105 Authorized Representatives

A. Household Authorized Representative The head of the household, spouse or any other responsible member of the household may designate an authorized representative to act on behalf of the household in the following capacities: 1. Application processing and reporting. If an applicant or prospective applicant household indicates they may have difficulty completing the application process, the worker must inform the household that a non- household member may be designated as an authorized representative for application processing purposes. The authorized representative may complete work registration forms for household members required to register for work. The authorized representative may also carry out the household’s responsibility during the certification period such as reporting changes according to the household’s reporting requirements found in either Chapter 12 or Chapter 17 of POE. The household must be informed that the household will be held liable for any over issuance that results in erroneous information given by the authorized representative. This provision does not apply to situations in which a drug and alcohol treatment center or other group living arrangement acts as an authorized representative for its residents. A non-household member may be designated as an authorized representative for the application process provided that person is: a) An adult who is sufficiently aware of relevant household circumstances. b) Designated as authorized representatives in writing by the head of the household, spouse or another responsible household member using the Authorized Form for Household. Representative, PSD-BFA-863 or the Food Assistance Application – Short Form, DHR-FSD-1971. c) Further restrictions on who can be appointed an authorized representative can be found in Section 105 C. 2. Using food assistance benefits A household may designate one authorized representative to use its benefits to purchase food for the household. The authorized representative designated to use food assistance benefits for the household will be issued an EBT card for this use. Refer to Chapter 8 EBT Manual for specific information about authorized representatives and EBT. B. Drug Addict/Alcoholic Treatment Centers and Group Homes as Authorized Representatives 1. Narcotic addicts or alcoholics who regularly participate in a drug or alcoholic treatment program, as defined Section 1104, shall apply and be certified for program participation through the use of an authorized representative who shall be an employee and designated by the publicly-operated community mental health center of the private non- profit organization or institution that is administering the treatment and rehabilitation program. a) The center shall receive and spend the coupon allotment for food prepared by and/or served to the addict or alcoholic. b) The center shall be responsible for complying with the requirements set forth in Section 1104. 2. Residents of group living arrangements, as defined in Section 1105, shall either apply and be certified through the use of an authorized representative employed and designated by the group living arrangement or apply and be certified on their own behalf or through an authorized representative of their own choice. a) The group living arrangement shall determine if any resident may apply for food assistance on his/her own behalf, the determination should be based on the resident’s physical and mental ability to handle his/her own affairs. The group living arrangement is encouraged to consult with any other agencies of the State providing other services to individual residents prior to a determination. b) All of the residents of the group living arrangement do not have to be certified either through an authorized representative or individually in order for one or the other method to be used. c) Applications shall be accepted for any individual applying as a one person household or for any grouping of residents applying as a household as defined in Section 100(A), unless the individual(s) must apply through the facility as authorized representatives. If the residents are certified on their behalf, the coupon allotment may either be:  Returned to the facility to be used to purchase food for meals served either communally or individually to be eligible residents.  Used by eligible residents to purchase and prepare food for their own consumption and/or  Used to purchase meals prepared and served by the group living arrangement. d) If the resident applies through the facility as the authorized representative, the group living arrangement may either receive and spend the coupon allotment for food prepared by and/or served to the eligible resident or allow the eligible resident to use all or any portion of the allotment on his/her behalf. e) The group living arrangement is responsible for complying with the requirements set forth in Section 1105. The group living arrangement has its status as an authorized representative suspended by FNS (as discussed in Section 1105), residents applying on their own behalf shall still be able to participate if otherwise eligible unless the group living arrangement continues to provide meals, as the residents would then be a resident of an institution. C. Restrictions on Authorized Representatives The following restrictions apply to authorized representatives: 1. Department of Human Resources employees and retailers authorized to accept food assistance may not act as authorized representatives unless: a) Specific written approval of the County Director is given, and b) The county director determines that no one else is available to serve as an authorized representative. 2. Individuals disqualified for an Intentional Program Violation (IPV), may not Act as authorized representative during the period of disqualification, unless the county department has determined that no one else is available to serve as authorized representative. The county department shall separately determine whether these individuals are needed to: a) Apply on behalf of the household. b) Use the benefits for food for the household. 3. In the event employers, such as those that employ migrant or seasonal farm workers, are designated as authorized representatives or that a single authorized representative has access to a large amount of benefits, the State agency should exercise caution to assure that: a) The household has freely requested the assistance of the authorized representative. b) The household’s circumstances are correctly represented; the household is receiving the correct amount of benefits, and c) The authorized representative is properly using the benefits. 4. A county department which has obtained evidence that an authorized representative has misrepresented a household’s circumstances and has knowingly provided false information pertaining to the household, or has made improper use of benefits, may disqualify that authorized representative from participating as an authorized representative in the Food Assistance Program for up to one year. The county department shall send written notification to the affected household(s) and the authorized representative 30 days prior to the date of disqualification. The notification shall contain: a) The proposed action. b) The reason for the proposed action. c) The household’s right to request a fair hearing. d) The telephone number of the office, and e) The name of a person to contact for additional information. The above provision is not applicable in the case of drug addict and alcoholic treatment centers and those group homes which act as authorized representatives for their residents. 5. Homeless meal providers, as defined in Section 1107, may not act as authorized representatives for homeless food assistance recipients. In order to prevent abuse of the program, the county department may set a limit on the number of households an authorized representative may serve.