6.1.2 Six Month Reporting Requirement

7 CFR 273.12(a)(iii)

Food units certified for 12 months, and subject to reduced change reporting requirements, are required to submit a six-month report form (SMRF) in the sixth month of the certification period. Self-employment income that has already been averaged does not need to be re-verified, unless a significant change is reported.

The following changes in income must be reported on the SMRF for FoodShare members:
- A change of $50 or more in unearned income based on the most recently verified amount.
- Changes in earned income (from the most recently verified information) that must be reported includes:
- - Rate of pay,
  - Number of hours worked,
  - Loss of job,
  - Change from full to part-time, and
  - New employment.
Income verification at SMRF is only required for employment that meets the criteria listed above. An IM worker should not request verification of previously verified earned income that has not changed.
Other changes that must be reported on the SMRF are:
- Household composition (persons that have moved in or out, including newborns),
- New addressAddress refers to the actual place where the household resides. • An address is required to be provided unless a household is homeless, a migrant, or newly arrived in Wisconsin. Verification of address is not required. • A household does not have to reside in a permanent dwelling. • A household may use a general delivery address when it applies. Contrast this with "residence" in the glossary. and resulting changes in shelter expenses, and
- Change in legal obligation to pay childA person's biological, step, or adopted son or daughter, regardless of age. If a child is adopted, the adoption severs the biological tie to the parent. support (4.6.5 Child Support Payment Deduction)

The paper SMRF and the online form are available to members on ACCESS Renew My Benefits (RMB) and will have the employment fields pre-populated to reflect the most recently verified information in CWW. This is the income that is being used in the current FoodShare benefit calculation.

An adultA person who is 18 years old or older food unit member must sign the SMRF.

To be considered timely, a SMRF must be returned to the local agency by due date of the process month (month six). The SMRF due date will always be 10 days before the adverse action date in the due month. If the food unit fails to return a timely SMRF, FoodShare will close effective the last day of the process month at adverse action.

If verification is needed the member has 10 days to provide verification from the date it is requested. If verification is not returned timely, the FoodShare assistance group will close. A FoodShare assistance group closed prior to the end of the report month may reopen for month seven without a new application if requested verification is received prior to the end of month seven. Benefits will be prorated from the date all verification requirements are met.

Example 1: Emma is certified for FoodShare from January to December, with a SMRF due in June. Emma returns the SMRF June 27 without verification of her income. Although Emma returned her SMRF at the end of the process month, the due date for verification extends into July because the IM worker must allow 10 days to provide verification. Emma provides the requested verification on July 2. Emma’s certification period for FoodShare remains the same, January to December. Benefits go back to July 1 and are not prorated, as there was no break in service.

FoodShare may reopen without a new FoodShare application at SMRF under specific circumstances. Allow FoodShare to reopen at SMRF if the required action to regain eligibility is completed in the calendar month following the month the SMRF was due, as long as a complete SMRF is returned and verification requirements met, no later than the end of the seventh month of the certification period.

If FoodShare closes for lack of SMRF, verification, or other reasons and the food unit takes the required action within the calendar month following the report month, the agency shall reopen FoodShare and issue prorated benefits from the date the food unit took the required action.
If FoodShare closes due to agency delay in processing a SMRF, benefits shall be restored back to the first of the month.

Example 2: Joe has an open FoodShare case with a certification period of April through March with a SMRF due in September. Joe fails to return a timely SMRF in September and FoodShare closes effective September 30.

Joe returns the SMRF with required verification on October 25, but he forgot to sign the form. The IM agency returns the SMRF to Joe and indicates that he must return a signed SMRF by October 31 to avoid needing a new FoodShare application.

Note: The SMRF must have an action date on the View/Record Six Month Report Actions page that is in the process month otherwise CWW will continue to fail the case for lack of SMRF.

Joe returns the signed SMRF on October 31. Although Joe regains FoodShare eligibility October 31, FoodShare will fail with a $0 benefit for October and pass with a FoodShare benefit for November and December. The FoodShare certification period for Joe’s case remains the same, April through March.

Had Joe returned a timely SMRF, but the IM agency did not process the form until October, benefits would have been issued back to October 1, due to the agency's late processing.

If Joe had returned the signed SMRF on November 1, which is beyond the month following the report month, FoodShare would have closed and he would need to reapply.

Complete SMRF

To be considered complete, all of the boxes must be checked and a signature must be provided on the SMRF. If a box is checked indicating a change but the details of the change have not been provided, it is still a complete SMRF. Missing details related to changes must be pended or the worker must call the member for clarification.

If the SMRF does not have all of the boxes checked or is missing a signature, it is an incomplete SMRF. Refer to Process Help 3.4 Six Month Report Forms (SMRFs) for processing instructions.

This page last updated in Release Number: 18-01

Release Date: 01/08/2018

Effective Date: 01/08/2018