23-01 Version of 6.1.2 Six Month Reporting Requirement

7 CFR 273.12(a)(iii)

Food units certified for 12 months and subject to simplified change reporting requirements are required to submit a six-month report form (SMRF) in the sixth month of the certification period. Elderly Blind and Disabled food units without earned income are exempt from the six-month report requirement.

The following changes in income must be reported on the SMRF for FoodShare members:

A change of $125 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 include:
- Rate of pay.
- Number of hours worked.
- Loss of job.
- Change from full to part-time.
- New employment, but only if the first paycheck has been received by the time the SMRF is completed.
- New or significantly changed self-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.

Self-employment income that has already been averaged is not to be re-verified, unless a significant change is reported.

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 (see Section 4.6.5 Support Payment Deductions)

A signature is required on the SMRF. The SMRF can be signed by the primary person or by any adult food unit member or, if applicable, an authorized representative or legal guardian.

A SMRF can be completed and submitted using the paper form, ACCESS, and by phone. A “no-changes” SMRF (all information on the mailed form is current and correct) can also be signed and submitted through MyACCESS.

Note

The paper SMRF and the online form are available to members on ACCESS Renew My Benefits (RMB) and will have the employment, self-employment, unearned income, and child support expense fields pre-populated to reflect the most recently verified information in CWW. This is the income and expenses that are being used in the current FoodShare benefit calculation (the prepopulated information may not reflect all the income and expenses that factor into the budget).

SMRFs must be submitted by the end of the sixth month of the certification period to avoid a break in service. When a SMRF is submitted in month six with changes requiring verification, a verification checklist will be sent giving 20 days to provide the requested verification. When the due date for verification goes into the seventh month, FoodShare will reopen without a break in service so long as the required documentation is supplied on or before the verification due date.

Example 1

Emma is certified for FoodShare from January to December. Emma's SMRF is due in June. Emma returns the SMRF June 27 and reports new employment. Emma did not provide verification of the new income with the completed SMRF. The IM Worker processes the SMRF on June 27. Although Emma returned the SMRF at the end of the process month, the due date for verification extends into July because the IM worker must allow 20 days to provide verification. Emma provides the requested verification on July 12, prior to the due date of July 17. Emma’s certification period for FoodShare remains the same, January to December. Benefits go back to July 1 and are not prorated.

If FoodShare closes for lack of SMRF, verification, or other reasons and the food unit takes the required action within month seven of the certification period, the agency shall reopen FoodShare under the break in service policy and issue prorated benefits from the date the food unit took the required action. The benefit shall be prorated from the date the SMRF is returned if the action was taken prior to or by the verification due date set for month seven, or if the reason for closure is because of agency delay.

If FoodShare closes due to agency delay in processing a SMRF, benefits shall be restored back to the first of the month.

Example 2

Jon is required to submit a SMRF in March. Jon submits the SMRF April 7 and the agency processes it on April 9. Jon reported a change in hours worked at existing employment and the case is pended for verification due April 29. Jon submits the verification April 27. Jon’s benefits are prorated from April 7 forward because the verification was submitted by the due date, but the SMRF itself was submitted late.

Example 3

Lillie was required to submit a SMRF by the end of August. Lillie submits the completed SMRF August 29. On the SMRF, Lillie reported new pension income. The agency processes the SMRF on September 2 and the case is pended for verification of pension income due September 22. Lillie provides the required verification on September 30. Lillie’s benefits are prorated from September 30 forward because her verification was submitted after the due date.

If the SMRF process is not complete (a completed form and all verifications submitted) by the first day of month eight, a new application must be submitted unless the cause for delay into month eight is agency delay. In instances, when a complete SMRF is submitted in month seven and verification is required, verification must be provided before the end of month seven which may result in the member having less than 20 days to provide the verification. The worker will need to manually adjust the due date to coincide with the end of month seven.

Example 4

Gwen is required to submit a SMRF in January. Gwen submits the SMRF in month seven on February 26. Gwen must submit verification of her employment change by February 28. If verification is not provided, Gwen will need to reapply in March because the required verification was not submitted by the end of month seven.

Example 5

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 the SMRF is incomplete and is missing a signature. The IM agency returns the SMRF to Joe and indicates that a signed SMRF must be submitted by October 31 to avoid needing a new FoodShare application.

Joe returned the signed SMRF on November 2. Since the completed SMRF was not submitted by the end of month seven, Joe will need to reapply for FoodShare.

Complete Paper 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 contact 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 (see Process Help, Section 3.4 Six Month Report Forms (SMRFs) for processing instructions).

This page last updated in Release Number: 23-01
Release Date: 04/17/2023
Effective Date: 04/17/2023