1109 Households Requesting Replacement of Allotments or Food

Destroyed in a Disaster Replacement of Allotments A household may request a replacement for that portion of its allotment, not to exceed one month’s food assistance allotment, which it had received but which was subsequently destroyed in a household disaster such as fire or flood. To qualify for a replacement, the household shall: 1. Report the destruction to the local county department within 10 days of the incident or within the period of intended use, whichever is earlier. 2. Sign Form PSD-BFA-1334, Affidavit of Loss, which shall be retained in the case file and on which the household is: a) Attesting to the destruction of the household’s food assistance benefits. b) Stating that the original stamps will be returned to the county department if recovered by the household and c) Stating that the household is aware of the penalties for intentional misrepresentation of facts. 3. Upon receipt of a request for replacement for food assistance as destroyed in an individual household disaster, the county department shall: a) Verify the disaster through either collateral contact, documentation from a community agency, including, but not limited to, the fire department, the Red Cross, or a home visit. b) Examine the case file for notation of previous requests by the household for replacement of stamps reported destroyed subsequent to receipt. c) Replace stamps reported as destroyed subsequent to receipt no more than twice in a six-month period. If in the previous six months, the household has been issued two replacements for stamps destroyed subsequent to receipt, then the replacement shall be denied. d) Issue replacement stamps, if warranted, within 10 days of receipt of request for replacement. e) Indicate in the case file a replacement has been provided. Improperly Manufactured or Mutilated Food Assistance The county department shall provide a replacement for food assistance that were received by a household or subsequently found to be improperly manufactured. The amount to be replaced shall be equal to the value of the improperly manufactured or mutilated stamps. If the county department cannot determine the value of a mutilated stamp after exhausting all available means of determining the value within the state, the county department shall follow the instructions provided in the handbook for issuance of food assistance. County departments shall not replace stamps which are mutilated to such a degree that less than three-fifths of the stamp is presented by the household. Replacement of Food Destroyed in a Disaster In cases in which food purchased with food assistance benefits is destroyed in a disaster affecting a participating household, that household may be eligible for replacement of the actual value of loss, not to exceed one month’s allotment if both of the following apply. 1. The loss is reported within 10 days. 2. The household’s disaster is verified. Verification shall be handled in the same manner as for a replacement in the allotment. The county department shall provide a replacement allotment, or an opportunity to obtain a replacement allotment, within 10 days of the reported loss. This provision shall apply in cases of an individual household disaster, such as fire, as well as in natural disasters affecting more than one household. However, in cases where FNS has issued a disaster declaration and the household is otherwise eligible for emergency food assistance benefits as determined by FNS, the household shall not receive both the disaster allotment and replacement allotment under this provision.