FNS Handbook 310 - Food Stamp Quality Control Review (pgs. 246-292)

FNS HANDBOOK 310

APPENDIX B

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INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING FORM FNS-380,
THE WORKSHEET FOR FOOD STAMP PROGRAM
QUALITY CONTROL REVIEWS
GENERAL
The standard worksheet appears in this Handbook in Appendix B. The automated
worksheet may be downloaded from the USDA Food Stamp Quality Control homepage
at the following address: http://www.fns.usda.gov/fsp/qc/default.htm. The users
manual for the automated worksheet follows the FNS 380 form and the instructions
for filling in the form.
Some States have designed their own worksheet for Food Stamps Quality Control (QC)
reviews. These States must submit for approval their designed worksheets to the FNS
regional office (RO). The worksheet will be reviewed and States will then be notified
of the decision.

FACESHEET – PAGE 1 (FNS-380)
This is page one of the Worksheet for Food Stamp Quality Control reviews. There are
four sections:
x Section A, is for identifying information and tracking information about
the QC review.
x Section B, lists persons living in the home.
x Section C, lists significant persons not living in the home.
x Section D, is a summary of the review findings.

SECTION A – IDENTIFYING INFORMATION
1. Agency - Enter name of local agency.
2. Case Name - Enter the name of the recipient by which the case is identified.
3. Address - Enter the complete address at which the recipient resides.
4. Telephone Number - Enter the telephone number at which the recipient can
be reached.

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5. Directions to Locate - Enter the directions to the address where the recipient
resides. (This is particularly significant where the mailing address is a post office
box number or rural route number.)

6. Case Number - Enter the number assigned by the local agency to identify the
household that was certified.

7. Review Number - Enter the number assigned to the Quality Control Review.
8. Review Date/Month - Enter month, day, and year for which case eligibility
and benefit level were reviewed.

9. Reserved - Leave blank.
10. Most Recent Action: Date and Type - Enter the effective date (month,
day, and year) of the most recent certification or recertification action prior to
or concurrent with the review date. This date cannot be prior to the start of the
most recent certification period.
x A certification means the first time a case has been certified or a
certification action following a break in participation.
x A recertification means the initial certification period has expired and the
agency has (a) completed a reexamination of all factors of eligibility subject
to change following a period of time during which the recipient has been
determined eligible and (b) made a decision to continue eligibility.

11. Certification Period - Enter the period for which the case was certified.
12. Participated During Sample Month - Check (¥) the appropriate box to
indicate if the household participated during the sample month.

13. Received Expedited Service - Check (¥) the appropriate box to indicate if
the household was certified using expedited service procedures.

14. Categorically Eligible Household - Check (¥) the appropriate box to
indicate whether the household was categorically eligible.

15. Reviewer - Enter the name of the QC reviewer conducting the review and/or
the reviewer’s identification number.

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16. Date Assigned - Enter the month, day and year the sample case was received
by the QC reviewer.

17. Date of Case Readings - Enter the month, day and year the QC reviewer
read the local office record of the recipient.

18. Date of Personal Interview - Enter the month, day and year a personal
interview was held with the recipient.

19. Date Completed - Enter the month, day and year the Quality Control review
was completed.

20. Supervisor - Enter the name of the QC reviewer’s supervisor(s).
21. Date Cleared - Enter the month, day and year the review was cleared by the
supervisor for statistical processing.

SECTION B – PERSONS LIVING IN THE HOME
Name - Enter the names of all persons living in the household. These would include
the recipient, and both related and unrelated persons, including roomers and
boarders. The first person listed should be the head of the household.
If additional space is needed, use the reverse side of the facesheet. For additional
space on the automated worksheet, press enter on the button labeled “Click for more
HH members”.

Birth Date - Enter the birth dates of all persons listed as members of the food stamp
household.

Age - Enter the age of all persons listed as members of the food stamp household.
Relationship or Significance - Enter letters to show the relationship of the
household members to the head of the household such as:
x
x
x
x
x
x

SP - spouse
S - son
D - daughter
GS - grandson
N - niece
FR - friend, etc.

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Note: If the person is not included in the food stamp household under review but is a
food stamp recipient indicate the case number under which he/she is receiving food
stamps.

Social Security - Enter the social security number of each household member.
Enter “unknown” if the number cannot be determined from the case record or field
investigation. Enter “none” if it is known that the household member never had a
social security number.

Recipient - Indicate whether the agency included this person in the sampled
household.

SECTION C – SIGNIFICANT PERSONS NOT LIVING IN THE HOME

Name - Enter the names of all persons, including responsible relatives not residing in
the household, living or dead, who are of significance to the members of the food
stamp household. This includes all absent parents (and alleged parents) of children in
the household whether or not they are known to contribute to the person’s support.
If the identity of the absent parent of a member of the household listed in Section B is
unknown write “father/mother unknown” in this column and indicate the line number
of the member in Section B.

Relationship or Significance - Enter the relationship of each person to the
member of the household listed in Section B, and identify by line number, the
individual to whom the relationship pertains.
Social Security Number - Enter the social security number (SSN), if known, of
persons listed in this section.
x Enter “unknown” if the number cannot be determined from the case record or
field investigation.
x Enter “none” if it is known that the person never had a SSN.

Address - Enter the address of each person listed. If the address cannot be
determined either from the case record or from the field investigation enter
“unknown”.

Phone Number - Enter the telephone number of each person listed.

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Financial Support - Check (¥) this box for any person who provided financial
support to a member of the food stamp household during the budget or review month.

SECTION D - REVIEW FINDINGS
This section provides a brief summary of the review findings. Enter the allotment
amount authorized for the review month. (See section 232.) Check (¥) the box that
corresponds to the findings of the review of the case. If an error exists, enter the
amount of the error.

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WORKSHEET NARRATIVE- PAGES 2 THROUGH 14 (FNS-380)
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS
Use the remaining portion of the worksheet to document each step of the
independent full-field investigation and to evaluate each step in determining
eligibility and appropriate benefit level. Record the facts sufficiently to establish the
basis on which the decision was made on each element.

COLUMN 1, ELEMENTS OF ELIGIBILITY AND BASIS OF ISSUANCE
Listed are a number of elements associated with eligibility and benefit level.
Definitions of these elements and verification requirements are found in Chapters 8
through 11. States may add, under each area, any additional State eligibility
requirements not included herein.

COLUMN 2, QC ANALYSIS OF CASE RECORD
Use this column to record documentation contained in the case record and to assist in
planning for the field investigation. Enter details of recorded information that need
not be reverified in this column. Note any pertinent facts; also record whether
anything is questionable about the information. Identify questions that pertain to
some but not all persons in the family. Indicate any of the following: conflicts in
information recorded, factors subject to change, reliability of information recorded,
reliability of source used, and missing information.
Use this column selectively to highlight other points to be considered when conducting
the field investigation or to remind you of the case situation.

COLUMN 3, FINDINGS OF FIELD INVESTIGATION
Record the results of the field investigation. Information in this column provides the
basis for completing the review findings and detailed error finding portions of the QC
Review Schedule. The QC review is a review of the validity of the case at a given
point in time in accordance with the provisions of Federal law, regulations, and
implementing memoranda. Therefore, the entries in this column will relate to the
facts of the situation affecting eligibility as of the review date even though the
specific findings may or may not constitute a case error.

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Answer any questions raised in Column 2 in this section. Entries such as “correct”,
“verified”, and “OK” do not constitute adequate information. Document the specific
sources used as verification or any attempts to verify the element for all applicable
elements of eligibility and basis of issuance. Information must be provided in
sufficient detail for anyone reviewing the case at a later time to clearly understand
the conclusions on each element and the final conclusions on the case.
Where there are eligibility or basis of issuance variances based on circumstances as of
the review date, record the date the variances first occurred.

COLUMN 4, RESULTS
Complete each element by circling one of the following to indicate the final decision:
1 = No error
2 = Agency error
3 = Client error
An agency error is defined as the failure of the agency to discharge its responsibilities
in a proper and timely manner.
A client error is defined as the failure of the recipient, guardian, or authorized
representative to provide correct information or to otherwise discharge his/her
responsibility in a proper and timely manner.
Where both the agency and the client are responsible for the same error in an
element the agency error takes precedence on the basis that the client’s failure
would have been negated, and no discrepancy would have existed had the agency
acted proper.

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COMPUTATION SHEETS – PAGES 15 THROUGH 17 (FNS-380)
General Instructions
The computation sheets are to be used to document all completed active case
reviews. The only exceptions are reviews of households that were ineligible for
reasons other than income. Columns (1) and (2) are required to be completed,
Columns (3), (4) and (5) are optional. Regardless of the use of Columns (3), (4), and
(5), Columns (1) and (2) must be used as outlined below.

COLUMN 1, ELIGIBILITY WORKER
Column (1), record the figures that the eligibility worker used to compute the
allotment for the sample month.

COLUMN 2, FINAL SAQC DETERMINATION
Column (2), record the final quality control determination figures based on the results
of the review.
Note: If the household was ineligible because of gross or net income the reviewer may
stop at the appropriate income line.

COLUMNS 3, 4, 5
Columns (3), (4), and (5) of the computation sheets are optional. They are included
for the convenience of States and may be used for recording:
x
x
x
x
x

Comparison I
Comparison II
Illustrating the impacts of individual variances
Reflecting a retrospectively budgeted household’s prospective eligibility
Any other State identified purpose

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FOOD STAMP QUALITY CONTROL
AUTOMATED FNS-380

User’s Manual

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Table of
Contents

Introduction……..…………………………………………………………………….3
Data Entry.………………………………………………………………………………4
1. Entering New Reviews ……………………………………………………………….4
2. Viewing or Changing Previously Entered Reviews…………………….13
3. Ending a Work Session.………………………………………………………………13

Main Menu Utilities….………………………………………………………………14
1. Computation Sheets ……………………………………………………………………………14
2. Worksheet Completion Status…………………………………………………………….15
3. Preview Menu ………………………………………………………………………………………16
4. Print Menu ……………………………………………………………………………………………17
5. Delete Selected Review …………………………………………………………………….18
6. Import/Export Utility……………………………………………………………………………19
7. Save Entire Worksheet to a File …………………………………………………………21
8. Appendix A ………………………………………………………………………………………….22

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INTRODUCTION

The FOOD STAMP QUALITY CONTROL ELECTRONIC WORKSHEET (FNS-380)
consists of one database that contains single or multiple reviews for a specific
period (ex: fiscal year 2001). It was developed using Microsoft Access 2000.
It allows users to:
x
x
x
x
x
x
x

Enter a new review
View previously entered reviews
Delete an entire review
Change a previously entered review
Import from/export to an ASCII file
Save entire worksheet to a file
Print any page from the worksheet

To enter reviews for another period (ex: fiscal year 2002), the user needs to
rename FNS-380 (ex: rename FNS-380 to FNS-380_2001 then download a
new version from the USDA Food Stamps Quality Control homepage to use it
for the new period. The address for this homepage is as follows:
http://www.fns.usda.gov/fsp/qc/default.htm.
To facilitate data entry, the system presents a full-screen data entry
format; screen layouts resemble the pages of the Worksheet for Food
Stamp Quality Control review.

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DATA ENTRY
1.

ENTERING NEW REVIEWS
STEP 1:

You must choose a review number before entering any review information.
To enter a new review number, click on the box next to “CHOOSE A
REVIEW NUMBER OR TYPE A NEW ONE”; then enter a new review number.

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STEP 2:
To select a page from the electronic worksheet, go to the box to the right
of CHOOSE AN ELECTRONIC WORK SHEET PAGE TO GO TO; click on the
down arrow next to the box; and then choose a page from the drop down
list.

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The selected page of the Food Stamp Electronic Worksheet appears.

OR
To go to an Element of the electronic worksheet, click on the arrow next
to the box beside CHOOSE AN ELEMENT TO GO TO: and then select an
element from the drop down list. Or, you may type an element number
(the system will automatically finish entering that element name in the
block) and then click the box.

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The selected page of the Food Stamp Electronic Worksheet appears.

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To select a Review Schedule page, go to the box next to CHOOSE A
REVIEW SCHEDULE PAGE TO GO TO; click on the down arrow for the box
and choose a page from the drop down list.

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The selected page of the Review Schedule appears.

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STEP 3:
To enter review data, simply begin typing.
Some items to remember while entering data:
x Press enter or Tab to skip over a field.
x Use the right and left cursor movement keys to move from position to
position within a field.
x Amount fields are centered.
x Hit F1 on any field to get help on that field.
x A description of a field and/or the allowable range of characters that can
be entered appears in the task bar on the bottom of the screen.
x If you are done entering data to the current page, check the box on the
upper left corner to mark the page as completed.
The usual keyboard controls in a Windows environment are used in this
program. Refer to Attachment A for more guidance on keyboard controls.
In addition, for this application, filling, or moving past, the last field on a
screen automatically opens the next data entry screen. Many fields have
range-checking or data validation, and will not allow invalid data to be
entered. You may either blank out the field or use the escape key to allow
you to continue.
These instructions above apply to using the cursor on all data entry
screens.
The Selection Menu appears at the top of the page selected.
This menu allows the user to:
x
x
x
x
x
x

Move to the Next Page
Go back to the Previous Page
Print the page
Preview the page
Choose an Element to go to from the list box
Return to the Main Menu

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STEP 4:
To enter review data appearing on the next page of the Electronic
Worksheet, select Next Page at the top of the screen.
The next page of the Electronic Worksheet appears.
There are several things to remember when entering data to this screen:
x When the next page is displayed, the cursor is in the first position of the
first field.
x Press Tab to move to the next field or to skip over a field.
x Press Shift + Tab to move to the previous field.
x To change data already entered to a field, move to the first position of
the field, delete incorrect data and retype correct data.
x To remove all data appearing in the field press CtrL+Del keys.
x The data on the field is saved automatically when user advances to the
next field.

STEP 5:
Continue entering data in the same manner on any selected page of the
Electronic Worksheet.

STEP 6:
When data entry is complete, to add another review, return to the Main
Menu and click on the Review Number list box to type a new review
number, or click on the down arrow to select one from the list box.
If there are no more reviews to enter, click Exit Food Stamp Quality
Control System to close the program.

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2.

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VIEWING OR CHANGING PREVIOUSLY ENTERED
REVIEWS
STEP 1:

At the main menu select a review number from the list box.

STEP 2:
Select either an Electronic Worksheet page, an element or a Review
Schedule page to go to.
The selected page of the Food Stamp Electronic Worksheet for that particular review
number will appear. Edit data on the Face Sheet page, pages 2-14 of the Food Stamp
Electronic Worksheet, or the Review Schedule pages.

STEP3:
To view any additional reviews, click on Main Menu at the top of the
screen and select another review number.

3.

ENDING A WORK SESSION

To end the work session at any time, return to the Main Menu and click on
Exit Food Stamp Quality Control System to close the application and
exit the program. Data is automatically saved.

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MAIN MENU UTILITIES
(1)

Computation Sheets

Use the pull down box to select a review number, then click on
Computation Sheets. Page 1 of the Food Stamp Program Quality Control
Computation Sheet appears. Enter data or edit data as you need or do
calculations manually. If you are using the automated version, calculations
will be done automatically.

A selection menu is at the top and bottom of the page. It allows the user to
go to page 2, self-employment page, print and preview the current page.
Use the scroll bar to view the rest of the page. When finished, click on the
close button to go back to the main menu.

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Worksheet Completion Status

This utility allows the user to check his work progress. It lists the Electronic
Worksheet pages (Face Sheet page and pages 2-14) with a checkbox next
to each page. If the checkbox is checked, it means that the corresponding
page is completed for the selected review number.

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Preview Menu

This utility has three sections:
x Choose to preview the face Sheet page or any page from pages 2-14
from the Preview Worksheet Pages section.
x Choose to preview the computation sheets from the Preview
Computation Sheets section.
x Choose to preview the review schedule pages 1-3 from the Preview
Review Schedule Pages section.
At
x
x
x

the bottom of the page, there are three command buttons:
Click on Main Menu button to go to the main menu.
Click on Print Menu to go to the Print Menu page.
Click on Exit Access to quit the application.

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Print Menu

This utility has three sections:
x Choose to print the face Sheet page or any page from pages 2-14 from
the Print Worksheet Pages section.
x Choose to print the computation sheets from the Print Computation
Sheets section.
x Choose to print the review schedule pages 1-3 from the Print Review
Schedule Pages section.
At the bottom of the page, there are three command buttons:
x Click on Main Menu button to go to the main menu.
x Click on Preview Menu to go to the preview menu page.
x Click on Exit Access to quit the application.

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(5)

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Delete Selected review

Once a review is deleted from the Food Stamp Electronic Worksheet
Program, it cannot be recovered.
To delete a review, at the Main Menu, select a review number from the list
box, then press the Delete Selected Review button. A confirmation box
appears that states the review number to be deleted. Click Yes to delete
that review.

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Import/Export Utility

This utility allows the user to import cases from another database or export
cases from this database to a text file (80 x 24).

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Step 1:
To import, choose Import cases from another database option.
To export, choose Export cases to an ASCII file option.

Step 2:
Under File Name to Import from/Export to, enter the name of the file to
import from/export to in the text box provided. Specify the path and the
extension of the file.

Step 3:
To import/export all cases, select All Cases option.
To import/export a range of cases, select Range of Cases option.
When this option is selected, Starting Review Number and Ending Review
Number text boxes are enabled. Enter the review numbers then click OK.
To import/export more than one range, click on Add More and enter the
additional ranges then click OK. A window appears that confirms the
import/export process and tells how many cases were imported/exported.
Click OK to return to the Main Menu.

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Save Entire Worksheet to a File

This option allows the user to save the entire Electronic Worksheet
Program to an executable file.
Click on Save Entire Worksheet to a File utility, A Save As Dialog Box
appears. Type a name for your file in the File Name text box. The file name
cannot be more than eight characters. Click on Save. The review will be
saved as a snapshot of the Face Sheet, pages 2-14 and Computation
Sheets of the selected review number. The snapshot of all the pages will be
saved in an executable file that can be emailed to a supervisor or
colleagues. To view the case, double-click on this executable file to extract
all the pages.
Note: To be able to view these pages, Snapshot Viewer program must be
installed on the computer. When viewing for the first time, the system will
check to see if Snapshot Viewer program is installed. If it is not installed, it
will ask to insert the Microsoft Office 2000 CD to install it.

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APPENDIX A

Keyboard Controls for the worksheet are the usual keyboard controls for
the Windows environment, as follows:

Cursor control keys in the data entry / edit
subsystem
/

Complete an entry, or move to the next
field without entering.
o
Move one position right in the current
field. Will move to the next field if
current field is highlighted.
m
Move one position left in the current
field. Will move to the previous field if
current field is highlighted.
p
(down arrow) Goes 1 line down; will go
to the next field if current field is
highlighted.
n
(up arrow) Goes 1 line up; will go to the
previous field if current field is
highlighted.
[Ctrl+Del]
field.

Delete all characters from the current
Undo all changes to current field.
Delete a character at cursor position.
Inserts blank space at cursor position.
Delete character before cursor.

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