The Elderly Simplified Application Project (ESAP) is a federal waiver to allow elderly and disabled CalFresh households to waive recertification interviews, use data matching to reduce needed verifications, extend certification period for up to 36 months, and waive the requirement to contact the household every 12 months, which eliminates the need to send and collect SAR-7 reports.
These waivers apply to households where all members are either elderly (age 60 or older) or disabled with no earned income. Households that include excluded or ineligible members who are also elderly or disabled are eligible for ESAP.
The California Department of Social Services has announced that the elimination of periodic reporting for ESAP households will be effective on March 1, 2022 through September 30, 2026. ESAP households will no longer need to complete a periodic report at 12th and 24th months of their 36-month certification period. ESAP households will still need to complete mandatory mid-period reporting, including gross income over the Income Reporting Threshold during the 36 month-certification period. If an ESAP household submits a SAR 7 report due on or after March 1, 2022, the county must treat it as a voluntary mid-period report.
ESAP households will get a notice in early March, 2022 informing them that they will no longer need to submit SAR 7 reports to maintain their CalFresh eligibility. Counties must continue to issue notices at the 12th and 24th months of the certification period to report income over the income reporting threshold. (ACL 22-15, February 10, 2022.)