Revision 05-4; Effective August 1, 2005
B—621 What to Report
Revision 19-2; Effective April 1, 2019
All Programs
The advisor must inform all households of their responsibility to report changes in residence.
TANF and SNAP except SNAP Streamlined Reporting (SR) Households
The advisor must inform all households of their responsibility to report the following changes:
- source of income;*
- household composition;
- ownership of a licensed vehicle; and
- wage rate or status (full-time to part-time or vice versa as defined by the employer) for employed household members.*
* SR households must report any change that causes the ongoing income to exceed the 130 percent federal poverty income limit (FPIL) including a new household member.
TANF
The advisor must inform all households of their responsibility to report the following changes:
- the amount of non-exempt unearned income of any household member;
- circumstances other than employment that affect a person's amount of benefits or employment services exemption status;
- address, job, or other information related to the absent parent; and
- available cash, stocks, bonds, or money in a bank or savings account if the total is over $1,000.
SNAP
Streamlined Reporting 1 households meet the SR criteria described in A-2350, Streamlined Reporting Households, and have income below 130 percent FPIL. These households are required to report:
- residence and associated changes in shelter cost such as rent or mortgage and utilities;
- when the ongoing gross monthly income exceeds 130 percent FPIL for the household's size. Consider the income ongoing if it exceeds 130 percent FPIL for two consecutive months. Example: A new household member who is required to be included in the SNAP Eligibility Determination Group (EDG) moves into an SR household and the new member has income that causes the household's income to exceed the current 130 percent FPIL. The household must report the change. The advisor must issue a new Form TF0001, Notice of Case Action, notifying the household of the requirement to report changes in residence and associated changes in shelter costs; and
- when the work or participation hours of an ABAWD decrease below an average of 20 hours per week. Work and participation hours include employment, self-employment and any participation hours that count toward the work requirement.
Streamlined Reporting 2 households meet the SR criteria described in A-2350 and have income above 130 percent FPIL. These households are required to report changes in residence and associated changes in shelter costs such as rent or mortgage, and utilities and when the work or participation hours of an ABAWD decrease below an average of 20 hours per week.
Streamlined Reporting 3 households do not meet the SR criteria in A-2350. These households are required to report:
- gross monthly household unearned income if the amount changes by more than $50 during the certification period;
- residence and associated changes in shelter costs such as rent or mortgage, and utilities;
- legal obligation of child support paid to or for nonmembers; and
- available cash, stocks, bonds or money in a bank or savings account if the combined resources total is $5,000 or more.
When an SR 1 household reports a change that occurs after certification and the change causes their ongoing income to exceed their gross monthly income limit (130 percent FPIL) for two consecutive months, the household has met the SR reporting requirement. If the household remains eligible for an allotment, the household is not required to report additional income changes during the certification period, and is only required to report changes in residence. However, if the advisor later processes a reported change and income is again below 130 percent FPIL (due to decreased income or fewer household members), Form TF0001 should be issued advising the household they are again responsible for reporting if their income exceeds 130 percent FPIL.
SR 1 and SR 2 households:
- must respond as directed to all notices and letters from the employment program;
- are not required to report any other changes. If the household reports a change, the advisor takes the appropriate action and continues to act on all agency-generated changes; and
- are not required to report when a child turns age 18 during the certification period. If an SR household contains a child who will turn age 18 during the certification period, time limits do not apply to anyone until the next redetermination.
Advisors must inform SR 1 and SR 2 households with associated TANF or Medical Program (MP) EDGs of the TANF/MP reporting requirements. A status of SR 1 or SR 2 on a SNAP EDG does not alter the change reporting requirements for associated TANF or MP EDGs.
If the SR 1 or SR 2 household reports that a minor child is no longer in the home and the only person age 18 up to age 50 is now an Able Bodied Adult without Dependents (ABAWD) who:
- does not meet the SNAP ABAWD work requirement, the advisor processes the household composition change and registers the individual for SNAP Employment and Training (E&T). The advisor must send the ABAWD a new notice informing the individual of the time limit and set a special review for the month before the end of the ABAWD's time limit to disqualify the ABAWD or deny the EDG.
- meets the SNAP ABAWD work requirement, the ABAWD's months do not count and a special review is not required.
When an SR1 or SR2 household reports that an ABAWD is working or participating less than an average of 20 hours per week and no longer meeting the work requirement, the household will be subject to non-streamlined reporting criteria and designated as SR3.
Medical Programs except TP 45
Advisors must inform all households of their responsibility to report the following changes:
- address;
- intent to reside in Texas;
- the people living in the home;
- income, including sources of income, regular hours worked and pay rate;
- Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) expenses;
- a child being institutionalized or dying; and
- medical insurance coverage.
TP 08 and TA 31
Advisors must inform all households of their responsibility to report changes in the address, job, or other information related to the absent parent.
TP 40
Households must report the termination of a pregnancy.
TP 45
Households must report if the child no longer resides in Texas.
Related Policy
General Reminders, A-1510
Monitoring Questionable Management, A-1731
Length of Certification, A-2324
Streamlined Reporting Households, A-2350
B—622 When to Report
Revision 05-4; Effective August 1, 2005
All Programs
During the interview or application processing, households must report changes that occurred since the application was filed. See B-116, Information Reported During Application Processing.
After the interview, the household must report changes listed in B-621, What to Report, within 10 days after the household knows about the change.
For special reviews, see the requirements in B-125, Processing Special Reviews.
B—623 How to Report
Revision 15-4; Effective October 1, 2015
All Programs
Household members or someone acting on the household's behalf may report changes:
- online through YourTexasBenefits.com;
- in person;
- by telephone;
- by fax;
- by mail; or
- on Form H1019, Report of Change, submitted in person, by fax or by mail.
Notes:
- When a change is reported by telephone, the advisor must verify that the person speaking has the authority to report a change.
- When a signed Form H1019 is not on file, the individual's signature on Form H1028, Employment Verification, is acceptable as a written, signed report of income change for adequate notice purposes.
- When a change is reported on an application form, staff do not have to act on the change within 10 days. The file date is considered the report date for purposes of determining the effective date of the change. The date the advisor begins working the EDG and becomes aware of the change is day zero for purposes of taking action on the change for the associated EDGs. The individual must provide any requested verification by the Form H1020, Request for Information or Action, due date to be considered timely verification.
- If the household reports a change of address in person, the advisor must provide the individual with the opportunity to complete Form H0025, HHSC Application for Voter Registration, to register to vote based on their new address. If the individual declines to register to vote, the advisor should ask the individual to sign Form H1350, Opportunity to Register to Vote. The advisor must send Form H1350 for imaging when the individual returns the form and retain the form for 22 months.
- If the household reports a change of address online through YourTexasBenfits.com, or via mail, fax, telephone, or through an authorized representative, the advisor must mail the individual Form H0025 to register to vote based on the new address. If the individual contacts the local office to decline the opportunity to register to vote after receipt of Form H0025, the advisor must mail Form H1350 to the individual for a signature. The advisor must send Form H1350 for imaging when the individual returns the form and retain the form for 22 months.
- When a household requests to make a new person or organization their authorized representative, the advisor must verify the change using the client’s signature or documentation explained in A-170, Authorized Representatives (AR).
Related Policy
Form TF0001 Required (Adequate Notice), A-2344.1
Receipt of Duplicate Application, A-121.2
Receipt of Identical Application, A-121.3
Registering to Vote, A-1521
B—623.1 Determining Whether New Income Information Is a Reported Change
Revision 15-4; Effective October 1, 2015
TANF, TP 08 and SNAP
When an advisor works a Children's Medicaid application/redetermination during a TANF/Medicaid/SNAP certification period, and a household member's source of income currently budgeted on the other active EDG has not changed, the advisor must determine whether the member is reporting a change in income. To do this, the advisor must determine whether the income verification the household provided with the Children's Medicaid application/redetermination is:
- a more recent payment than previously verified; and
- within the range of payments previously verified that are currently used in the budget for the associated active EDG(s), whether the individual provides only one or more than one. "Range of payment" is the highest to the lowest representative pay amounts used to determine the current ongoing budget.
Advisors may follow the guidelines below:
| If ... | then ... |
|---|---|
any of the payment amounts provided as verification for the Children's Medicaid application/redetermination are:
|
treat this as a reported change for the active EDG and take action following B-631, Actions on Changes (including additional verification of income, if necessary). If the individual fails to provide timely verification, follow policy in B-642, Changes Increasing Benefits (Other than Additions to the Household), and B-643, Changes Decreasing Benefits. |
all of the payment amounts provided as verification for the Children's Medicaid application/redetermination are:
|
do not treat this as a reported change for the active EDG (unless the individual reports that the source of income or amount of income has changed). |
Example: The lowest representative check used for the current certification period is $175 and the highest representative check used is $200. The individual provides a check stub for the Children's Medicaid EDG in the amount of $210. This check is less than $25 outside the range of payments and is not considered a change.
If a change is reported during the Children's Medicaid application/redetermination, the advisor processing the Medicaid EDG must either take action on the associated TANF/Medicaid/SNAP EDG or notify the local office of the reported change. The file date is considered the report date for purposes of determining the effective date of the change. The date the advisor works the Children's Medicaid EDG and becomes aware of the change is day zero for purposes of taking action on the change for the associated EDG. The individual must provide any requested verification by the due date on Form H1020, Request for Information or Action, to be considered timely verification.
B—624 Receipts for Reported Changes
Revision 15-4; Effective October 1, 2015
All Programs
Households may request a receipt to acknowledge the change report. The receipt includes the type of change(s) and the date reported. If an individual requests a receipt, the advisor must issue:
- a copy of the individual's completed Form H1019, Report of Change; or
- Form H1800, Receipt for Application/Medicaid Report/Verification/Report of Change.