3005 Confidentiality | SNAP

The disclosure of information concerning applicants and recipients is limited to purposes directly connected with the administration of the FSP Division, and to the administration of other federal assistance programs and federally assisted state programs which provide assistance on a means-tested basis to low-income individuals. Assistance includes cash, in-kind payments, and services. These programs include TANF, Child Support, IV-E Foster Care, Adoption Assistance, SSI, Medicaid, Office of Inspector General-Benefits Recovery Unit, Human Services, Social Security Administration, IEVS, and the General Office of the U.S. Such purposes include the establishment of eligibility, determining the amount of benefits and providing services to applicants and recipients. Information used solely for these purposes can be released without the consent of the applicant or recipient.

Confidential information can also be released without the consent of the A/R in the following situations:

The case record must be clearly documented regarding the evidence presented, including the name of the law enforcement official to whom the information was given.

The release of confidential A/R information in any of the aforementioned situations is restricted to persons or agency representatives who are subject to standards of confidentiality comparable to those employed by the GA DHS.

Certain information in an A/R’s case record may have come from another office or agency and may be marked as prohibited from release without the A/R’s written consent, e.g., confidential medical information. Such information can only be released to the A/R, the A/R’s legal representative, or the court. Any other request for the document must be made to the office or agency that was the source of the document.

Information about FS applicants and recipients may be provided to a committee or legislative body without the A/R’s written consent if it can be verified that the information is needed for any of the aforementioned reasons. If it cannot be shown that the request meets any of these criteria, the requested information cannot be provided to a committee or legislative body.

If requested, the case record must be made available for examination by the A/R and/or the A/R’s legal representative. Material presented at a hearing that constitutes the basis for a decision must be made available to the A/R and/or the A/R’s legal representative. Refer to Appendix B Hearings Table of Contents, for policy regarding release of case information for hearings.

Medical information marked “confidential” by a physician or mental health professional may be withheld from the A/R if it is believed that release of the information could be harmful to the A/R. If the A/R requests information that cannot be released, the A/R should be referred to the health professional, who provided the information and determined that it needed to remain confidential.

Information regarding a pending criminal prosecution cannot be released to the A/R. The state agency may withhold confidential information, such as the names of individuals who have disclosed information about the AU without the AU’s knowledge.

Information obtained from/through an IRS/BEER match or IRS cannot be released to the A/R.

When an A/R’s request to examine information in his/her own case record is denied, the reason for denial and any plan for subsequent action must be documented.

Any identifying A/R information requested for a purpose not described above can only be released with the A/R’s written consent.

Whenever a request for information is received from a source not mentioned in this section, the A/R’s written permission must be obtained prior to the information’s release. A signed authorization from the A/R entitles the person requesting the information to all relevant information in the case record described or encompassed in the A/R’s authorization. The authorization expires after 90 days unless the A/R specifies a shorter authorization period.

If an A/R is a minor or mentally incompetent, any authorization for release must be signed by the A/R’s parent, guardian, legally responsible agent, or a person authorized by the A/R’s legally responsible agent to act on behalf of the A/R. If the A/R is incapable of signing such an authorization, the authorization must be signed either by the A/R’s legally responsible agent or a person with the written permission of the A/R or the A/R’s legally responsible agent to act in the A/R’s behalf.

The same policies already described in this section also apply to requests for information received from other government agencies, the courts, or law enforcement officials outside of the program areas described above.

When an A/R or legal representative requests information from or inspection of the case record, the request should be made in advance of the time by which the information is needed. The agency shall cooperate by establishing a time and place convenient for the A/R or the A/R’s legal representative for receipt of the information or inspection of the case record.

Economic Support Services (ESS) staff can release information only in compliance with the aforementioned guidelines.

A staff person must consult with his/her immediate supervisor should there be any question regarding the propriety of releasing a piece of information.

Any person violating this law shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

General information that is not identified with an individual does not need to be safeguarded. Such information may be released upon request. Examples include statistical information of the numbers of FS recipients, total expenditures of FS funds, or system-derived social data.

DFCS may charge for copies of case record material.

An employee may be eligible for certain public assistance benefits. Employees who apply for or are receiving benefits as a member of a household must notify their supervisor. All employees' cases must be handled by a supervisor or supervisor designee. Each county should develop a plan for limited access to these cases by other staff members and the employee himself. The Regional Manager must approve the plan for handling employee cases and is to be notified of any employee receiving benefits.

Employees should not handle relatives or personal friend’s applications or cases and should notify his/her supervisor when such situations occur. Employees should not be authorized representatives unless approved by the Regional Manager.

The employee/client must comply with all requirements of the program in which he or she is participating including the prompt and accurate reporting of all changes in income or household circumstances, as required by simplified reporting requirements (SRR). If an employee takes action on or views the case of another employee, a relative or an individual of personal interest, he may be subject to disciplinary action and/or prosecution for a second or third degree felony.