Responsibilities of the Center

Drug or alcohol treatment and rehabilitation centers will be responsible for the following: A. The drug or alcohol treatment center employee designated to serve as an authorized representative shall be responsible for obtaining their own Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card and Personal Identification Number (PIN) with which to access benefits from the resident’s account while the resident remains a resident of the facility. The resident’s EBT card shall be stored in a secure area while the resident receives treatment at the facility. The drug or alcohol treatment center shall not have access to, or knowledge of, the PIN for the resident’s own EBT card. B. Each treatment and rehabilitation center shall provide the certification office with a certified list of currently participating residents and their children residing with them in the center. The certification office shall require the list on a monthly or semimonthly basis. In addition, the certification office shall conduct periodic, random, onsite visits to the center to ensure the accuracy of the listings and that the local office's records are consistent and up-to-date. The frequency of periodic visits is left to the discretion of the local office but once each year is recommended. C. The center shall also report when the resident leaves the center. The center shall return to the issuing office any benefits received after the household has left the center. The center shall provide the residents with their EBT card when the household leaves the treatment and rehabilitation program. Once the household leaves the center, the center is no longer allowed to act as that household's authorized representative. The departing resident shall receive his/her full allotment if already issued and if no benefits have been spent on his/her behalf. If benefits have been issued and any portion has been spent on his/her behalf and the resident leaves prior to the sixteenth (16th) of the month, the center shall provide the resident with one half of his/her monthly allotment; on or after the sixteenth (16th), if benefits have already been used, the resident shall not receive any benefits. Under no circumstances shall the center pull benefits from an EBT card after the resident has left the facility. The center shall return the authorized representative EBT card, and the resident’s card if it was left behind, to the issuing office within five (5) calendar days of the resident’s departure. The center shall provide the household with a change report form as soon as it has knowledge the household plans to leave the facility and advise the household to return the form to the local office within ten (10) days of any change the household is required to report. D. The center shall be responsible for any misrepresentation or fraud, which it knowingly commits in the certification of center residents. The organization or institution shall be knowledgeable about household circumstances when serving as an authorized representative. The organization or institution should carefully review those circumstances with residents prior to applying on their behalf. E. The center may be penalized or disqualified if it is determined administratively or judicially that benefits were misappropriated or used for purchases that did not contribute to a certified household's meals. The local office shall promptly notify the state department when it has reason to believe that a center is misusing SNAP benefits in its possession. However, no action shall be taken against the center prior to an FNS investigation. The local office shall establish a claim for over-issuance of SNAP benefits held on behalf of center residents if any over-issuances are discovered because of an FNS investigation or hearing. If FNS disqualifies a center as an authorized drug and alcohol rehabilitation and treatment center, the local office shall suspend its authorized representative status for the same period.