Your Rights
Anyone whose application for assistance has been denied, not acted on within a reasonable time frame, or whose benefits have been
reduced or terminated, may request a conference or hearing. You may request a conference or hearing by writing your local district
DWSS office or the administration office. For SNAP, you may request a hearing by calling your local district DWSS office. You
may also request a hearing for assistance programs such as TANF or SNAP within 90 days of the notice date. You will be notified in
writing 10 days prior to the hearing date, the time and location of the hearing. You may be represented at a conference/hearing by
anyone you have given written authorization to which must be given to the DWSS office prior to the conference/hearing. You may
request information on the various legal services which may be available in your community at no cost, please contact us for
information. If you are dissatisfied with the hearing decision, you may appeal your case to your local District Court of the State of
Nevada.
Your Responsibilities
If you are applying for TANF:
You must report changes in your mailing address immediately. Additional changes must be reported immediately after you apply and
before you are approved benefits. Once your benefits are approved you must report the following changes and the change must be
reported by the 5
th
of the following month. You must report changes such as your physical address, living expenses, subsidized
housing value, marital status, employment status, any money you receive or income from any source, assets/resources, absent parent’s
address, number of people in the home, birth of a child in your home, school attendance, absence of any household member even if it
is temporary (if more than 30 days), and any other change which may affect your household benefits.
If you are a
pplying for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP):
You are required to report all changes in your household from the date you submit your application to the day of your interview.
Once SNAP benefits are approved, you must report required changes within 10 days from the date the change happened based on your
household’s specific reporting requirements. You will receive a notice informing you of your specific requirement.
If your household is designated as a Change Status Reporting Household you will be required to report the same changes listed under
the TANF reporting requirements listed above.
If your household is designated as a Simplified Reporting Household you must only report when your household’s income exceeds
130% of the federal poverty level for your household size. Your household will be notified of this amount at approval.
Your case manager may request additional proof of the change. You will be required to provide the proof by a certain date in order to
continue your eligibility or to avoid an overpayment or underpayment of benefits.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program allows certain household expenses like rent, mortgage, property taxes, homeowner’s
insurance, utility expenses, child/dependent care and child support paid by the household as a deduction to determine the amount of
SNAP benefits your household is eligible for as long as the expense is reported and verified. Medical expenses over $35.00 are
allowed if there is an elderly or disabled person applying for benefits. If you do not report or verify any of the expenses listed on
the application, it will be considered that you do not want to receive a deduction for the unreported or unverified expense.
Utilizing T
ANF funds, DWSS through the Nevada Public Health Foundation (NPHF), has developed a class to target pregnant and
parenting teens receiving TANF cash assistance. Teen parents receiving TANF benefits and services are known as STARS
(Supporting Teens Achieving Real-life Success) participants. This class has been expanded to include other pregnant and parenting
teens receiving other forms of assistance such as SNAP and Child Welfare. This one-day class places emphasis on employment,
success in the workplace, decision-making, money management and health, such as birth control and sexually transmitted diseases.
In addition, Community Action Teams, an entity of the Nevada Public Health Foundation, conduct community assessments of teen
pregnancy and its prevention and identify potential methods for reducing teen pregnancy through abstinence-based programs. Youths,
parents, business, churches, health care providers, law enforcement, schools and other organizations are encouraged to serve on the
Community Action Teams. Men of all ages are also encouraged to serve as positive role models, reinforcing the postponement of
sexual involvement message.
After you submit your application you may call our Voice Response Unit (VRU) system to find out if your case has been approved,
denied, terminated or is still pending. The VRU system will also let you know when your benefits have been issued and the amount.
For Southern Nevada, call (702) 486-1646; Northern Nevada, call (775) 684-7200; Rural Nevada, call (800) 992-0900, extension
47200. Your Personal Identification Number (PIN) for the VRU system is ___________________.
You may contact your case manager _____________________at _________________between the hours of ________ to
Visit our website at http://dwss.nv.gov/
This is Your Copy, Keep This Page for Your Records
19
________.