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department shall notify the applicant of its decision in writing. (b) Assistance under AS 47.25.430 — 47.25.615 is subject to review. If a recipient of adult public assistance or the spouse of a recipient with whom the recipient is living acquires nonexempt property exceeding resource limitations, or income sufficient to maintain the recipient properly, then the assistance granted to the recipient shall either be terminated or reduced to an amount reflecting the reduced need as determined by the department in accordance with applicable regulations. Upon review, the department may, after having provided opportunity for a hearing under (c) of this section, change the assistance granted or terminate it entirely if it finds that the circumstances are changed sufficiently to warrant this action. (c) A recipient whose award is proposed to be modified or terminated, or an applicant whose application is denied by the department, shall be granted an opportunity for a hearing before the office of administrative hearings (AS 44.64.010). The hearing shall be held promptly after a request for hearing is made. The hearing shall be conducted in accordance with regulations adopted by the department. (d) Each award shall be paid on a monthly basis. In case it is impracticable by reason of slow or interrupted means of communication for a disbursement covering a month's assistance to reach the recipient in due course, the department may transmit disbursements covering assistance for future months and may deliver all of them to the recipient at one time. Sec. 47.25.470. Payment when recipient incapacitated. If a person receiving assistance is incapable of self-care or care of the funds granted under AS 47.25.430 — 47.25.615, the department may direct the payment of the funds to the recipient's legally appointed guardian or to another person as designated by the department for the recipient's benefit. Sec. 47.25.480. Cancellation or reduction of assistance. [Repealed, § 30 ch 138 SLA 1982.] Sec. 47.25.490. Imprisoned recipients. If a recipient is convicted of a crime or offense, and punished by imprisonment, payment may not be made during the period of imprisonment, and the department may, in its discretion, declare the assistance forfeited. Sec. 47.25.500. Recovery of assistance improperly granted. (a) If the department has reasonable grounds for believing that assistance was improperly granted, it shall investigate and document the grounds in the case file, and, if it appears as a result of the investigation that assistance was improperly granted, it may, after providing an opportunity for a hearing, terminate or reduce assistance and notify the recipient to that effect. The department shall continue the payment of benefits pending the hearing. The state has a claim against a person who received an improper amount of assistance. The claim may be enforced by an action instituted in the name of the state by the attorney general to recover the amount paid to the person, with interest, together with the necessary costs of the action. (b) If the department finds that recovery would work a financial hardship on the recipient to the extent that the health and well-being of the recipient would be threatened or that the costs of recovery would exceed the amount of assistance improperly granted, it shall waive recovery or reduce the amount to be recovered.