SR 09-27 Dated 08/09 (FSM)

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

INTER-DEPARTMENT COMMUNICATION

 

DFA SIGNATURE DATE:

August 4, 2009

FROM:

OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR, DFA Terry R. Smith

AT (OFFICE):

Division of Family Assistance

TO:

DFA Supervisors

District Office Manager of Operations

 

SUBJECT:

Revised District Office Walk-in Hours; Obsolescence of SR 04-35, Dated 10/04, Revised District Office Walk-In Hours…

EFFECTIVE DATE:

August 10, 2009

 

 

SUMMARY

 

This SR releases:

 

§   revised walk-in hours of 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM for all District Offices statewide, effective August 10, 2009; and

§   the obsolescence of SR 04-35, dated October 14, 2004, in which the District Office walk-in hours were set from 8:00 to 4:30 PM.

 

FORMER POLICY

NEW POLICY

District Office walk-in hours for all DFA programs were from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM.

District Office walk-in hours for all DFA programs are now 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

 

POLICY

 

Effective August 10, 2009, standard District Office walk-in hours will be from 8:00 AM through 4:00 PM, so that most client interviews will be completed as close to 4:30 PM as possible.

 

Every effort must be made to interview expedited food stamp cases and cases with special circumstances during normal business hours, in accordance with SR 09-07. Examples of cases with special circumstances include, but are not limited to the following:

 

·   elderly and disabled individuals;

·   cases with limited access to transportation that have arranged a ride;

·   cases that have traveled a long distance to reach the District Office; and

·   working individuals who have taken time off from work to apply.

 

SR 04-35, dated 10/04, is obsolete with the effective date of this SR.

 

POLICY MANUAL REVISIONS

 

Revised Family Assistance Manual Topics

 

SR’s Retained

 

Revised Adult Assistance Manual Topics

 

SR’s Retained

 

Revised Food Stamp Manual Topics

 

SR’s Retained

 

IMPLEMENTATION

 

The revised policy on walk-in hours is effective for all clients that apply on or after August 10, 2009.

 

CLIENT NOTIFICATION

 

Notification of the change in the District Office hours is currently posted on the DHHS website and this information will remain on the website for a period of two weeks. Updated posters have been provided to the District Offices announcing the new hours. Additionally, letters will be sent out to external stakeholders who refer clients to our District Offices, such as NHEP, CAP agencies, ServiceLink, and Town Welfare, to notify them of the change in hours.

 

TRAINING

 

No training is planned due to the procedural nature of this SR. However, the new hours were announced to all staff via email on July 16, 2009.

 

DISPOSITION

 

This SR may be destroyed or deleted after its contents have been noted and the SR has been posted to the On-line manuals.

 

DISTRIBUTION

 

This SR will be distributed according to the electronic distribution list for Division of Family Assistance policy releases. This SR, and revised On-Line Manuals, will be available for agency staff in the On-Line Manual Library, and for public access on the Internet at http://www.dhhs.nh.gov/DHHS/DFA/LIBRARY, effective August 31, 2009. Additionally, this SR will be distributed under separate cover to all internal hard copy holders of the Adult Assistance, Family Assistance, and Food Stamp Manuals.

 

DFA/JBV:s