GENERAL INFORMATION FOR FILING DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES APPLICATION
Direct telephone numbers: General Information 540-853-2591
Abuse Hotline 540-853-2245
Administration 540-853-2372
Child Care 540-853-6586
Employment Services 540-853-2079
Energy Assistance 540-853-2591
Foster Care Parenting 540-853-2714
Abuse Hotline 540-853-2245
Office hours are Monday through Friday from 8:00 A.M.--5:00 P.M.
Holidays are observed according to the schedule that is established for the City of Roanoke local governmental offices.
ALL customers must check-in and state the nature of their business at the reception desk, which is located at the entrance of the third floor.
A drop-off box for documents, such as verifications, is located outside the reception area for your convenience. All drop-off documents will be date stamped and directed through interdepartmental mail to the appropriate worker.
Appointments can be made to meet special circumstances before 8 a.m. or after 5 p.m. upon request. Appointments are scheduled for re-determinations, re-certifications, follow-up visits, and conferences.
Applications for all programs are filed in the locality in which the individual resides or intends to remain indefinitely. Applications must be signed in order to be processed.
For Long Term Care and Auxiliary Grant (Assisted Living) applications involving nursing facilities or assisted-living homes, the application is filed in the locality in which the individual last resided prior to admission to the facility. If that address was out-of-state, then the application will be filed in the locality where the nursing facility or assisted-living home is located. Medicaid does not require an interview.
Applications for Benefit Programs are taken on a walk-in basis until 3 P.M. Signed applications received by electronic filing, mail, fax, or dropped off at the agency will be assigned to a worker who will schedule an interview if the program being applied for requires an interview.
Applications for Services Intake are taken Monday - Thursday, 8:30 A.M.--2:00 P.M. and Friday, 8:30 A.M--Noon. Intake may be closed earlier due to volume of applicants. You must apply in person (no telephone interviews), and you will be seen on a first-come, first-serve basis. We may be able to assist eligible applicants with utility disconnects, "pay or quit" or eviction notices, hunger or other life threatening situations as funding is available. We do not assist with deposit amounts or old bills from a previous address.
Applications for Child Care interviews are conducted Monday--Wednesday & Friday, 8:00 AM to 11:30 AM and from 1:00 PM to 3:30 PM. No application interviews are available on Thursdays. Application packets are available at the main reception desk during normal business hours. A face-to-face interview is required prior to completing the application process.
Applications for Medicaid are also taken at local health department clinics and hospitals. An application for Auxiliary Grant is automatically an application for Medicaid without having to file a separate one. Medicaid coverage for a previous period may be requested for a maximum of three (3) months prior to the application month. Application for a deceased individual may be filed if a Medicaid covered service was incurred within the three (3) month period prior to application month.
Applications for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and General Relief (GR--only for unattached children at this time) require that an interview be conducted between the applicant (or his representative) and the worker.
Applications may be mailed, at the customer’s request, or printed from the Virginia Department of Social Services web page, but an interview will be necessary before the application processing can be completed.
Applications are considered to be filed on the date that the application is received within the agency during normal business hours. The application must be signed and dated by the applicant or his representative. An applicant may be assisted in the various aspects of the application by an individual of his choice and may be accompanied or represented by such individual(s) in subsequent contacts with the agency.