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Title 7: SNAP Page 17 Iowa Department of Health and Human Services Employees’ Manual Chapter H: Adjustments Collection Action Revised October 11, 2024 Methods of Collecting Payments • For intentional program violation claims, the potential monthly allotment is reduced by 20% or $20 per month, whichever is more. (The potential allotment is the amount the household would have received if the disqualified person had not been removed from the household.) This amount is then deducted from the amount of benefits the household will actually receive. ▪ Federal and state income tax refund offset. ▪ Federal and state payments withholding. ▪ Any other means available to DIAL. Suspending or Terminating Collections Legal reference: 7 CFR 273.18(e), (j), 498 IAC 65.21(3) and (4) After collection action has been initiated, DIAL may decide to suspend collection action if: ▪ The household cannot be located, or ▪ The cost of further collection action is likely to exceed the amount that can be recovered. After a claim has been in suspension for three years, DIAL may determine that the claim is uncollectible. Collection action is also affected by a bankruptcy. Notify DIAL of any bankruptcy action by a household owing a SNAP claim. The Department acts through DIAL on behalf of the Food and Nutrition Service in any bankruptcy proceeding against households owing SNAP claims. Once court action has been taken and a bankruptcy judgment has been obtained, collection action beyond that ordered by the court is prohibited. Effect of Changes in Household Composition Legal reference: 7 CFR 273.18(f) Collection action is initiated against any or all of the adult members of a household at the time an overissuance occurred. If a change in household composition occurs, collection action may be pursued against any household that includes a member who was an adult member of the household that received the overissuance. NOTE: For inadvertent household or administrative error claims established before June 20, 1986, collection action is taken against the household containing a majority of the people who were household members when the error occurred. If the household with the majority of household members cannot be determined or located, collection action is taken against the household containing the person who was the head of the household at the time of the overissuance.