The California Department of Social Services has issued instructions about processing Income and Eligibility Verification System (IEVS) data matches. IEVS is a system to verify income and other information for applicants and recipients of both CalWORKs and CalFresh.
County staff must review IEVS information and compare it to information in the case record. If the information is consistent with information provided by the applicant or recipient, no action is taken. If the information is different from information provided by the applicant or recipient, the county must verify the information from IEVS to determine if it affects eligibility or benefit level. County staff first requests verification from the recipient. If the recipient is unable to provide verification, county staff must seek verification from third-party sources (an employer for example). After the county has received third party verification, county staff determines the effect on eligibility or benefit levels.
Follow-up with the recipient following an IEVS match must happen within 45 calendar days of CDSS transmitting the match to the county. If there is no discrepancy, the county must make a case note documentating that determination. For CalFresh only cases, failure to respond to this letter within 10 days can be a basis for terminating benefits.
Counties must either establish an overpayment or overissuance or determine that no discrepancy exists by the end of the quarter following the quarter when the county received the IEVS match. This timeframe does not apply to closed cases. A pending investigation by the county Special Investigation Unit cannot delay processing of an IEVS match. ACL 17-41 (June 6, 2017).