Section 121.7  Expedited Service

a)         Households in need of immediate food assistance shall be provided expedited service if the household:

1)         has liquid assets (such as, cash on hand, checking or savings accounts) of no more than $100, and has gross monthly income for the fiscal month of application of less than $150; or

2)         has liquid assets of no more than $100 and contains a migrant or seasonal farmworker who is destitute.  A migrant or seasonal farmworker household meeting one of the following criteria is considered destitute:

A)        Migrant or seasonal farmworker households whose only income for the fiscal month of application was received prior to the date of application and was from a terminated source are considered destitute.

i)          Income is considered as coming from a terminated source if it is received monthly or more frequently and will not be received again from the same source during the fiscal month of application or during the month following application, or it is normally received less often than monthly and will not be received in the month the next payment is normally received.

ii)         A household member who changes jobs but continues to work for the same employer is considered as still receiving income from the same source.

iii)        Migrant households which have received their last wages from a grower, food processor, livestock, nursery or other employer are considered destitute.

B)        Income from a New Source

i)          Migrant or seasonal farmworker households whose only income, for the fiscal month in which the application is filed, is from a new source are considered destitute if income or more than $25 will not be received from the new source by the 10^th calendar day following the date of application.

ii)         Income is considered as coming from a new source if it is normally received on a monthly basis or more frequently and more than $25 has not been received from the source within 30 days prior to the date the application was filed, or it is normally received less often than monthly and income of more than $25 was not received within the last normal interval between regular payments.

C)        Households may receive income from a terminated source prior to the date of application and income from a new source after the date of application. Such households may be considered destitute if they receive no other income in the fiscal month of application and income of more than $25 from the new source will not be received by the 10^th calendar day after the date of initial application.

D)        The receipt of a wage advance for the travel costs of a new employee does not affect the determination of whether subsequent payments from the employer are from a new source of income or whether a household is to be considered destitute.

3)         has combined gross monthly income and liquid resources which are less than the household's monthly rent or mortgage and utility costs.

b)         A household may be entitled to expedited service but factors of eligibility (see subsection (e)) may make the household ineligible to receive SNAP benefits or eligible for an amount less than the maximum monthly benefit amount for the household size.

c)         If a household is not entitled to expedited service, the Department will continue to process the application using the regular application procedures (found at Section 121.2).  The application will only be denied if the household is ineligible under regular processing standards.

d)         Processing Time Standard

1)         The first day of the time standard is the calendar day following the day the signed application was filed.  The date of application is the day the signed application is received in the correct local office.

2)         The Department shall process applications for eligible households entitled to expedited service within the following processing time standards:

A)        If entitlement for expedited service is discovered at the date of application, benefits shall be made available to the household no later than the fifth calendar day following the date of application.

B)        If entitlement to expedited service is discovered during normal processing of the application, benefits shall be made available no later than the fifth calendar day following the day entitlement to expedited service was discovered.

e)         Households entitled to expedited service shall be interviewed no later than the work day following the date of application.  Households entitled to expedited service are given an interview appointment on the day the signed application is filed. If the applicant fails to appear for the scheduled interview, the time frame for expedited service no longer applies (see Section 121.2 for the time limitations on the disposition of an application). The applicant's application will be processed using the regular processing standards found at Section 121.2.

f)         When a migrant household is entitled to expedited service and a two-month certification period is assigned, the Department shall authorize the second month's benefits without requiring verification which must be obtained from another state.  However, the out-of-state verification must be obtained before additional benefits will be authorized in a new certification period.  Migrant households shall be entitled to postpone out-of-state verifications for a second month only once each season.

g)         Prior to certification for expedited service, only the applicant's identity (for example, driver's license and voter registration card) must be verified.  Income (for example, pay stubs) and residency (for example, driver's license and voter registration card) shall be verified if verification will not cause benefits to be delayed.

h)         SNAP units applying for recertification between the 15^th and the last day of the last month of their current certification period are not entitled to expedited service.

(Source:  Amended at 44 Ill. Reg. 19892, effective December 14, 2020)