§ 205.3. Requirements.
(a) The verification process. The verification process will conform with the following:
(1) The verification of resources, or the lack of them, will be one of the essential steps in the process of establishing eligibility for public assistance. The supplying of information about resources to prove need will be the responsibility of the person applying for or receiving assistance.
(2) Establishing a large portion of the proof during the application process will be routine. The applicant will present documentary evidence such as birth certificates, rent receipts, deeds, insurance policies, pay envelopes and the like. However, the necessity of substantiating other facts will often enter into the process and the worker must then decide what sort of proof must be produced, by whom, and in what manner it is to be proved.
(3) The decision to use a source other than the client will normally be made when the worker is confronted with any of the following situations:
(i) The client has made every reasonable effort to obtain the facts, but without success.
(ii) The facts obtained by the client need clarification and the worker is convinced that direct contact with the source of information, rather than again through the client, would produce better results.
(iii) The worker suspects that the client has either falsified or knowingly withheld essential information and wants to verify his convictions.
(iv) It is known that the required facts cannot be obtained directly by the client.
(b) Verification responsibilities. Verification responsibilities of county offices are as follows:
(1) Because of the widespread differences existing in various counties in relation to types of industries and other information contacts, county offices should consider ways and means of adapting the procedures set forth in this chapter to handle efficiently their local situation. However, strict conformity will be requested from all county offices in adhering to the regulations when contacting specified Federal and state departments, and certain insurance and railroad companies. Contacts with State or Federal departments not mentioned in this procedure should be made through the Central Location and Resources Unit.
(2) In county offices with small caseloads, the responsibility for verifying data may be delegated to one person. In larger counties, a separate unit may perform this function. Whatever organizational structure is used, it should be thoroughly understood by employes that with the exception of the routine verifications which are part of the job of every worker, contacts with outside sources to obtain verifications will be made by the person or unit assigned to this work.
Notes of Decisions A recipient of food stamps did not properly verify his rent payments since his rent receipts were not signed, the recipient admitted typing the receipts himself and he refused to reveal the names of the principals of his alleged corporate lessor. Raitport v. Department of Public Welfare, 399 A.2d 821, 822 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1979).
Since the duty to demonstrate eligibility is on the claimant, the denial of assistance is proper if the claimant fails to return the information forms concerning the income available to her legally responsible relatives. Dempsey v. Department of Public Welfare, 404 A.2d 1373, 1375 (1979).
The claimant’s own admissions that her boyfriend was living with her, was the father of her unborn child, and regularly provided monies to cover food and other expenses clearly indicate a familial relationship that transcends the status of a mere boarder, and she did not meet her burden of proving lack of resources. Slay v. Department of Public Welfare, 406 A.2d 1214, 1215 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1979).
No part of the information on this site may be reproduced for profit or sold for profit.
This material has been drawn directly from the official Pennsylvania Code full text database. Due to the limitations of HTML or differences in display capabilities of different browsers, this version may differ slightly from the official printed version.
