441—65.5 (234) Simplified reporting.
	 65.5(1) Identification. All households are subject to simplified reporting requirements except:
	  a.   	 Households that are exempt from periodic reporting by federal statute.
	  b.   	 Households that include an able-bodied adult without dependents, as provided in 7 CFR 273.24 as amended to April 29, 2003.
	 65.5(2) Determination of eligibility and benefits. Eligibility and benefits for simplified reporting households shall be determined on the basis of the household’s prospective income and circumstances.
	 65.5(3) Certification periods. Simplified reporting households shall be certified for 12 months. Households in which all members are receiving family investment program (FIP) cash assistance or family medical assistance program (FMAP)-related Medicaid shall be assigned certification periods of 12 months. However, a certification period of less than 12 months may be assigned at application or recertification to match the food assistance recertification date to the FIP or medical assistance annual review date.
	 65.5(4) Reporting responsibilities. Simplified reporting households shall complete and return a report form once during the certification period. Households that do not receive assistance under the family investment program shall complete Form 470-4026, 470-4026(M), or 470-4026(S), Food Assistance Interim Report. Households that also receive assistance under the family investment program may instead complete Form 470-4387, 470-4387(M), or 470-4387(S), Combined PAER/FAIR.
	  a.   	 A completed report form is one that:
	 (1) 	 Has all items answered;
	 (2) 	 Is accompanied by verification as required in subrule 65.5(5); and
	 (3) 	 Is signed and dated by a responsible household member.
	  b.   	 The department shall provide a postage-paid envelope for the return of the report form.
	 (1) 	 When the report form is issued in the department’s regular end-of-month mailing, households approved or recertified for food assistance shall return the completed form to the local department office where the case is assigned by the fifth calendar day of the sixth month of their certification period.
	 (2) 	 When the report form is not issued in the department’s regular end-of-month mailing, households shall return the completed report form to the local office where the case is assigned by the seventh day after the date of the issuance of the report form.
	  c.   	 Failure to return a completed report form shall result in cancellation of assistance.
	  d.   	 In addition to completing the report form, simplified reporting households are required to report only if the household’s total gross income exceeds 130 percent of the federal poverty level for the household size. The household must report this change within ten days of the end of the month in which the income exceeds 130 percent of the poverty level.
	  e.   	 A categorically eligible household that reports income over 130 percent of the federal poverty level and that remains eligible for benefits shall not be required to make any additional report of changes.
	 65.5(5) Verification submitted with report form. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in these rules or in federal regulations, a report form shall be considered incomplete when it is not accompanied by verification of the following changes:
	  a.   	 Changes of more than $100 per month in the amount of the household’s total gross monthly earned income, as well as when earned income starts or stops.
	  b.   	 Changes in the amount of the household’s total gross monthly unearned income, prorated income, or annualized income when:
	 (1) 	 The amount of this income changes by $50 or more; or
	 (2) 	 This income starts or stops.
	 65.5(6) Additional information and verification. A household that has submitted a completed report form shall submit, or cooperate in obtaining, additional information and verification needed to determine eligibility or benefits within ten calendar days of the department’s written request. This ten days is the extended filing period.
	 65.5(7) Action on reported changes. The department shall act on all reported changes for households regardless of the household’s reporting requirements.
	 65.5(8) Entering or leaving simplified reporting. When a household reports a change that makes the household subject to different reporting requirements, the change in the requirements shall be effective for the month following the month when the change is reported. If there are more than six months left in the household’s certification period at the time of a change to simplified reporting, a report form shall be due before the end of the certification period. The department shall notify the household of the new reporting requirements.
	 65.5(9) Reinstatement.
	  a.   	 Reinstatement of a household whose eligibility was canceled for failure to submit a completed report form shall occur only when the otherwise eligible household submits a completed report form by the end of the month the report form is due or by the end of the extended filing period, whichever is later.
	  b.   	 A household that has received Form 470-1968, Notice of Cancellation, shall be notified in writing of its status every time the department receives a report form before the end of the month the report was due or the end of the extended filing period, whichever is later.