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Additional DSNAP Locations to Open in Lafourche, St. Tammany, Jefferson, St. Charles and Tangipahoa

More than 12,000 DSNAP applications approved on Wednesday

September 06, 2012

09.06.12 - The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) will open additional Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (DNSAP) locations.

The following locations will be open Friday, September 7 through Tuesday, September 11 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

• Lafourche Parish - South Lafourche Parish Library, 16241 East Main, Cutoff
• Jefferson Parish - Grand Isle Multiplex, 3101 Hwy 1, Grand Isle

For the above locations, applicants should go on the following designated days based on their last name:

• Friday, September 7 - H through L
• Saturday, September 8 - M through R
• Sunday, September 9 - S through Z
• Monday, September 10 - All applicants unable to make prior scheduled day
• Tuesday, September 11 - All applicants unable to make prior scheduled day

On Saturday, DCFS will open an additional location in St. Tammany Parish. It will be open Saturday, September 8 through Wednesday, September 12 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

• St. Tammany Parish - John Slidell Park, 105 Robert Blvd., Slidell

For the above location, applicants should go on the following designated days based on their last name:

• Saturday, September 8 - M through R
• Sunday, September 9 - S through Z
• Monday, September 10 - All applicants unable to make prior scheduled day
• Tuesday, September 11 - All applicants unable to make prior scheduled day
• Wednesday, September 12 - All applicants unable to make prior scheduled day

To minimize wait times, applicants and anyone who pre-applied for benefits should go to a DSNAP location only on the day indicated by the first letter of their last name. Applicants who are unable to visit a site on their designated day can go on the final two days each site is open.

St. Charles and Tangipahoa Parishes

DSNAP sites in St. Charles and Tangipahoa parishes will open on Sunday, September 9.

Once finalized, DSNAP sites for St. Charles and Tangipahoa parishes will be announced. The sites will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. for seven days on a staggered alphabetic schedule to be released when sites are announced. Site locations will be posted at www.dcfs.la.gov and will be available by calling 211 or 1-888-LAHELP-U.

An estimated 40,592 households could be eligible for DSNAP benefits in St. Charles and Tangipahoa parishes. Approximately 16,777 households in these two parishes are already receiving regular SNAP benefits, and will have disaster benefits automatically added to their EBT cards if they are not already receiving the maximum allotment for their household size.

Wednesday DSNAP Totals

On Wednesday, DCFS approved 12,637 applications in DSNAP sites in nine parishes and issued $5,338,103 in DSNAP benefits.

By comparison, during the DSNAP following Hurricane Gustav in 2008, 352 households were processed and approved during the first day in the same nine parishes.

About DSNAP

DSNAP, formerly called Disaster Food Stamps, provides food assistance for eligible households who do not receive regular SNAP benefits and who need help buying groceries due to lost income or damages following a disaster.

Only households who resided in a parish approved for DSNAP at the time of the disaster are eligible to apply.

Individuals in the approved parishes who pre-applied for DSNAP must visit a DSNAP issuance site with a picture ID to verify their identity and be interviewed for an eligibility decision before receiving benefits. Pre-applying does not guarantee benefits.

Applicants can visit any DSNAP site to apply for benefits; they are not required to visit the DSNAP site in their parish of residence. Regular DCFS offices will not accept DSNAP applications.

Applicants may name an Authorized Representative to apply for DSNAP on their behalf. Authorized representatives must bring with them to the DSNAP site their picture ID and the picture ID of the applicant/head of household along with a signed statement from the applicant/head of household or an adult household member authorizing them to make an application on their behalf.

Accommodations will be made for the elderly and those with disabilities to reduce on-site wait times.

Regular SNAP households DO NOT need to apply for DSNAP. Households that receive regular SNAP benefits in approved DSNAP parishes will automatically have additional DSNAP benefits added to their Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards if they are not already receiving the maximum allotment for their household size.

To help expedite the application process, individuals can pre-apply before visiting a DSNAP location either online at www.dcfs.la.gov/preapply or www.getagameplan.org or by calling 1-888-LAHELP-U (888-524-3578) 24 hours a day. When applying by phone, callers should select the appropriate language and then select options 3 and 3.

The following information is required for DSNAP pre-application:

• Names, Social Security Numbers and Dates of Birth for each household member;
• Address and Parish where you currently live;
• Monthly income for each household member; and
• All liquid resources for each household member (cash on hand, checking accounts, savings accounts).

DCFS is working to get DSNAP benefits out to eligible residents as quickly as possible. Intentionally providing inaccurate or incomplete information as part of a DSNAP application could be considered fraud. Strong safeguards are in place to identify DSNAP fraud and abuse. DCFS will work to investigate suspected fraud and aggressively pursue recoupment and possibly prosecution.