Current through September 9, 2024
(a)
General
Food Stamp benefits are restored for not more than twelve
months when a judicial action has found benefits to be wrongfully withheld, an
agency error occurs, or an administrative disqualification for an intentional
program violation is reversed.
(b)
Definitions
(1) Allotment
An allotment is the total value of coupons a household is
authorized to receive.
(2)
Agency error
For the purposes of this section an agency error is one in
which the Department of Income Maintenance causes an overissuance by failing to
take prompt action on a reported change or by taking an incorrect
action.
(3) Judicial Ruling
A judicial ruling is a Federal or a State Court mandate which
issues a prescribed course of action that must be taken by the Department of
Income Maintenance.
(4)
Lost Benefits
Lost benefits are benefits to which the household is entitled
but are not received.
(5)
Offsetting
For the purposes of this section, offsetting is a method by
which the Department of Income Maintenance recovers an overissuance by
deducting the amount of the overissuance from an entitlement to lost
benefits.
(6) Restored
Benefits
Restored benefits are benefits issued to replace a loss which
occurred during a period when the household was determined to be eligible
participate in the food stamp program or to correct an allotment which was less
than the amount to which the household was entitled.
(7) Retroactive Benefits
Retroactive benefits are benefits issued for the month in which
an application is filed when the eligibility determination is completed in a
subsequent month.
(c)
Entitlement to Restoration of Lost
Benefits
A household is entitled to restoration of lost benefits for not
more than twelve months when:
(1)
federal regulations specify that households are entitled to restored benefits;
or
(2) a judicial ruling has found
benefits to be wrongfully withheld; or
(3) an administrative disqualification for an
intentional program violation is reversed; or
(4) an agency error has occurred.
(d)
Restoring Lost
Benefits
(1) Before taking action to
restore benefits, the Department of Income Maintenance determines whether the
household has received an overissuance during the same period, and whether the
household has received any other documented overissu-ances. If so, the
Department of Income Maintenance offsets the amount of the overissuance against
that of the underissuance.
(2) If
the amount of the underissuance exceeds that of the overissuance, the
Department of Income Maintenance takes immediate action to restore those
benefits. Benefits are restored regardless of whether the household is
currently eligible or ineligible.
(A) Agency
Error
Benefits lost as a result of an agency error are restored for
not more than twelve months prior to whichever of the following dates occur
first:
(i) the date the Department of
Income Maintenance receives a request for restored benefits from the household;
or
(ii) the date the Department of
Income Maintenance is notified or otherwise discovers that a loss to the
household has occurred.
(B) Judicial/Court Ruling
(i) Benefits which are found by any judicial
ruling to be wrongfully withheld are restored for not more than twelve months
from the date the court action is initiated if this is the first action taken
by the household to obtain restoration of lost benefits.
(ii) When the judicial ruling is a review of
a Department of Income Maintenance's action, benefits are restored for not more
than twelve months from:
(aa) the date the
Department of Income Maintenance receives a request for restored benefits;
or
(bb) if no request for restored
benefits is received, the date the fair hearing process is initiated;
but
(cc) never more than one year
from when the Department of Income Maintenance is notified of, or discovers the
loss.
(C)
Reversal of Disqualification for an Intentional Program Violated
(i) Household members who are disqualified
for intentional program violations are entitled to those benefits which were
lost during the months of disqualification if the decision which resulted in
disqualification is reversed in a separate court action by a court of
appropriate jurisdiction.
(ii)
Benefits are restored for not more than twelve months prior to:
(aa) the date the Department of Income
Maintenance receives a request for restored benefits from the household;
or
(bb) the date the Department of
Income Maintenance is notified or otherwise discovers that a loss to the
household has occurred.
(e)
Eligibility Determination
(1) An eligibility determination is completed
for each month affected by the loss.
If the food stamp record does not contain documentation that
the household was eligible, the household is advised of:
(A) what information must be provided;
and
(B) what months this
information is needed for; and
(C)
the requested information must be received in ten working days.
(2) The household is considered
ineligible for each month for which it has not provided the information
requested.
(f)
Method of Restoration
(1) An
allotment equal to the amount of lost benefits is issued after it has been
established that a household is due restored benefits.
(2) The amount to be restored is equal to the
difference between the amount received by the household and the amount to which
the household was entitled less any benefits recouped through the offset
method.
(3) The amount restored is
issued in addition to the household's current entitlement.
(4) The Department of Income Maintenance will
honor a reasonable request to have benefits issued in partial installments if:
(A) the household has reason to believe the
allotment may be stolen; or
(B) the
amount to be restored is more than the household can use in a reasonable period
of time.
(g)
Benefit Computation
After correcting the loss for future issuances and excluding
those months for which benefits are lost prior to the twelve month time limit,
the months affected by the loss are computed as follows:
(1) For an:
(A) incorrect allotment, benefits are
restored only for those months the household participated;
(B) incorrect denial, benefits are restored
from the month of initial application;
(C) incorrect delay, benefits are restored in
accordance with the appropriate Section of the Food Stamp Handbook.
(D) incorrect termination, benefits are
restored the first month they were not received as a result of the erroneous
termination;
(E) eligible household
filing a timely reapplication, benefits are restored the month following the
expiration of its certification period.
(h)
Changes in Household
Composition
(1) If the household
composition has changed, the Department of Income Maintenance issues restored
benefits to the household containing the majority of the members who were
household members at the time the loss occurred.
(2) If the Department of Income Maintenance
is unable to locate or identify such unit, the Department of Income Maintenance
restores benefits to the household containing the head of the household at the
time the loss occurred.
(i)
Notification Requirements
The household is provided written notification of its
entitlement to restored benefits. The notification advises the household
of:
(1) its entitlement; and
(2) the amount of benefits to be restored;
and
(3) any offsetting that was
used; and
(4) the method of
restoration; and
(5) its right to
request a fair hearing.
(j)
Fair Hearing Requests
(1) When the household disagrees with either
the amount of benefits to be restored as calculated by the Department of Income
Maintenance or any other action taken by the Department of Income Maintenance
to restore lost benefits, a fair hearing can be requested within 90 days of
date notification is received.
(2)
If a household requests restoration of lost benefits, but after review of the
Food Stamp record, the request is denied the household has 90 days from the
date of the denial to request a fair hearing.
(3) When a fair hearing is requested before
or during the period lost benefits are restored, the household receives the
benefits the Department of Income Maintenance determines it is entitled to
until the fair hearing decision is rendered.
(k)
Offsetting
(1) When a claim against a household is
terminated as uncollectible or suspended, the amount to be restored is offset
by the amount due on the claim before the balance, if any, is restored to the
household. There is no time limit on claims which are subject to the offsetting
process.
(2) Offsetting is Used:
(A) for any claim amount when a claim has
been terminated as uncollectible or held in suspense; or
(B) when a claim against a household is the
result of an administrative error, or an unintentional program violation;
or
(C) when a determination of an
intentional program violation has been made by an administrative
disqualification hearing officer; or
(D) when a waiver of rights to an
administrative disqualification hearing has been signed; or
(E) when the household has chosen a repayment
method; or
(F) when the Department
of Income Maintenance has selected a repayment method.
(3) Offsetting is not used:
(A) when benefits are issued retroactively;
or
(B) when there is a court
ordered repayment plan which specifies the amount to be repaid and the method
of repayment.
