Continuation of Benefits Pending Final Agency Decision

A. Eligibility for Continuation of Benefits 1. If a household requests a state-level fair hearing or local-level dispute resolution conference any time prior to the effective date of the Notice of Adverse Action and its certification period has not expired, the household's participation in the program shall be continued on the basis authorized immediately prior to the Notice of Adverse Action unless the household specifically waives continuation of benefits. Households which were not given a ten (10) day advance notice period plus one (1) additional calendar day for mailing time, or five (5) additional calendar days for mailing for households participating in the address confidentiality program (ACP), prior to the effective date of the Notice of Adverse Action shall be given ten (10) calendar days after the date the notice is mailed to appeal and receive continued benefits unless the household specifically waives continuation of benefits. 2. If a request for an appeal is not made within the times specified above, benefits shall be reduced or terminated as provided in the Notice of Adverse Action. However, if the household established that its failure to make the request within the established timeframe was for circumstances beyond the individual’s control, the local office shall reinstate the household’s benefits on the basis authorized immediately prior to the Notice of Adverse Action, unless the household indicates it has waived continuation of benefits. Such circumstances are: illness, illness of another household member requiring the presence of the member, a household emergency, the unavailability of transportation, or other circumstances that would preclude the individual from taking the required action. 3. When benefits are reduced or terminated because of a mass change, participation on the prior basis shall be reinstated only if the issue being contested is that SNAP eligibility or benefits were improperly computed or that federal regulations or state rules were misapplied or misinterpreted by the local office. 4. Households appealing a decision based on information reported as part of the recertification process are not eligible for continued benefits. The benefit allotment that a household is certified to receive shall not be issued beyond the end of the household’s assigned certification period without a new determination of eligibility. The household’s benefit allotment beginning with the new certification period shall be based on the new review of eligibility. B. Household’s Requirement to Request a Continuation of Benefits If the letter or form requesting an appeal does not positively indicate that the household has waived continuation of benefits, the local office shall assume that continuation of benefits is desired, and the benefits shall be issued accordingly. C. Establishing a Claim on Benefits That Were Continued If the local office action is upheld by the hearing decision, a claim shall be established against the household for all over-issuances. This includes over-issuances due to the household receiving a continuation of benefits that the household was determined not eligible to receive. Such claims shall be classified as an inadvertent household error claim. D. The certification office shall promptly inform the household in writing if the benefits are reduced or terminated pending the final agency decision. Once benefits are continued or reinstated, benefits shall not be reduced or terminated prior to the receipt of the final agency decision unless: 1. The certification period expires. The household may reapply and may be determined eligible for a new certification period with a benefit amount as determined by the local office. 2. The administrative adjudicator makes a preliminary determination, in writing and at the hearing, that the sole issue is one of federal law or regulation and that the household's claim that the local office improperly computed the benefits or misinterpreted or misapplied such law or regulation is invalid. 3. A change affecting the household's eligibility or basis of issuance occurs while the final agency decision is pending, and the household fails to request a hearing after the subsequent Notice of Adverse Action. 4. A mass change affecting the household's eligibility or basis of issuance occurs while the final agency decision is pending. During the fair hearing period, the local office shall adjust allotments to consider reported changes, information considered verified upon receipt, and mass changes, but not the factors on which the fair hearing is based.