Rules & Regulations of the State of Tennessee
Title 1240 - Human Services
Subtitle 1240-01 - Family Assistance Division
Chapter 1240-01-20 - Overpayments and Claims
Section 1240-01-20-.01 - CLAIMS AGAINST HOUSEHOLDS
Universal Citation: TN Comp Rules and Regs 1240-01-20-.01
Current through September 24, 2024
(1) Establishing Claims Against Households. The Department shall establish a claim against any household that has received more food stamp benefits than it is entitled to receive, except as provided in (2) of this section. Claims shall be classified as follows:
(a) Inadvertent Household Error
Claims. A claim shall be handled as an inadvertent household error claim if the
overissuance was caused by a misunderstanding or unintended error on the part
of the household. Instances of inadvertent household error which may result in
a claim include, but are not limited to, the following:
1. The household unintentionally failed to
provide the state agency with correct or complete information; or
2. The household unintentionally failed to
report to the state agency changes in its household circumstances and the
recipient or responsible person states that he/she did not understand his/her
responsibility to provide full information or to report changes in
circumstances or he/she did not understand the eligibility requirements and the
record does not show that all of these considerations were explained;
or
3. The household received
benefits or more benefits than it was entitled to receive pending a fair
hearing decision, because the household requested a continuation of benefits
based on the mistaken belief that it was entitled to such benefits.
(b) Administrative Error Claims. A
claim shall be handled as an administrative error claim if the overissuance was
caused by the Department. Instances of administrative error which may result in
a claim include, but are not limited to the following:
1. A county office failed to take prompt
action on a change reported by the household.
2. A county office incorrectly computed the
household's income or deductions or otherwise assigned an incorrect
allotment.
3. A county office
incorrectly issued duplicate ATPs to a household which were subsequently
transacted.
4. The county office
continued to provide a household food stamp allotments after its certification
period had expired without benefit of a recertification.
5. The county office failed to provide a
household a reduced level of food stamp benefits because its public assistance
grant changed.
(c)
Intentional Program Violation. A claim shall be handled as an intentional
program violation claim only if:
1. An
administrative disqualification hearing official or a court of appropriate
jurisdiction has determined that a household member committed intentional
program violation as defined in Section 1240-1-20-.02; or
2. The household member is disqualified as a
result of signing a waiver of his/her administrative disqualification hearing;
or
3. The household member signed a
disqualification consent agreement in cases of pre-trial diversion,
(2) Instances When Claims Shall Not Be Established. A claim shall not be established against any household if an overissuance occurred as a result of the following:
(a) Procedural Errors. The county office
failed to ensure that a household fulfilled the following procedural
requirements:
1. Signed the application form;
or
2. Completed a current work
registration form; or
3. Was
certified in the correct project area.
(b) Expired ATP. A household transacted an
expired ATP card, unless the household altered its ATP card.
(3) Calculate The Amount Of Claims. The amount of an overissuance claim shall be equal to the difference between the allotment the household received and the allotment the household should have received for each month of overissuance. Once the amount of a claim is established, the county shall offset the claim against any amount of lost benefits that have not yet been restored to the household.
(a) Inadvertent household and administrative
error claims shall be calculated based on the amount of overissuance which
occurred during the 12 months preceding the date the overissuance was
discovered.
(b) Intentional program
violation claims shall be calculated back to the month the act of intentional
program violation occurred, but no more than six years prior to discovery,
providing case record and issuance information are available. No claim shall be
calculated for any month prior to March 1, 1979.
(c) In cases involving reported (or
non-reported) changes, the county shall determine the month the overissuance
initially occurred as follows:
1. If the
household inadvertently or intentionally failed to report a change in its
circumstances within the required time frame, the first month of overissuance
shall be the first month in which the change would have been effective had it
been timely reported.
2. If the
household timely reported a change, but the county did not act on the change
within the required time frame, the first month affected by the county's
failure to act shall be the first month the county would have made the change
effective had it timely acted.
3.
In no event shall the county determine as the first month in which the change
would have been effective any month later than two months from the month in
which the change in household circumstances occurred.
(d) When a household has failed to report
earned income in a timely manner, no earned income deduction, as described in
1240-1-4-.17(8)(a) 6.(i), shall be allowed in determining the amount of
overissuance that has occurred.
Authority: T.C.A. §§ 14-27-106, 14-27-113; 7 CFR 273.18.
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