Although Congress has passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act to address, at least in part,  the public health crisis and economic fallout from COVID-19, many barriers continue to keep struggling families from accessing the assistance they need during the pandemic. 

SNAP, TANF, AND MEDICAID 

• DCF closes offices. 
  • All brick-and-mortar storefronts closed as of March 18, 2020.
  • Floridians who normally apply in person should use drop-boxes at the Department’s storefront locations to turn in their applications. 
  • Applications are not accepted by phone.  
  • No plans provided yet for seniors and persons who may wish to apply for assistance during the pandemic. 

• DCF expands call center hours. 
  • DCF has expanded call center hours from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. (EST), Monday through Friday. Call center numbers are 866-762-2237 or 850-300-4DCF. 

• Certification periods extended by 6 months. 
  • Certification periods for cash, food and medical assistance have been extended by 6 months for individuals and families scheduled to recertify in April or May 202. 
  • Persons who were due to recertify in March must still recertify over the internet or fill out a hard copy recertification application. 
  • Individuals and families eligible for Medicaid in March do not have to recertify and their coverage should be reinstated if it was terminated during March. 
• DCF switches to phone interviews. 
  • Phone interviews are now being used for cash and food assistance. 
• Mandatory work requirements suspended effective immediately. 
  • Effective immediately, work requirements are waived for individuals participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.   
• DCF makes adjustments to reflect 2020 Federal Poverty Level (FPL). DCF has issued the transmittal governing the 2020 Federal Poverty Level (FPL) and Consolidated Need Standards (CNS) to increase the income limits for the Medicaid and Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA) Programs. DCF says that the new adjustments will be used in the determination of eligibility for pending applications and open cases effective April 1, 2020. (Access file here)

SNAP 

• Emergency allotments to be issued. 
  • DCF has been directed by Governor DeSantis to automatically supplement SNAP allotments of current recipients up to the maximum for families of the household’s size for 2 months. 
  • DCF says that March supplements will be added on April 4, 2020, and that April supplements will be issued either on April 8th or on a family’s regular staggered issuance date. 

• Pandemic EBT  directed by Governor.  
  • Governor DeSantis has directed DCF to provide SNAP to families whose children are eligible for free and reduced-price school lunch. 
  • Florida expects to cover more than 2.1 million children in Florida. 

• What about Disaster SNAP (D-SNAP)? 
  • No D-SNAP program has been approved by the President or initiated as of now. Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP) is linked to a federal declaration of disaster approving the program. 

• Time limit suspended. 
  • The three-month time limit  on SNAP eligibility for ABAWDS  is suspended  effective April 1, 2020, until the public health emergency is lifted. 
  • DCF has not yet issued details about implementation of this suspension. 

SCHOOL MEALS 

• Florida’s Agriculture Commissioner takes early steps to feed school children during school closures.  
• Many of Florida’s low-income children will still be able to get  free and reduced-cost meals even though their schools are closed because of the pandemic. 
• Families can locate free meals for children under 18 through the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ (FDACS) Summer BreakSpot website. For most sites, no application is required.
• Visit Free Meals for Kids or review locations on the map above.

MEDICAID 

• New Policy: No Medicaid terminations from March through the end of the public health emergency. On March 31st, AHCA alerted providers that:

• • No Medicaid recipient will lose Medicaid eligibility during the COVID-19 public health emergency;
  • AHCA is working to notify recipients who may have received a termination notice in the month of March that their benefits will be reinstated; and
  • Effective with applications filed in February 2020, the time for submitting documentation required to process an application is extended for 120 days from the date of the application and eligibility will still be effective the first day of the month the application was received. 

Under the newly enacted Families First Coronavirus Response Act, a state is prohibited from ending coverage for recipients enrolled as of March 18th for the duration of the public health emergency if the state opts to obtain an enhanced federal Medicaid match. Florida has opted to take the enhanced match.