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Several local districts have recently inquired about the appropriate action to be taken when mail sent to Non-Temporary Assistance Food Stamp (NTA-FS) households is returned to the district as undeliverable with no forwarding address. The practice of sending a Request for Contact (RFC) form seemed to be a pointless exercise and at odds with simplified reporting requirements. On June 1, 2009, USDA provided clarification on this issue, noting that when a RFC form is sent it also gets returned as undeliverable. USDA recognized that the processing of this additional mail increases the burden on workers without significantly improving either the integrity of the program or customer service.
USDA has re-examined their policy under simplified reporting rules and has determined that the mail returned by the Postal Service as undeliverable with no forwarding address "cannot be considered 'verified upon receipt', since the impact to the household is unknown. Thus, under simplified (six-month) reporting rules, local districts would not send an RFC or act on the returned mail, but would follow up with the household at the next household contact or recertification." Prior to the issuance of this clarification, USDA had required states to request a waiver in order to secure permission to not send an RFC.
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