A. Application for cash assistance or services shall be made to the department. The application shall be in writing or reduced to writing in the manner and on the form prescribed by the department. The application shall be made under oath by an applicant with whom a dependent child resides and shall contain a statement of the age of the child, residence, a complete statement of the amount of property in which the applicant has an interest, a statement of all income that the applicant and other benefit group members have at the time of the filing of the application and other information required by the department.

B. The department shall assist applicants in completing the application for cash assistance or services and shall evaluate applicants to determine all department programs for which the applicant may be eligible. The department shall process all expedited food stamp applications within two business days of submission, and the department shall deliver expedited food stamps to eligible applicants within seven days of the application.

C. At the time of application for cash assistance and services, an applicant shall identify everyone who is to be counted in the benefit group. Once an application is approved, the recipient shall advise the department if there are any changes in the membership of the benefit group.

D. No later than thirty days after an application is filed, the department shall make referrals and act on the application.

E. No later than five days after an application is approved, the department shall provide reimbursement for child care.

F. Whenever the department receives an application for assistance, a verification and record of the applicant's circumstances shall promptly be made to ascertain the facts supporting the application and to obtain other information required by the department. The verification may include a visit to the home of the applicant, as long as the department gives adequate prior notice of the visit to the applicant.

G. The department shall work with the recipient to develop an individual educational plan that:

(1) sets forth the educational goal for the recipient, identifies barriers to that goal and identifies the steps to be taken by the recipient to achieve that goal;

(2) describes the services the department may provide so that the recipient may complete the recipient's educational goal; and

(3) provides for meetings with the recipient every six months or at the end of each academic term to review the eligibility of the benefit group and to review and revise the recipient's individual education plan.

H. The recipient and the department shall sign the recipient's individual education plan. The department shall:

(1) not allow a recipient to decline to participate in developing an individual education plan;

(2) not waive the requirement that a recipient develop an individual education plan; and

(3) emphasize the importance of the individual education plan to the recipient.

History: Laws 2003, ch. 317, § 3; 2007, ch. 350, § 9.

Cross references. — For provisions regarding the human services department, see Chapter 9, Article 8.

For the Social Security Act, see 42 U.S.C. § 301 et seq.

The 2007 amendment, effective June 15, 2007, revised Subsection B to extend the expedited food stamp applications from 24 hours to two business days.