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CHAPTER 10 - NOTICE OF ADVERSE ACTION

INTRODUCTION 10.1 ALL Before taking any adverse action that reduces or terminates assistance to a recipient, the SSR will send the recipient a written notice that describes the action to be taken (including the amount of any benefit reduction), the reason for the reduction or termination, the effective date of the action, and the right to a hearing to contest the action (see Chapter 7: Grievances and Fair Hearings in this Part). All notices to applicants/recipients must be in writing and contain the following information: • action to be taken, • reason for the action, • effective date of the action, and • right to appeal or request a fair hearing. In most cases, ACEDS will produce a standard notice. Some circumstances require the SSR to customize the standard notice. There is one exception to the requirement that the Department issue a notice of adverse action, even though the change(s) results in a reduction in benefits. When the federal government mandates a mass change be made in certain FS program parameters, no notice of adverse action is required except in cases in which all benefits will be terminated. The Department can choose to issue such a notice (see Section 9.5: Notice Requirements for Federal Government Initiated Food Stamp Mass Changes in this Part) LEGAL AUTHORITY 10.2 AREA/TOPIC DISTRICT FEDERAL Notice of Adverse Action ALL: D.C. Code 205.55 MA: 42 CFR 431.206-.214, 435.919FS: 7 CFR 273.13 TIME STANDARD FOR ISSUANCE OF NOTICE OF ADVERSE ACTION 10.3 ALL Except as noted below in Section 10.5: Exceptions to Timeliness Requirements in this Chapter, Department adverse action notifications must be adequate and timely. A notice meets the timeliness standard if it is issued 15 days before the effective date of action.

NOTICE OF CHANGE IN BENEFITS 10.4 ALL If the household's benefit level decreases or the household becomes ineligible as a result of the change, the SSR will issue the appropriate notice of adverse action within ten days of the date the change was reported. If there are 15 days between the date the notice is mailed and the end of the month, the change must be made effective in the month following the month in which the notice was issued. If there are not 15 days between the date the notice was mailed and the end of the month, the change must be made effective in the second month following the month the notice was sent. For a discussion of the exceptions to the 15-day timeliness requirement for adverse actions, see Section 10.5: Exceptions to Timeliness Requirement in this Chapter.