SNAP Caseworker Guide

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Terms Used in This Guide

Term Meaning

ABAWD

Able-Bodied Adult Without Dependents — a SNAP recipient aged 18-49 who is not disabled and has no dependents. Must meet work requirements.

Certification Period

The time window during which a household is approved for SNAP benefits. Standard: 12 months. Elderly/Disabled: 24 months.

Determination

The eligibility decision — approved or denied — along with the benefit amount.

EBT

Electronic Benefits Transfer — the debit card households use to access SNAP benefits.

FPL

Federal Poverty Level — income thresholds published annually by HHS. SNAP uses 130% FPL (gross) and 100% FPL (net) to determine eligibility.

IEVS

Income and Eligibility Verification System — automated checks against state and federal databases to verify reported income.

Interim Contact

A required check-in with the household at the midpoint of their certification period.

IPV

Intentional Program Violation — fraud or misrepresentation in the SNAP application process.

JWS Signature

A cryptographic seal on determination records that detects tampering. You do not need to interact with this — the system handles it automatically.

NOA

Notice of Action — a letter sent to the household explaining an eligibility decision.

Redetermination

A new eligibility review triggered by a change in the household’s circumstances.

Getting Started

Logging In

  1. Navigate to the worker portal URL provided by your agency (e.g., https://canopy.dhs.ga.gov/)

  2. You will be redirected to the login page (Keycloak)

  3. Enter your username and password

  4. After successful login, you are redirected to the Dashboard

Your session lasts 8 hours. After that, you will be asked to log in again.

Navigation

The left sidebar provides access to all portal sections:

  • Dashboard — Overview of pending work and recent activity

  • Cases — Search for households by name, case number, or SSN

  • Applications — Queue of pending SNAP applications

  • Notices — History of all generated notices

  • Appeals — Active and pending fair hearing requests

  • Renewals — Certification periods approaching renewal

The top-right shows your name, role, and a theme toggle (Light / Dark / System).

Your Role and Permissions

Your role determines what actions you can perform:

Role Permissions

Caseworker

View all case data, process applications, file appeals, record contacts/changes/ABAWD activity, resolve discrepancies

Eligibility Specialist

All caseworker permissions + approve/deny applications, issue benefits

Supervisor

All specialist permissions + manage users, override decisions

Admin

Full system access including security audit logs

Dashboard

The Dashboard is your home page. It shows:

Stat Cards (top row)

  • Pending Applications — Number of SNAP applications waiting for processing

  • Renewals Due (30 days) — Certifications expiring within 30 days

  • Appeals Pending — Active fair hearing requests

  • Interim Contacts Due — Certifications past their interim contact due date

Work Queue

A prioritized list of items needing your attention, drawn from applications, renewals, and appeals. Click any item to navigate directly to the relevant page.

Activity Feed

Recent actions taken across all cases — determinations completed, notices generated, appeals filed.

Searching for a Case

  1. Click Cases in the sidebar

  2. In the search box, type any of:

    • Household member name (first or last)

    • Case number (UUID)

    • Last 4 digits of SSN

  3. Results update automatically as you type (after a brief delay)

  4. Click a result row to open the Case Detail page

TIP
You need at least 2 characters before results appear.

Case Detail

The Case Detail page shows comprehensive information about a household, organized into tabs.

Household Tab

Shows all household members with:

  • Full name, date of birth, relationship to head of household

  • SSN (masked as **)

  • ABAWD status (Tracking, Exhausted, Exempt, or N/A)

  • Current address (street, city, state, zip) — read-only here; edit it on the Address tab

  • Certification period: type (Standard 12-month or Elderly/Disabled 24-month), start and end dates

  • Interim contact status: Due, Done, or N/A

Address Tab

Lists each household member’s residential and mailing addresses, and lets you record a move or correct an address:

  • + Add address for a member — pick the type (residential/mailing), enter the street, city, state, ZIP, and an effective date, then Add.

  • Edit on an existing row records a move as of the effective date you enter — the prior address is retained in history and the new one takes effect from that date (a valid-time correction).

  • A redacted (privacy-sealed) street shows as read-only and cannot be overwritten.

Recording an address change is itself an agency action (7 CFR 273.12(a)(1)); a resulting shelter-cost change is recorded separately on the Expenses tab.

You may only edit addresses for a program you are assigned to, and only for members of the household you are viewing.

Income & Verification Tab

Shows income information and IEVS verification results:

  • Self-Reported Income — Income sources reported by the household (wages, SSI, child support, etc.) with amounts and frequency

  • IEVS-Verified Income — Income data from Georgia DOL wage records, unemployment insurance, SSA SDX (SSI), and SSA BENDEX (Social Security)

  • Discrepancy Alert — If self-reported and verified income differ by more than $100/month, a warning banner appears:

⚠ N discrepancies found — worker resolution required before determination

To resolve a discrepancy:

  1. Review the self-reported vs. verified amounts

  2. Contact the applicant for clarification if needed

  3. Click Resolve next to the discrepancy

  4. Select Verified (income confirmed correct) or Dismissed (IEVS data incorrect)

  5. Enter notes explaining your resolution

  6. Submit

Regulatory basis: 7 USC §2025(e) — mandatory IEVS income verification for SNAP.

Determination Tab

Shows the most recent SNAP eligibility determination:

  • Status — Approved or Denied

  • Benefit Amount — Monthly SNAP allotment (for approved cases)

  • Basis — The eligibility rule that determined the outcome

  • Effective Date — When benefits begin

  • Signature — Cryptographic seal (tamper-evident — if the record is modified after signing, the system will detect it)

Notices Tab

History of all notices generated for this household:

  • Notice type (Approval, Denial, Termination, Change, ABAWD Warning, etc.)

  • Subject line

  • Date generated

  • Delivery status (Delivered, Pending, Failed)

To download a notice as PDF, click the PDF icon. The file is served directly from the document storage system.

Appeals Tab

Active and historical fair hearing requests:

  • Appeal status (Pending, Scheduled, Decided, Withdrawn)

  • Hearing date (if scheduled)

  • Decision due date (90 days from filing — 7 CFR 273.15(c)(1))

  • Continued benefits flag (if granted)

To file a new appeal, see the Filing an Appeal section below.

Activity Tab

Chronological audit trail of all actions taken on this case — determinations, notices generated, appeals filed, contacts recorded.

Processing an Application

Reviewing Eligibility

  1. Click Applications in the sidebar

  2. Find the pending application in the queue (expedited applications are flagged with ⚡)

  3. Click Process to open the review page

The review page shows:

  • Applicant Information — Name, address, household size

  • Income Summary — Gross monthly income, FPL limits (130% and 100%)

  • Expedited Screening — If flagged, a banner shows: "⚡ EXPEDITED — Must process within 7 calendar days" with the deadline date per 7 CFR 273.2(i)

  • Rules Engine Result — Shows ELIGIBLE or INELIGIBLE with the benefit amount and determination basis. These values come from the rules engine (not hardcoded) and reflect the jurisdiction’s current FPL thresholds and deduction parameters.

Approving an Application

  1. Review the eligibility result on the process page

  2. Click the Approve button

  3. The system triggers an eligibility determination via the rules engine

  4. You are redirected to the Case Detail page showing the new determination

  5. An enrollment record is auto-created for benefit issuance

  6. A Notice of Action (approval) is generated automatically

Denying an Application

  1. Click the Deny button on the process page

  2. A modal appears with a denial reason dropdown

  3. Select the appropriate reason code

  4. Click Confirm Denial

  5. The denial is recorded for each program on the application

  6. A Notice of Action (denial) is generated automatically

Regulatory basis: 7 CFR 273.10 — SNAP eligibility determination.

Filing an Appeal

When a household disagrees with an eligibility decision, you can file a fair hearing request.

  1. Navigate to Appeals in the sidebar, or go to the Appeals tab on the Case Detail page

  2. Enter the required information:

    • Household ID

    • Program (SNAP)

    • Date of the adverse action being appealed

    • Basis for appeal (brief description)

  3. Click Submit

  4. The system creates the appeal and generates an Appeal Acknowledgment notice

  5. If the appeal is filed within 14 days of the adverse action notice, continued benefits are automatically granted at the prior benefit level

Regulatory basis: 7 CFR 273.15 — fair hearings. 7 CFR 273.15(k) — continued benefits.

A fair hearing must be scheduled within 90 days of the request. The system tracks this deadline and publishes alerts when it approaches.

Recording Interim Contacts

Interim contacts are required at the midpoint of standard certification periods.

  1. From the Case Detail Household tab or the Renewal Queue, identify certifications with interim contact status "Due"

  2. Conduct the contact (phone, in-person, or mail)

  3. Submit the contact record:

    • Certification ID

    • Contact method (phone, mail, in_person)

    • Notes describing the contact

  4. The status changes to "✓ Done"

Regulatory basis: 7 CFR 273.12(a)(1)(ii) — interim contact at certification midpoint.

Submitting Change Reports

When a household reports a change in income, household composition, or other circumstances during their certification period:

  1. From the Case Detail page

  2. Submit a change report:

    • Certification ID

    • Change type: income_change or household_change

    • Report method (phone, mail, in_person, online)

    • Description of the change

    • For income changes: reported monthly income and current household size

  3. The system checks whether the reported income exceeds the 130% FPL gross income limit

  4. If the limit is exceeded, the system flags the case for redetermination

Regulatory basis: 7 CFR 273.12 — change reporting requirements.

ABAWD Activity Tracking

Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs) must meet work requirements to maintain SNAP eligibility.

What is ABAWD?

ABAWDs are SNAP recipients aged 18-49 who are not disabled, not caring for a dependent, and not exempt from work requirements. They must work or participate in qualifying activities for at least 80 hours per month (loaded from jurisdiction configuration) to continue receiving benefits.

The time limit: 3 months of benefits in a 36-month rolling window without meeting work requirements. After 3 non-qualifying months, benefits are terminated.

Recording Activity

  1. From the Case Detail Household tab, identify members with ABAWD status "Tracking"

  2. Record their monthly activity:

    • Person ID and tracking record ID

    • Benefit month

    • Hours worked, hours job search, hours training

  3. The system automatically checks the time limit:

    • If the member has 1 or 2 non-qualifying months: a warning event is published and a notice is generated

    • If the member reaches 3 non-qualifying months: a time limit reached event is published

Regulatory basis: 7 CFR 273.24 — ABAWD work requirements. Qualifying hours threshold loaded from jurisdiction.toml [snap.abawd.qualifying_hours_per_month].

Renewal Queue

The Renewal Queue shows all certifications approaching their end date.

  1. Click Renewals in the sidebar

  2. Use filter tabs to view certifications due in 30, 60, or 90 days

  3. Each row shows:

    • Household name and case number

    • Certification type (Standard or Elderly/Disabled)

    • Certification end date

    • Days remaining (color-coded: red ≤14 days, yellow ≤30 days)

    • Whether the renewal notice has been sent

    • Interim contact status (Due/Done/N/A)

  4. Click a household to open the Case Detail page

The system’s background scheduler automatically publishes renewal due events and interim contact due events on a daily cycle.

Regulatory basis: 7 CFR 273.14 — recertification. 7 CFR 273.10(f) — certification periods.

Verification Discrepancy Resolution

When the system runs IEVS income verification, it compares self-reported income against data from state and federal sources. Discrepancies greater than the configured threshold (default: $100/month, set in jurisdiction.toml [snap.ievs_discrepancy_threshold]) are flagged for your review.

Viewing Discrepancies

On the Case Detail Income & Verification tab, discrepancies appear as a side-by-side comparison:

  • Self-reported monthly amount

  • IEVS-verified monthly amount

  • Variance (difference)

Resolving a Discrepancy

  1. Review both income amounts

  2. If needed, contact the applicant for clarification or obtain third-party verification

  3. Submit the resolution:

    • Discrepancy ID

    • Resolution status: verified (income confirmed correct) or dismissed (IEVS data incorrect or not applicable)

    • Notes explaining your resolution rationale

  4. The discrepancy status updates and the determination can proceed

All unresolved discrepancies must be addressed before a final eligibility determination can be issued.

Regulatory basis: 7 USC §2025(e) — IEVS mandatory income verification for SNAP.

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Problem What to Do

Page shows "Session expired"

Your 8-hour session has ended. Log in again. Any unsaved work (e.g., a partially filled form) will need to be re-entered.

Search returns no results

Verify you typed at least 2 characters. Try searching by a different field (name vs. SSN). If the household was just created, wait a moment and retry.

"Unauthorized" or "Forbidden" error

Your role may not have permission for this action. Contact your supervisor if you believe you should have access.

Application process button is grayed out

Check for unresolved income discrepancies on the Income tab. All discrepancies must be resolved before a determination can be issued.

PDF download fails

The document storage service may be temporarily unavailable. Try again in a few minutes. If the problem persists, contact your system administrator.

Benefit amount shows $0 for an approved case

This may indicate a data entry issue (e.g., income entered as annual instead of monthly). Review the income data on the Income tab and correct if needed, then re-run the determination.

ABAWD hours not saving

Ensure you have entered all required fields: person ID, tracking ID, benefit month, and at least one hours field (work, job search, or training).

Getting Help

If you encounter an issue not listed above, contact your agency’s IT help desk with:

  • Your username

  • The case number (if applicable)

  • A description of what you were doing when the issue occurred

  • The exact error message (if any)

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