007.02(A)(iv) PARTICIPATION WHILE AWAITING A HEARING.

A pending disqualification hearing does not affect the right of the individual or the household to be certified and participate in the program. The Department shall determine the eligibility and benefit level in the same manner it would be determined for any other household, until there is a determination that the individual has committed intentional program violation. If the pending disqualification action does not affect the household's current circumstances, the household would continue to receive its allotment based on the latest certification action or be recertified based on a new application and its current circumstances. If the certification period has expired and the household does not reapply after receiving its notice of expiration, benefits will be terminated. The Department will also reduce or terminate the household’s benefits if there is documentation which substantiates ineligibility or eligibility for fewer benefits and the household fails to request a fair hearing and continuation of benefits pending the hearing. These actions occur even if the documented facts led to the suspicion of intentional program violation and the resulting disqualification hearing. The Department may have facts which substantiate that a household failed to report a change in its circumstances even though the state has not yet demonstrated that the failure to report involved an act of intentional program violation. In these cases, the Department will reduce or terminate benefits.