Page 391

3610.15.00 RESTORING BENEFITS (S)

The Local Office must restore benefits when a determination is made that benefits were under issued because all or part of the AG’s benefits were denied, delayed, or terminated due to administrative error. Benefits must be restored even if the AG is currently ineligible.

For SNAP only: • Benefits will be restored to the AG for not more than 12 months prior to whichever of the following occurred first: o The date the Local Office was notified by the AG or by another individual or agency in writing or orally of the possibility of lost benefits; or o The date the Local Office discovered in the normal course of business that a loss of AG benefits occurred.

EXCEPTION: Benefits must be restored when the collections on a claim exceed the amount owed, without regard of the 12-month time frame. 3610.15.05 PAYMENTS OF BENEFITS WRONGLY WITHHELD (S)

An AG’s benefits which were found to have been wrongfully withheld will be restored.

Benefits will be restored for a period of not more than 12 months from whichever of the following dates occurred first: • The date the Local Office receives a request for restoration; or • The date fair hearing action was initiated.

Benefits will not be restored for any period more than one year from the date the Local Office is notified of, or discovers, the loss. 3610.15.10 ERRORS DISCOVERED BY THE LOCAL OFFICE

If the Local Office determines that an AG is entitled to additional SNAP benefits as a result of an under issuance, appropriate action must be taken to issue the difference in benefits. It is the responsibility of the eligibility worker to determine the difference for current and/or recurring months. Any previous month(s) under-issuance(s) should be referred to Benefit Recovery.

If the eligibility worker determines the AG is entitled to additional SNAP benefits for the current and recurring months, the eligibility worker must complete a manual issuance. 3610.15.15 DISPUTED RESTORATIONS (S)

If an AG believes it is entitled to restoration of under issued benefits but the Local Office, after reviewing the case information, does not agree, the AG has 90 days from the date of the determination by the Local Office to request a fair hearing. The Local Office must restore under issued benefits to the AG only if the fair hearing decision is favorable to the AG.