Pennsylvania should apply for the Expedited Interview Waiver from the USDA to increase access for emergency SNAP (food stamp) benefits.

For many reasons, it’s not uncommon for people to wait for an emergency before they apply for SNAP (food stamp) benefits. During this economic recession, many Pennsylvanians who’ve lost their jobs will exhaust their savings and lean on family and friends to get by as long as possible. In fact, by the time nearly half of applicants finally apply for SNAP, their cupboards are completely bare. They need help right away.

That’s why the USDA created “expedited” SNAP benefits, to help people who can’t afford to wait the 30 days it takes to process SNAP applications.

In order to qualify for expedited SNAP benefits, applicants:

• Must have almost no income; or
• Have shelter expenses (rent/mortgage plus utilities) that exceed their income.

Applicants who meet those requirements can receive SNAP benefits within five days, as long as they provide an ID, address verification and complete an interview with a caseworker. They must submit all other forms of verification within 30 days.

Unfortunately, many applicants who qualify for expedited SNAP benefits don’t receive them, most often because they were unable to connect with their caseworker by phone for an interview.

The Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger recommends that Pennsylvania apply for an Expedited Interview Waiver from the USDA, which would allow the state to postpone the interview for expedited applicants and ensure that people in need of emergency food can get help as soon as possible.

In 2009, the Coalition’s Food Stamp Hotline submitted more than 2,200 SNAP applications for households deemed eligible for expedited SNAP benefits. Less than half of these applicants received expedited SNAP benefits, mainly because the caseworker and client could not complete the phone interview. This happens often with households that apply through COMPASS, Pennsylvania’s online benefits application.

Recently, the USDA acknowledged the problem that online applications have caused states in granting expedited SNAP benefits. In response, the USDA granted policy waivers in two states (Wisconsin and Florida) with advanced online applications systems similar to Pennsylvania’s COMPASS.  The policy waiver allows the state agency—Pennsylvania’s Department of Public Welfare (or DPW), for example—to postpone the interview for expedited applicants, just as the agency already postpones document verification. 

Pennsylvania should apply for the Expedited Interview Waiver from the USDA to:

• Increase access to expedited SNAP benefits
• Improve efficiency within DPW

Applying for the waiver would cost the state nothing, nor would it impact program integrity, since SNAP applicants would still be required to submit all verification and complete an interview within 30 days. Additionally, such a policy would eliminate repeated calls to county offices and endless games of phone tag between caseworkers and applicants. 

Pennsylvania could promote their newly updated COMPASS system (launched June 7, 2010) by reassuring the public that submitting an online application will no longer hurt their chances of getting the SNAP benefits they are eligible to receive.

In the coming months, the Coalition will continue to urge DPW to adopt this common sense policy improvement. 

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