Hunger Solutions New York’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) prescreening guide is designed for human service agencies, advocates, and volunteers working with low-income households who wish to:
- Determine which households may qualify for SNAP benefits,
- Estimate a household’s SNAP benefit allotment,
- Assist potentially eligible households through the SNAP application process, and
- Assist current SNAP participants in the recertification process.
Contained in this guide are:
- Eligibility rules for a variety of populations,
- Details about policies and programs that help facilitate SNAP access,
- Step-by-step SNAP budgeting instructions and a tool for estimating SNAP benefits
- Specifics about maintaining, using and recertifying for SNAP benefits, and
- Information about how SNAP is administered during disasters and misfortunes.
On the right (on desktop) and beneath headings and subheadings on mobile and tablet throughout the guide there are policy references like these:
SNAPSB SECTION 3: PG. 6
03-ADM-03
10-INF-22
To help demystify them, here is an explanation of each:
SNAPSB SECTION 3: PG. 6: this refers to a section of the SNAP Sourcebook (SNAPSB), which details New York State policy and includes SNAP administration instructions for local districts.
03-ADM-03; 10-INF-22: these refer to OTDA SNAP policy memoranda issued through administrative directives (ADMs), informational letters (INFs), local commissioner memoranda (LCMs), and General Information Messages (GIS).
Throughout the guide, you will find links to helpful resources related to the section’s content. Additional resources can be found in Hunger Solutions New York’s online resource library.
This guide only briefly addresses SNAP work rules. The New York State Temporary Assistance and SNAP Employment Policy Manual provides a comprehensive explanation of SNAP’s employment and training requirements.
Hunger Solutions New York updates this guide periodically to reflect policy changes, including the yearly October 1 SNAP standards/deductions/adjustments.
Hunger Solutions New York encourages advocates to try to resolve problems encountered when assisting someone with the SNAP application or recertification process by communicating with local SNAP offices.
