Refusal to Cooperate with QA Review
Households selected for review are required to cooperate with federal and state QA review processes. Households that refuse to cooperate in a QA review shall be declared ineligible for SNAP benefits in this section. The state QA reviewer shall notify the local office of the household's refusal to cooperate in the review process, including everyone who refused, and the local office shall document the refusal to cooperate in the statewide automated system. A. Within ten (10) calendar days from the date of receipt of QA's notification of the household's refusal to cooperate, the local office shall take action to disqualify or terminate the entire household from participation in SNAP and each household member who refused to cooperate shall be entered into the automated system to initiate a period of ineligibility. The period of ineligibility is as follows: 1. For refusal to cooperate with a state QA review, the period of ineligibility shall exist for the remainder of the current federal fiscal year plus one hundred twenty-five (125) days and shall expire on February 2 of that federal fiscal year. 2. For refusal to cooperate with a federal QA review, the period of ineligibility shall exist for the remainder of the current federal fiscal year plus nine (9) months and shall expire on June 30 of that federal fiscal year. B. If a member or members who refused to cooperate with a QA review leaves the household, the ineligibility period shall follow the household member(s) who refused to cooperate. If a household is disqualified or terminated for refusal to cooperate with a QA review, the household may reapply. The household cannot be determined eligible until it cooperates with the QA review and provides verification of all eligibility factors. C. If a household that has refused to cooperate with a state QA review reapplies more than one hundred twenty-five (125) days after the end of the annual federal QA review period, or refused to cooperate with a federal review and reapplies more than nine (9) months from the end of the annual federal QA review period, the household shall not be determined ineligible for its refusal to cooperate and is required to provide verification of all eligibility factors before it can be approved for benefits.