561.1 Policy 561 Program Integrity: Replacement of Food Benefits January 10, 2020 POLICY Issued and redeemed food benefits will not be replaced under any circumstances and redeemed formula benefits will only be replaced under limited circumstances as described below. PURPOSE To provide guidance on when it is appropriate to replace issued and redeemed benefits and how to replace them. RELEVANT REGULATIONS 7 CFR §246.9—Fair hearing procedures for participants 7 CFR §246.12(u)—Participant violations and sanctions 7 CFR §246.23(c)—Claims against participants OAR 333-053—Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Participant Administration OREGON WIC PPM REFERENCES

 451—Change in Guardianship  510—WIC Cardholder Requirements  511—Food Benefit Issuance  590—Program Integrity: Participant Violations  650—WIC Transfers/VOC and WIC Overseas Program  735—Exchange and Handling of Returned Formula  769—Assigning WIC Food Packages TWIST TRAINING MANUAL REFERENCE

Chapter 3, Lesson 504—Formula Exchange and Replacement Chapter 3, Lesson 808—Foster Families and Custody Changes DEFINITIONS Issued food benefits: The benefits that have been sent to the eWIC contractor which are/will be available for purchase by a cardholder. Redeemed food benefits: The benefits that have been used by the cardholder(s) to purchase foods that were issued to a participant. TWIST: The WIC Information System Tracker. The data system for the Oregon WIC Program.

Program Integrity: Replacement of Food Benefits, Continued 561.2 PROCEDURE When to replace redeemed benefits 1.0 Issued and redeemed food benefits will not be replaced under any circumstances and redeemed formula benefits will be replaced only under these limited circumstances:

Formula exchange: For formula being returned for a formula exchange, refer to 735-Exchange and Handling of Returned Formula.

Change in Guardianship: If formula benefits have been redeemed by the previous guardian and were not given to the new guardian of the child. Refer to ⧫451-Change in Guardianship.

Change in Guardianship: When a child is removed from their household and put into foster care, they are given a new WIC ID number which generates a new electronic benefits account (EBA) and requires new cardholder assignment and eWIC card issuance. Refer to ⧫510-WIC Cardholder Requirements.

Domestic violence situation: When the redeemed formula does not accompany the infant or child and safety would be compromised if the authorized cardholder attempted to retrieve the WIC formula.

Stolen WIC formula with a police report. Note: This could be an actual police report or just a police report number. Procedures vary by police department.

After a documented natural disaster (e.g. flood or earthquake) or other disaster like fire where the WIC formula is no longer available.

Participant transfers from another state refer to ⧫650-WIC Transfers/VOC and WIC Overseas Program. 2.0 Assess that the participant or cardholder’s request for replacement benefits is valid. If the participant has a valid request for replacement according to this policy, replace only the benefits that were originally issued to the participant in the current month and redeemed. 3.0 Use the Formula Exchange/Formula Replace function in TWIST to replace redeemed formula benefits:

Replacing stolen or unavailable formula: Replace only the amount issued and redeemed. Unredeemed formula benefits are still available to the cardholder. 3.1.1. Document the formula replacement (and the police report number for stolen formula) in the WIC Notes field on the Intake screen. 4.0 Local programs cannot replace previous months’ benefits. 5.0 Local programs cannot issue retroactive benefits to disqualified participants who are reinstated following an administrative hearing.

Program Integrity: Replacement of Food Benefits, Continued 561.3 Required Documentation for Unavailable/Stolen Infant Formula 6.0 For all formula reported unavailable/stolen, clinic staff will complete the Documentation of Unavailable/Stolen Formula form (57-912), available on the Oregon WIC website in English and Spanish under Clinic Forms - Miscellaneous.

Review the participant’s WIC Notes on the Intake screen to determine if formula has been replaced in the past.

If this instance is not the first time that the participant has had formula replaced, contact the State WIC Office before proceeding. 6.2.1. The State WIC Office may validate police reports, statements, and other supporting documentation to determine, on a case-by-case basis, whether to replace formula for second and subsequent reports of unavailable/stolen formula. Refer to ⧫590-Program Integrity: Participant Violations.

Review the Replacement of Unavailable/Stolen Formula form (57-912) with the participant, parent or caretaker.

Obtain the signature of the participant or cardholder on the form.

Document replacement formula, including the police report number for stolen formula, in WIC Notes on the Intake screen.

Within 3 days, send the signed form to the state WIC Compliance Coordinator.

POLICY HISTORY Date * Major Revision, Minor revision 4/14/2016 Revision 12/18/2019 Major revision

The date located at the top of the policy is the implementation date unless an “effective date” is noted on the policy. Policies will become compliance findings 6 months from the implementation date. Release notes can be found in the corresponding document on the Policy and Procedure Manual page. *Major Revisions: Significant content changes made to policy. Minor Revisions: Minor edits, grammatical updates, clarifications, and/or formatting changes have occurred. Date of Origin: Date policy was initially released If you need this in large print or an alternate format, please call 971-673-0040. This institution is an equal opportunity provider.