|
|
Post by mkram28 on Mar 6, 2014 13:48:46 GMT -5
My reason for joining is to improve our families living situation. We are trying to cut corners and about 5 months ago we started receiving ebt. The extra food has helped but we are still in need of help in other aspects, financially is what I mean. The low cost internet you talk about on this site seems really interesting. Its wise to have a program like this. it would be nice to hear peoples stories about using these services. My experience with social welfare office people has been overall fast and efficient, however I recently lost coverage for a couple of weeks and when they reinstated it for the month of February they only gave half the amount, a partial payment. I called the number and had to give my name, address and case number. ( So save your letters that the SNAP office sends to you so this way you have back ups to your food stamps case information.) The woman told me that the next month would be a full payment, so I am waiting to see as my snap gets updated in a couple days.
The reason why I lost coverage was because I did not receive the snap office letter for the 6-month review thing. Evidently, every 6 months they do some sort of manual review of your case. My case did not require a phone interview, I just filled out some forms and re-submitted them after signing them.
Elsewise the experience hasn't been bad. I thought it would when I first filled out the snap application and sent it to the office but now I realize its very automated for the most part. In South Carolina they require you to participate in a Work-training program and to submit weekly/monthly job progress updates. They also offer free training classes and refreshers for the interview process when seeking employment.
|
|
|
|
Post by cookgreat on Mar 9, 2014 19:17:37 GMT -5
South Carolina is a hard place to meek out a living. I wish you luck.
|
|
|
|
Post by Admin on May 4, 2014 13:59:07 GMT -5
My reason for joining is to improve our families living situation. We are trying to cut corners and about 5 months ago we started receiving ebt. The extra food has helped but we are still in need of help in other aspects, financially is what I mean. The low cost internet you talk about on this site seems really interesting. Its wise to have a program like this. it would be nice to hear peoples stories about using these services. My experience with social welfare office people has been overall fast and efficient, however I recently lost coverage for a couple of weeks and when they reinstated it for the month of February they only gave half the amount, a partial payment. I called the number and had to give my name, address and case number. ( So save your letters that the SNAP office sends to you so this way you have back ups to your food stamps case information.) The woman told me that the next month would be a full payment, so I am waiting to see as my snap gets updated in a couple days.
The reason why I lost coverage was because I did not receive the snap office letter for the 6-month review thing. Evidently, every 6 months they do some sort of manual review of your case. My case did not require a phone interview, I just filled out some forms and re-submitted them after signing them.
Elsewise the experience hasn't been bad. I thought it would when I first filled out the snap application and sent it to the office but now I realize its very automated for the most part. In South Carolina they require you to participate in a Work-training program and to submit weekly/monthly job progress updates. They also offer free training classes and refreshers for the interview process when seeking employment.
My best advice to you is that you have to be extremely proactive in how you deal and communicate with you SNAP Caseworker. Good record keeping is also essential and having a print out of your county's DSS contact info from their website wouldn't hurt either. The case worker could have many individual cases to handle each month and it is easy to see why people fall through the system. Take the free training classes as these have long-term potential in your search for employment and hopefully helps you move off the assistance program and reach self-sustainability in terms of food, housing, or whatever [where this is applicable]. It's up to YOU to be the aggressor when it comes to your benefits. Taking an idle stance may be a disaster in waiting. |
|
|
|
Post by gourmet1 on Aug 8, 2014 14:24:37 GMT -5
From my experience, your time on the program will be good or bad, depending on the worker who is assigned to your case. We had bad ones and good ones. You are supposed to notify them of just about anything that affects your budget: someone moving in or out of the household, finding a job, losing a job, moving to a different apartment, having your rent go up, down, and all that kind of stuff. Each of those would change your "food stamp budget" which is the thing that calculates how much you get each month.
Keep everything they send you, too, and read the "reasons" part that is SUPPOSED to tell you what made your budget change. Some workers don't write enough there so that you can understand it. If you don't understand, call them and ask. If you understand but disagree, ask for a FAIR HEARING. Then you get to explain your side and the agency gets to explain their side in front of an administrative judge who comes in and usually works for the state, not the local department. Once the judge makes a ruling, that's it, but very often they favor the person getting the SNAP. (I did the Fair Hearings for our agency for a year or so, so I know it's true.) Don't be afraid to stand up for your rights, but find out what the "regulations" are about the topic if possible. The library should have the book of regulations or it should also be somewhere on line--look up SNAP and keep looking. It's not supposed to be a big secret, but sometimes they act like it is.
|
|
