interview must be scheduled timely to ensure eligible families have an opportunity to participate within 30 days after the application is filed. If an interview is held for other programs, but the ATAP interview must be scheduled later, the applicant must be clearly informed of the need to participate in another interview. The office must document the applicant was informed of their interview date and time by one of the following methods:
Applicants may have anyone they choose to be with them at the interview. During the interview, applicants must be informed of their rights and responsibilities and basic program procedures.
When the applicant fails to participate in a scheduled interview and does not reschedule, the application is denied. If the family contacts the office within 30 days of the application filing date, the office must schedule an interview. If the family is determined eligible, the original application is used and benefits start based on the date the application was filed.
Note:
If an application is registered in EIS as an ATAP request for service (RA), EIS will automatically deny the application. The denial action is done on or after the 30th day from the date the application was filed, depending on when the weekly denial job is run. The household is notified via the system-generated notice X010, "Failure to Participate in ATAP Interview".
705-3 F. CHANGES REPORTED DURING THE INTERVIEW
Applicant families must report all expected changes affecting their eligibility or benefits during the interview.
Changes reported after the interview, but before a case decision is made, will be considered in the initial eligibility determination.
With the exception of a newborn, when the family reports a new family member before a case decision is made, the new member is considered part of the family. The benefit start date is used to determine the benefits for the family, including the new member. ATAP benefits cannot be paid on behalf of a household member that has not been born. The date of birth is used to add newborns to an ATAP case when the birth date is reported before an initial determination has been made. Please see ATAP MS 790-6 A. when adding a household member to an existing case.
The individual must be in the home at least one day of the month to be included in that month. However, when the family reports prior to the eligibility determination that a person moved out, that person is not considered part of the family for any month.
Example:
A pregnant woman applies for ATAP on September 13th, her interview is scheduled for September 17th. During the interview she reports that her child was born on September 15th. The child is added to the ATAP household effective their date of birth on September 15th, because ATAP benefits cannot be paid for a household member that was not yet born.
Example:
A family applies May 27. During the interview on June 5, the individual reports her spouse moved in on May 30. The spouse is considered part of the family and the family's benefit start date is May 27. If the spouse moved in on June 3, the spouse is included in the family effective June 1.
Example:
A family applies on July 28th and is interviewed August 9th. During the interview, the individual reports that her husband moved out on August 4th and is not expected to return. The husband is not considered part of the family for either July or August, and verification of his income and resources are not needed. Income and resources available to the family must still be considered.
705-3 G. DO ANY DISQUALIFICATIONS OR PENALTIES APPLY?
A penalty or disqualification may have been imposed on the family during a prior period of assistance under ATAP or another state’s TANF program or a NFAP. The caseworker must determine if this penalty or disqualification should continue.
If the case has been closed less than 30 days, the caseworker should leave the penalties in place. If the case has been closed 30 days or more, the caseworker should end the work activity or FSSP penalty before the new application date.
A penalty from CSSD must continue until CSSD has notified DPA that the client is in compliance.
Note:
These types of non-compliance penalties do not carry over to ATAP from another state's TANF program or a NFAP.
Note:
A job quit disqualification imposed by another state’s TANF program or a NFAP does not carry over to ATAP. However, that does not prevent a disqualification from being imposed under ATAP if a job quit occurred within 60 days of the application, even if the individual was receiving benefits under a TANF or NFAP program at the time and/or a job disqualification was imposed by the other program.
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