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			 SNAP recipients who typically receive their benefits between April 
			1st and April 10th will receive their benefits according to their 
			regular schedule. SNAP recipients who typically receives their 
			benefits after the 10th of the month, will receive their April 
			benefits on April 10th. May benefits will return to the regular 
			schedule. 
 “The federal shutdown earlier this year took a toll on Illinois 
			families,” said IDHS Secretary Designate Grace B Hou. “While we were 
			able to maintain operations at the state level and still provide 
			benefits to our customers, February SNAP benefits were issued early 
			as a result. This created a potential long gap in between monthly 
			SNAP issuances. We’ve created a plan to schedule April benefits 
			early for some of our customers, so they don’t have to wait too long 
			in between their benefits.”
 
 
SNAP is a federal program administered by the United States Department of 
Agriculture (USDA) and distributed through IDHS in Illinois. Because of the way 
			the USDA funded SNAP during the federal shutdown, February benefits 
			were issued in January.  
			 
			
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To reduce the time in between monthly SNAP issuances, IDHS 
created a new SNAP issuance schedule for March and April.
 There is no need for customers to visit the local IDHS offices or call their 
caseworkers. IDHS staff will be working in the upcoming days to implement the 
necessary changes to issue some SNAP benefits early. Customers will receive the 
normal amount of monthly SNAP benefits on their Link cards, the debit-like cards 
used to spend SNAP benefits and other cash assistance.
 
 IDHS will be working to communicate the new issuance dates to SNAP customers 
through the IDHS website, Link website and phone line, a social media campaign 
and community outreach.
 
				 
			[Illinois Department of Human 
			Services] 
			
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