Emergency food aid on Rota starts today

Nutrition Assistance Program personnel will be on Rota beginning today, Oct. 22, 2018, to implement the Emergency Food Assistance, as authorized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service, by providing food coupon benefits to eligible residents who have been affected by Typhoon Mangkhut, which occurred on Sept. 10-11, 2018.

The Emergency Food Assistance operation will be conducted at the Rota Youth Center from Oct. 22 to 26, from 8am to 6pm.

The Emergency Food Assistance is divided in two programs: Disaster NAP or DNAP and Supplemental Disaster Assistance. 

DNAP is primarily for non-NAP households and any resident who resided on Rota at the time of the storm. The Supplemental Disaster Assistance is for ongoing NAP households or individuals on Rota.
 
DNAP
DNAP applicants will be required to fill out a disaster application. To be eligible for DNAP the household must meet the following criteria: residency, income and resources threshold.

Residency means the household and its members must have resided on Rota during the dates the typhoon occurred. The information that is required for the residency criteria must be verified. Examples of verification for residency could be a CUC, telephone, cable, rental billings, vehicle registration, voter’s ID, school or medical records, or tax returns.

The criteria for income mean the monthly gross income of the entire household, with the deduction of disaster-related expenses, was equal to or below the NAP’s fiscal year 2018 maximum monthly gross income levels for their respective household size. The information required for income and, if applicable, disaster related expenses must be within the period of Sept. 9 to Oct. 8, 2018, the disaster period authorized. Examples for income verification could be pay stubs, tax returns, or rental income including disaster related expense receipts. Examples of disaster related expenses are food loss or food destroyed as a result of the storm, a reduction or termination of income as a direct result of the disaster, cost for replacing or repairing household goods, clothing, food, and property, or cost for temporary shelter or medical expenses.

Resources are described as bank accounts such as checking or savings account, or any liquid resources accessible to the household. Resources that were not accessible to the household during the disaster period are not to be included as resources. Examples for resources verification include most recent bank statements or any instrument that can be provided as verification of their accessible resources. The criteria for resources mean the value of resources that was accessible to the household during the disaster period was equal to or below the NAP’s fiscal year 2018 resources limit, as provided below.

• A household with all members aged 54 and below: $2,250 limit

• A household with at least one member aged 55 years or older: $3,500 limit

Additionally, the identity of all individuals will be verified. Examples for identity verification are valid photo identification of the applicant, including birth certificates or passports and Social Security cards for each member of the household.

As an emphasis, the disaster period authorized for DNAP is from Sept. 9 to Oct. 8, 2018, which mean that the NAP will verify residency, income, including disaster related expenses, and resources for this period.

For reason any or all documentation have been lost or destroyed by the storm which precludes a DNAP applicant from providing actual documentation, an affidavit may be used as their verification. Affidavit forms will be provided during the interview process at the Rota Youth Center, the designated DNAP center.

Supplemental disaster assistance (ongoing NAP households)

Ongoing NAP households on Rota who received NAP benefits for September 2018 but was lower than the NAP maximum benefit allotment will be given a supplemental disaster benefit, even if they have already received a replacement of benefits. For example, a household of two who received $400 in September 2018 will be given a $269 supplemental benefit in order to bring their previously issued benefit up to the maximum benefit of $629. The replacement of benefits that were issued on Oct. 4-5, 2018, is considered a separate program from the supplemental disaster assistance which will not be counted against eligibility for supplemental disaster assistance. Ongoing households who are seeking for supplemental disaster assistance will be required to fill out a disaster application form.  In addition, the head of household or the authorized representative will be required to present their valid photo ID such as driver’s license or passport with their NAP ID card at the time of application.

Ongoing NAP households who received maximum benefit allotment for September 2018 are not eligible for Supplemental Disaster Assistance. This program only provides supplemental benefits for Rota NAP households who received less than the maximum benefit allotment.

Ongoing NAP households are not eligible for DNAP and shall not receive DNAP benefits.
Concealing income and financial assets, or disposing of substantial financial assets, or misrepresenting household members and relationships, or misrepresenting residence is considered eligibility fraud.
For more information, contact NAP at 237-2842 or 237-2843. (PR)