Current through September 24, 2024
(1) Authorization Of Drug And Alcoholic
Treatment Centers. Drug and alcoholic treatment centers must be authorized to
receive and utilize food coupons on behalf of eligible recipients/residents,
via an authorized representative employed by the treatment program. The program
must meet the following criteria prior to the certification of residents by
Family Assistance Certification personnel:
(a)
The program must be certified by the Department of Mental Health as a bona fide
treatment program.
(b) The program
must be conducted by a private, non-profit organization or institution, or a
publicly operated community health center. (The program must be authorized by
FNS only if it wishes to redeem Food Stamps through wholesalers.)
(2) Eligibility As Household
Members.
(a) Non-Residents. Members of
eligible households, including single person households, who are narcotic
addicts or alcoholics and who regularly participate in a drug or alcoholic
treatment and rehabilitation program on a non-resident basis may use coupons to
purchase food prepared for them during the treatment program. This treatment
program may be operated by a private non-profit organization or institution
authorized by the Department of Mental Health as a bona fide treatment
center.
(b) This treatment program
may be operated by a non-profit organization or institution or a publicly
operated community health center authorized by the Department of Mental Health
as a bona fide treatment center.
(3) Residents of treatment centers shall
apply and be certified through the use of an authorized representative who is
an employee of and designated by the private non-profit organization or
institution or a publicly operated community health center that is
administering the treatment and rehabilitation program.
(4) Certification Policy.
(a) Reserved for future use.
(b) Expedited Service. For those residents of
treatment centers and rehabilitation centers who are entitled to expedited
service, the eligibility worker shall mail an ATP or have an ATP available to
be picked up no later than seven working days following the filing date. If
eligibility for the initial application is expedited, the eligibility worker
shall complete verification and documentation requirements prior to the
issuance of a second coupon allotment.
(c) One Person Households. Residents of
treatment centers have their eligibility determined as one-person
households.
(d) Normal Processing
Standards. When normal processing standards apply, the eligibility worker shall
complete the verification and documentation requirements prior to making an
eligibility determination for the initial application.
(e) Rights of Certified Residents. Resident
households have the same rights to notices of adverse action, fair hearings,
and entitlement to lost benefits, as do all other Food Stamp households. A
resident of a center has a right to an application and has the right to same
day filing. However, the interview, verification, and other certification
procedures must be accomplished through the authorized
representative.
(f) Exemption from
Work Registration. As stated in Section 1240-1-3-.45(3)(e), regular
participants in drug addiction or alcoholic treatment and rehabilitation
programs, either in a resident or non-resident basis, are exempt from work
registration requirements.
(g)
Verification of Participation for Work Registration Exemption. The regular
participation of an addict or alcoholic in a treatment program may be verified
through the organization or institution operating the program before granting
the exemption, if the information is questionable. To be considered
questionable the information on the application must be inconsistent with
statements made by the applicant or the authorized representative with other
information on the application or previous application, or with information
known to or received by the eligibility worker prior to
certification.
(h) Certification
Periods. Because of the substantial likelihood of frequent and significant
changes and the inability to predict circumstances in the near future,
residents of treatment centers are certified usually for 1 or 2 months.
However, if a longer certification period is warranted a longer period must be
assigned. Households certified after the 15th, whose circumstances warrant it,
should have the certification period increased by one month. Residents provided
expedited services are given certification periods in accordance with Section
1240-1-5.
(5) Basis For
Center Participation. Drug addiction or alcoholic treatment and rehabilitation
program means any drug addiction or alcoholic treatment and rehabilitation
program recognized as a tax exempt organization by the Internal Revenue
Service. Such organization or institution must be certified by the Tennessee
Department of Mental Health which is the agency designated by the Governor of
Tennessee as responsible for state programs for alcoholics and drug addicts.
Under Public Law 91-616, Comprehensive Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Prevention,
Treatment, and Rehabilitation Act of 1970 and Public Law 92-255, Drug Abuse and
Treatment Act of 1972, such agencies can be designated as providing treatment
that can lead to the rehabilitation of drug addicts or alcoholics.
(6) Center Responsibilities.
(a) Monthly Reports. Each treatment and
rehabilitation center shall be asked to provide the county with a certified
list of currently participating residents signed by the center director. The
county office shall require the listing on a monthly basis.
(b) When the Participant Leaves the Center.
The treatment center shall at each certification:
1. Provide resident households with their ID
card and any untransacted ATP cards issued for the household when the household
leaves the treatment center. The departing household shall also receive its
full allotment if issued by direct mail and if no coupons have been spent on
behalf of that individual household. These procedures are applicable any time
during the month. However, if the coupons have already been issued and any
portion spent on behalf of the individual and the household leaves the
treatment and rehabilitation program prior to the 16th day of the month, the
treatment center shall provide the household with one-half of its monthly
coupon allotment. If the household leaves after the 16th day of the month and
the coupons have already been issued and used, the household does not receive
any coupons.
2. That once the
household leaves the treatment center, the center is no longer allowed to act
as that household's authorized representative and that the treatment center
shall return any ATPs or coupons received on behalf of households which are no
longer residents of the center.
3.
That the treatment center shall provide the household, if possible, with a
change report form and to instruct the household to use the form to report
their new address and other circumstances after leaving the center. The center
must advise the household to return the form to the appropriate office of the
eligibility worker within 10 days.
(c) For Reporting Changes. The treatment
center shall notify the county office of changes in the household's income or
other household changes in circumstances. The treatment center must also notify
the eligibility worker when the addict or alcoholic leaves the treatment
center. Changes in the household's circumstances shall be processed by using
the same standards that apply to all other Food Stamp households.
(d) Returning ATP or Coupons. The treatment
center shall return the household's ATP or coupons and the ID card to the Food
Stamp office if received after the individual has left the center.
(e) Center Liability. The organization or
institution is responsible for any misrepresentation or fraud which it
knowingly commits in the certification of center residents. As an authorized
representative, the organization or institution must be knowledgeable about the
household's circumstances and should carefully review those circumstances with
residents prior to applying on their behalf. The organization or institution is
strictly liable for all losses or misuse of food coupons held on behalf of
residents and for all overissuances which occur while the households are
residents of the treatment center.
(f) Center Penalties and Disqualifications.
The organization or institution may be penalized or disqualified by FNS if it
is determined either administratively or judicially that coupons were
misappropriated or used for purchases that did not contribute to a certified
household's meals. The county office shall promptly notify the local FNS office
when it has reason to believe that an organization or institution is misusing
coupons in its possession. The county office shall not take any action against
the organization or institution prior to the FNS action.
(g) Claims for Overissuance. The county
office shall establish a claim against the treatment center for overissuances
of food coupons held on behalf of resident claims if any overissuances are
discovered during an investigation or hearing procedure for redemption
violations.
(h) Disqualified
Treatment Center. County offices will receive notification if FNS disqualifies
an organization or institution as an authorized retail food store and the
county office shall suspend the authorized representative status of that
organization or institution for the same period.
(7) Residents of drug addict and alcoholic
treatment centers that lose their FNS authorization to accept and redeem
coupons or lose their certification through the Department of Mental Health
shall not be eligible to participate. The residents are not entitled to a
Notice of Adverse Action (Form HS-0751, Notice of Disposition), but shall
receive a written notice explaining the termination and when it will become
effective.
Authority: T.C.A. §§ 14-27-104;
7 CFR
273.1 and
273.11; PL 99-198.
