HAR §17-610-8. Personnel

(a) The branch personnel conducting certification procedures and interviews shall be employed in accordance with the current standards of a merit system of personnel administration or any standards later prescribed by the United States Civil Service Commission under Section 208 of the Intergovernmental Personnel Act of 1970 (42 U.S.C. §17-610-9 610-11 §4728). Branch personnel participating in the SNAP shall not: (1) Certify or recertify a household of which that employee is a member; or (2) Determine the eligibility of a household consisting of an eligible member who is also an employee of the benefit, employment and support services division. (b) Unit offices having only one employee who is also a participant in the SNAP shall have the certifi- cation or recertification of the employee's household approved by a person designated by the BA. (c) Volunteers and others not employed by the State shall not: (1) Conduct the certification interview; or (2) Certify food stamp applicants, except for SSI households and disaster victims under certain conditions; but may participate in related activities such as assisting applicants in completing the application form, prescreening applicants, and securing necessary verification to determine eligibility. (d) Individuals and organizations involved in lockouts, and the individuals' or organizations' facilities, may not be relied upon or used in the certification process except to verify information supplied by the applicant. (e) Only authorized employees of the department, coupon issuers, coupon bulk storage points, and federal employees involved in administration of the FSP shall be permitted access to food coupons, ATP cards, or other issuance documents. [Eff 3/19/93; am and comp 6/24/13] (Auth: HRS §346-14) (Imp: 7 C.F.R. §272.4(a)) §17-610-9 Staffing standards and bilingual requirements. (a) The department shall provide bilingual and certification materials, staff, inter- preters, and volunteers as required by federal regulations to provide bilingual services. (b) The branch shall ensure that there are sufficient bilingual staff or interpreters for the timely processing of non-English speaking households §17-610-9 610-12 subject to the bilingual requirements. [Eff 3/19/93; comp6/24/13] (Auth: HRS §346-14) (Imp: 7 C.F.R. §272.4(b))