TO:	Commissioners; Food Stamp, MA, TA and HEAP Directors; WMS/EBT Coordinators

FROM:	Russell Sykes/rs, Deputy Commissioner, Division of Temporary Assistance

SUBJECT:	 NYSNIP Non-Redeemer Reminder GIS & Attachments

EFFECTIVE DATE:  February 2, 2005

CONTACT PERSON:	Tom Hedderman, Food Stamp Bureau at 1-800-343-8859, ext. 6-6939

The purpose of this GIS is to inform local DSS workers that the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) has begun the printing and mailing of reminder letters to New York State Nutrition Improvement Project (NYSNIP) participants who had food stamp cases opened for them automatically as part of the recently completed phased mass openings.  The reminder letters will be sent only to those participants who, thus far, have failed to use any of the food stamp benefits that have been authorized for them.  The letters remind the NYSNIP participants of the availability of their food stamp benefits and the need to redeem at least some of the benefits soon in order to continue to receive the benefits and not have their NYSNIP food stamp case closed.

Enclosed with the reminder letters are a flyer prepared by the Nutrition Consortium of New York State and a listing of Nutrition Outreach and Education Programs (NOEPs).  For your information, we have attached samples of the documents. Please note that there are separate upstate and New York City versions of both the reminder letter and the NOEP listings attached.  The letters and the Nutrition Consortium flyer are being printed in both English and Spanish on one sheet of paper. The NOEP listings are printed only in English. 

As with the recently completed mass openings of NYSNIP cases, the sending of these reminder letters and the subsequent closing of cases will be phased in over several months.  A complete schedule of mailing dates and related case closings will be provided in a subsequent GIS.

This first batch of reminder letters will be sent only to those non-redeeming NYSNIP participants whose food stamp cases were opened automatically, effective July 1, 2004.  Recipients of these letters who still have not redeemed any benefits by Friday, March 11, 2005, will be subject to having all benefits in their EBT food stamp accounts recovered on or about March 12, 2005, and their food stamp cases will be closed immediately following completion of the benefit recovery process.

The sending of the reminder letters, recovery of benefits and closing of non-redeeming cases will be done automatically.  No local district worker action is required.  Food Stamp Case Level Reason Code ‘Y96 – Auto Close NYSNIP Shelter Type 98 Case: Failure to Redeem FS’ will be used in auto-closing these cases.  Code Y96 does not generate a notice.  No closing notices are required and none will be sent.

Reports have been sent to the upstate local districts notifying them of non-redeeming Shelter Type 98 NYSNIP participants to whom the reminder letters have been sent.  Upstate districts will have received (and will receive with each subsequent mailing of the reminder letters) report ‘NYSNIPNR0000 – NYSNIP Cases after 60 Days of Inactivity.’  The report file is broken out by Office/Unit/Worker and has the Case Number and Case Name of each individual to whom a reminder letter has been sent.  As stated above, the local district does not need to take any action on these cases.  The reports are informational only, and are being provided, at the request of several local districts, to facilitate outreach and redemption rate tracking efforts.  

New York City HRA will receive a similar file, PRNRNM0704, listing the Case Numbers and Case Names of New York City non-redeeming NYSNIP participants whose cases opened in July, 2004.