Program FAQs

The federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides a monthly benefit for you to buy food. Your benefit amount is based on your household size, income, and allowed expenses. Oklahoma Human Services issues SNAP food benefits on a plastic card, called the ACCESS Oklahoma Card. It may also be referred to as an EBT card. You can use your card just like a bank card at most food stores.

If you previously received benefits from Oklahoma Human Services, you may apply by clicking on the Apply for Benefits hyperlink.  If you are a first-time user, you must first create a username and password. Click on the Create User ID hyperlink to do so.  You may also apply for SNAP benefits by downloading, printing and completing the Request for Benefits form.  You can then mail, fax, email, or take it to your local Oklahoma Human Services Center during business hours.  Click on Get Adobe Reader if you cannot view the form.

When applying for food benefits, you must complete an interview with Oklahoma Human Services and answer additional eligibility questions. Interviews are completed by telephone or in person.  An interview can be scheduled for your convenience to account for employment or transportation needs. 

After Oklahoma Human Services receives the Request for Benefits form, we will contact you for an interview. You will receive an interview notice in the mail and may be called to complete the interview. It is important that your address and phone numbers are accurate so that we can serve you. 

When applying for food benefits, you must provide a document to prove your identity.  If you are eligible for expedited services, this may be all you need to receive one or two months of benefits.  The chart below shows documents you need to provide.

It may take up to 30 days after you apply to receive benefits or a denial notice. It is usually faster. You may be eligible to receive food benefits right away if you meet expedited food benefit rules.

Expedited means you get your food benefits faster if you meet certain rules. When you qualify, Oklahoma Human Services staff will process your application within seven days after you apply. You do not have to ask for expedited food benefits or apply for them separately. Oklahoma Human Services staff check every food benefit application to see if the household qualifies for expedited services.

Oklahoma Human Services staff will review the answers you gave on your application. If it looks like you might be eligible, we will interview you the same day if you apply in person. If you cannot stay to be seen the same day, mail in your application, or apply online, we will contact you to schedule an interview.

You are eligible to receive expedited food benefits if:

1. Your household has less than $150.00 in monthly gross income and you do not have cash resources over $100.00.
2. You are a migrant or seasonal farm worker and you do not have cash resources over $100.00.  
3. Your household’s total monthly income and cash resources are less than the household’s monthly rent or mortgage plus utilities.

Call (405) 522-5050 for more information.

We will mail you a Notice of Action letter that will tell you if you were approved or denied for food benefits.  If approved, the notice explains the amount of benefits approved, when benefits will start, and the amount of income and deductions used to make the decision. If denied, the notice explains why.

Yes. The income limit is based on the number of people in your application. Your application  will help Oklahoma Human Services see if you are eligible.

You can apply for all people living in your home who buy and fix meals with you.

Yes. The value of these resources does not affect your eligibility for food benefits. The amount of money in your bank accounts may affect your eligibility for expedited processing.

Oklahoma Human Services issues food benefits on an ACCESS Oklahoma electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card. If this is your first time getting a card or you have Child Care linked to your card, you must go to a local Oklahoma Human Services Center to get your card and watch a video explaining how to use your card. If you got an ACCESS Oklahoma card for food benefits in the past, then you will need to visit www.connectebt.com or call 1-888-328-6551. You will need your 16 digit card number and PIN, or you can access your information by providing your social security number, date of birth, and PIN. Oklahoma Human Services loads more food benefits on your ACCESS Oklahoma card each month you are approved.

You can buy food as well as plants and seeds to grow food. You will not be charged sales tax on items you buy with food benefits. You cannot buy pet food, vitamins, medicine, alcohol, tobacco, fast food or food that will be heated and eaten in the store.

You can use your ACCESS Oklahoma EBT card at most food stores in the United States. Stores that take the ACCESS Oklahoma EBT card often have a card machine in the checkout line where you can swipe your EBT card and enter your personal identification number (PIN). Your PIN is a 4-number code that you must type into the machine to use your card.

There are three ways to find your food benefit card balance:

1. Whenever you use your ACCESS Oklahoma card, your receipt shows your balance.
2. You may call the automated Customer Service line: 1-888-328-6551 and enter your card number.
3. Some stores have a machine at the customer service counter where you can swipe your card to check your balance.

Call ACCESS Oklahoma card customer service at 1-888-328-6551.

(i) The collection of this information, including the social security number (SSN) of each household member, is authorized under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, as amended, 7 U.S.C. 2011-2036. The information will be used to determine whether your household is eligible or continues to be eligible to participate in SNAP. We will verify this information through computer matching programs. This information will also be used to monitor compliance with program regulations and for program management.

(ii) This information may be disclosed to other Federal and State agencies for official examination, and to law enforcement officials for the purpose of apprehending persons fleeing to avoid the law.

(iii) If a SNAP claim arises against your household, the information on this application, including all SSNs, may be referred to Federal and State agencies, as well as private claims collection agencies, for claims collection action.

(iv) Providing the requested information, including the SSN of each household member, is voluntary. However, failure to provide an SSN will result in the denial of SNAP benefits to each individual failing to provide an SSN. Any SSNs provided will be used and disclosed in the same manner as SSNs of eligible household members.

SoonerCare (Medicaid) is a health coverage program jointly funded by the federal and state governments. This program helps pay for medical costs. The Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA) administers the program. Oklahoma Human Services determines financial eligibility for people who are 65 years of age or older, blind or disabled.

1. persons 65 years of age or older
2. persons under 19 years of age
3. certain adults 19 or older who have minor dependent
4. persons who are blind or disabled according to the Social Security Administration
5. pregnant women
6. persons needing nursing services at home or in a nursing home
7. certain adults ages 19 to 64

If you are under 19 years of age, an adult with minor children, pregnant, or an adult between the ages of 16 and 65, you may:

1. apply online through SoonerCare Online Enrollment.
2. apply at your local Oklahoma Human Services Center during business hours when applying for other benefits.
3. apply online using OKDHSLive when you are age 65 or older, or disabled.

If you previously received benefits from Oklahoma Human Services, you may apply by clicking on the Apply for Benefits hyperlink.  If you are a first-time user, you will first need to create a username and password.  You may click on the Create User ID hyperlink to do so.  You may also apply for SNAP benefits by downloading, printing and completing the Request for Benefits form and mailing or taking it to your Oklahoma Human Services Center. Get Adobe Reader if you have trouble viewing the Request for Benefits form after downloading it.

You will not need an interview if you meet the following criteria and are eligible to apply through OHCA’s Online Enrollment system:

• under 19 years old;
• an adult with minor children; or
• pregnant; or
• an adult between the ages of 19 and 64.

If you are 65 years  or older, disabled, blind, or need nursing services at home or in a nursing home, you must complete an interview with Oklahoma Human Services and answer additional eligibility questions. After Oklahoma Human Services receives your application, you will be contacted regarding your interview. Your interview can be conducted at an Oklahoma Human Services Center or, in some instances, over the telephone.

Everyone must prove U.S. citizenship or lawful immigration status. If you are 65 years or older, disabled or blind, you must provide the additional proof listed below.  Depending on your circumstances, you may need to provide other proof.

You must show at least ONE document for each type of verification.

If you are 65 years or older, disabled, or blind, it may take up to 45 calendar days after you apply to get approved or denied for benefits. It is usually faster.

Medical benefits begin immediately for eligible adults with children or pregnant women who properly submit an online application .

A notice in the mail will tell you who was approved or denied for medical benefits and the effective date. If you apply online through OHCA’s Online Enrollment system, it will immediately tell you who is approved and who is denied. You will also have the option of printing the information. If you are approved for long term care, the notice will also show how much you need to pay toward the cost of care.

Yes. Income and resource limits vary for different groups of people. If you are under 19 years of age, an adult with a minor child, or if you are pregnant, the income standards are on OHCA’s website  If you are over 65 years of age or older, blind or disabled, Schedule VI of Appendix C-1, Maximum Income, Resource, and Payment Standards shows the income and resources standards. The income and resource standards for nursing home care or nursing care in your home are on Schedule VIII of Appendix C-1, Maximum Income, Resource, and Payment Standards.

Yes. You must give information about your health insurance before SoonerCare (Medicaid) pays any medical bills. Your insurance company must be billed before SoonerCare (Medicaid) is billed.

To learn more about your SoonerCare benefits, go to the OHCA’s website at www.oklahoma.gov/ohca. There you can also:

• see information about your SoonerCare benefits;
• find a provider search tool;
• learn how to access your account and medical card if you applied on MySoonerCare.org.  

If eligible, Oklahoma Human Services will pay all or part of your child care costs directly to a licensed and contracted child care provider while you work, attend school or training. You may be required to pay a portion of child care costs based on your household income.

Child care may be approved from birth to age 13. Children with disabilities may qualify up to age 19.

If you previously received benefits from Oklahoma Human Services, you may apply by clicking on the Apply for Benefits hyperlink.  If you are a first-time user, you will first need to create a username and password. Click Create User ID to do so. 

After you apply online, you must complete an interview with Oklahoma Human Services and answer additional eligibility questions. If you apply at an Oklahoma Human Services Center, come prepared to be interviewed the same day. If you apply online and provide a telephone number, we will try to contact you to complete the interview by telephone or schedule an appointment. If the worker cannot reach you at this number, you will receive a letter scheduling an interview.

You must show at least ONE document for each type of verification.

You must also provide the name of the child care provider you wish to use. If you choose a child care center, that center must be a two, three, four or five star status unless certain exception criteria is met. Find a provider by using the Child Care Locator.

You may choose a family child care home or a child care center with a license and contract through Oklahoma Human Services. Find a child care provider using the Child Care Locator or by contacting the Oklahoma Child Care Resource and Referral Agency at 1-888-962-2772 or 405-525-8783 for Spanish. You cannot choose a child care home where you work or one in which you live. You cannot choose a child care home or center in which you have an ownership interest. You may choose to use an in-home provider. This is when a relative who meets a required degree of relationship comes into your home to care for your child. Have the chosen relative email InHomeChildCare@okdhs.org if you are interested in this option. 

For more information about licensed child care services, visit our Child Care Services Parents and Families webpage.

Let Oklahoma Human Services know about the problem right away. Your worker will try to contact your employer to get the information over the telephone. If we cannot contact your employer, we can approve 30 days of child care based on your statement of the hours you will work. You must provide proof of your income before more child care can be approved.

The earliest date child care can be approved is the date you complete the interview and provide all needed verification, including the name of the provider you choose. If you are eligible, we will approve your application within two working days of completing an interview and getting all necessary verification from you.

You will receive a Notice of Action letter showing if your benefits were approved or denied. If approved, the letter will include how much you need to pay toward the cost of care (family share copayment) and how much care is approved.

Appendix C-4, Child Care Eligibility/Co-payment Chart gives income eligibility limits. Income eligibility limits vary based on family size and income.

You will be given an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card when you apply for child care benefits. This card tracks the days and times your child attends the child care facility. You must watch an EBT training video explaining how to use your card and your responsibilities before you get the card. View Tips for your new EBT card to learn more about your EBT card, including steps you must take to protect your benefits.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) provides a small, temporary cash assistance payment to low-income families with children who are deprived of parental support due to absence, death, incapacity, or chronic unemployment while they gain education and work skills leading to full-time employment.

Family households must :

• Have biological, adoptive or other relative child(ren) under the age of 18 living in the home.
• Have deprivation of parental support due to absence, death, incapacity, or chronic unemployment of one or both biological parents.
• Agree to cooperate in pursuing child support services against the parent who is absent from the home, unless good cause is established by Oklahoma Child Support Services.
• Agree to cooperate with required drug screening and testing policies.
• Agree to participate in an approved education and/or work training component for a minimum of 30 hours each week.
• Meet all other income, household, and resource eligibility criteria discussed in a face-to-face interview.

If you previously received benefits from Oklahoma Human Services, you may apply by clicking on the Apply for Benefits hyperlink. If you are a first-time user, you will first need to create a username and password. Click Create User ID to do so. You may also apply for TANF benefits by downloading, printing and completing the Request for Benefits form. You can then mail, fax, email, or take it to your local Oklahoma Human Services Center during business hours. Click Get Adobe Reader if you have trouble viewing the downloaded form.

Please note: Once you start a TANF application,initiated, Oklahoma Human Services will schedule a face-to-face interview to complete the application process and determine your eligibility. This interview will be conducted at a local Oklahoma Human Services Center. TANF interviews must be completed in person and cannot be conducted by telephone.

Even if you are not eligible for TANF, you may still be eligible for other services offered by Oklahoma Human Services.

The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is a federal program that provides financial assistance to income-eligible Oklahoma households to help them afford home energy.

We have three open enrollment periods:

1. non-emergency winter heating program,
2. non-emergency summer cooling program,
3. Energy Crisis Assistance Program (ECAP).

 Visit OKDHS.org for anticipated open enrollment dates. Open enrollment dates may change.

During open enrollment, apply at www.okdhslive.org.

To qualify for ECAP, the household must be in an energy crisis. An energy crisis exists when your energy provider: Refuses to start, continue, or restore service without payment;

• Plans to cut off the household’s service unless the provider receives payment;
• Declines to provide additional fuel without payment and the household’s fuel tank is at or below 10% for ECAP and at or below 25% for life-threatening;
• Verifies a cash-only, cash advance, or pre-paid account has less than a $25 minimum balance in the account;
• Has depleted an alternative fuel source (i.e., Wood, Corn Pellets, Kerosene, etc.)
• Requires a new connection or reconnection fee and the security deposit;
• Enters into a payment plan with the household to prevent the service cut off.

If funding allows, life-threatening energy assistance is available throughout the year. Life-threatening households must meet LIHEAP eligibility and the criteria listed below for medical equipment or medical conditions.

To be eligible for medical equipment life-threatening energy assistance, you must provide:

• A statement or records from a licensed health care professional dated within the last 60 days verifying the medical equipment is prescribed, no battery backup is available, and the situation is life-threatening without the medical equipment. And
• A verified active cutoff order for the provider that operates the medical equipment.

To be eligible for medical condition life-threatening energy assistance, you must provide:

•  A statement or records from a licensed health care professional dated within the last 60 days verify the household member has a pre-existing medical condition that requires heating or cooling and is life threatening without the utility service. And
• A verified active cutoff order for the utility that operates the heat in the winter or the cooling in the summer. And
• On the day of cutoff, the temperature will be verified and must be:
  • in summer, the temperature is predicted to be a heat index of at least 101 degrees, or
  • in winter, the temperature is predicted to be 32 degrees or lower during daytime hours and/or 20 degrees or lower during nighttime hours.

You can submit a life-threatening referral for medical equipment and medical condition by calling (405) 522-5050.

When applying for LIHEAP, you must include everyone who uses the same utility meter or utility source.

When you apply for LIHEAP, you must provide a utility account number and your utility provider’s information. The chart below shows the type of documents you may need to provide.

If eligible for LIHEAP Summer Cooling or Winter Heating benefit, it may take up to 90 days for the provider to reflect your LIHEAP benefit. If your provider is not a LIHEAP participating provider, you will receive your LIHEAP benefit in the form of an Oklahoma Master Debit Card or direct deposit if you have enrolled in State Supplemental Payment (SSP) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Family (TANF).

From the time all verification is provided and validated, it may take up to:

•  48 hours for energy crisis assistance (ECAP).
• 18 hours for life threatening energy assistance.

A pledge will be sent to participating providers to prevent service shut-off. Some providers may not accept a pledge as a form of payment

You will receive a Notice of Action letterwith an approval or denial for LIHEAP benefits. If approved, the notice will show the benefit amount. If denied, the notice will tell you why.

Your LIHEAP Summer Cooling benefit is based on income and household size. The LIHEAP Winter Heating benefit, in addition to income and household, can vary based on fuel type or roomer/boarder status. If eligible for energy crisis or life-threatening benefit, Oklahoma Human Services will authorize the minimum payment to resolve the energy crisis for one month. A household may only receive $750 per federal fiscal year in energy crisis payments. Oklahoma Human Services will not pay for a final bill at a former service address, old debt carried over to the new account, or any services not covered by LIHEAP.

• All household members using the same utility meter or utility source must apply together.
• For integrated bills that include other utilities such as water, trash, and sewer, only the cooling/heating portion of the bill will be authorized.

LIHEAP benefits will only be issued to you in the form of an Oklahoma Master Debit card if your utility provider is a not a LIHEAP participant and you have no registered bank account for your State Supplemental Payment (SSP) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Family (TANF) benefit. You can check your balance by calling the number on the back of your card. If there is a problem with the LIHEAP benefit, call us at (405) 522-5050 to speak with someone about energy assistance and resolve the card issue.

The National School Lunch Program makes available to all students enrolled in schools and institutions a nutritionally adequate meal during a period designated as the lunch period. The School Breakfast Program makes breakfast available in schools for students who, for various reasons, come to school without an adequate breakfast, and increases the number of school breakfast programs by continuing to notify all non-breakfast-program schools of the program. Both programs are administered by the Child Nutrition Office of the Oklahoma State Department of Education.

For families that qualify, their children are entitled to nutritionally balanced meals at no charge or a reduced price. Consequently, students learn more, work faster, and score higher on tests. Participating in the School Meal Programs can also help our schools qualify for much-needed grant funding, which is directly tied to the percentage of applications returned from qualifying students.

To qualify for this benefit program, you must be a resident of Oklahoma and a parent or primary caregiver responsible for a child or children who attend school (high school or under).

• All children receiving benefits from Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) are eligible for free meals.
• Foster children who are under the legal responsibility of a foster care agency or court are eligible for free meals.
• Children participating in their school’s Head Start program are eligible for free meals.
• Children may receive free or reduced-price meals if your income is within the income guidelines listed below. 

Federal Eligibility Income Chart for School Year: 2016

The following information will lead you to the next steps to apply for this benefit.

To apply for free or reduced-price meals, contact your child's school. A listing of Oklahoma schools can be found at: Statewide School Directory | Oklahoma State Department of Education.

Please visit Oklahoma Child Nutrition to learn more about the programs, or call the Oklahoma Department of Education at (405) 521-3327.

School districts try to approve applications as soon as they are submitted. Families are required to be notified in writing only if the benefits are denied.

Contact your child's school for more information.

The Women, Infants, and Children Supplemental Nutrition Program (WIC) provides nutritious foods for women, infants, and children. WIC foods are chosen to provide the nutrients you and your children need (WIC Approved Foods).

WIC gives information about healthy eating and promotes active lifestyles. WIC offers nutrition education in three formats.

1. Online nutrition education
2. Interactive nutrition and fitness group classes
3. Private consultations with Registered/Licensed Dietitians (RD/LD). These are nutrition experts available through the WIC Program and are your most reliable source of nutrition information.

As a WIC participant, you will also receive information about other programs that can help you and your family’s overall health.

• Pregnant women who participate in WIC receive prenatal care earlier.
• Children who participate in WIC are more likely to have a regular source of medical care and are less likely to be anemic.
• Each WIC participant receives at least one referral to a healthcare or social service program.
• Moms who participate in WIC are more likely to choose breastfeeding.
• WIC increases the duration of pregnancy and positively impacts babies’ weights prenatally.