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Page | 293 whether it waives continuation of benefits, then the desire for continued benefits will be assumed. If the request for continued benefits is received after a weekend or holiday, the request for continued benefits should be considered timely.

If DSS action is upheld by the hearing decision, a claim against the household will be established for all overpayments, unless the hearing issue was a work registration sanction. If the hearing examiner upholds DSS’ work determination, the sanction/disqualification period will begin the first month after the hearing decision is rendered.

If a hearing request is not made within the period provided by the notice of adverse action, benefits will be reduced or terminated as provided in the notice.  If the household establishes that its failure to make the request within the advance notice period was for good cause, DSS will reinstate the benefits to the prior basis.

18180 REDUCTION OR TERMINATION OF BENEFITS

When benefits are reduced or terminated due to a mass change, participation on the prior basis will be reinstated only if the issue being contested is that SNAP eligibility or benefits were improperly computed or that Federal law or regulation is being misapplied or misinterpreted by DSS.

Once continued or reinstated, benefits will not be reduced or terminated prior to the receipt of the official hearing decision unless:

A. The certification period expires. The household may reapply and may be determined eligible for a new certification period with a benefit amount as determined by DSS; or,

B. The hearing official makes a preliminary determination, in writing and at the hearing, that the sole issue is one of Federal law or regulation and that the household's claim that DSS improperly computed the benefits or misinterpreted or misapplied such law or regulation is invalid; or,

C. A change affecting eligibility or basis of issuance occurs while the hearing decision is pending, and the household fails to request a hearing after the subsequent notice of adverse action; or,

D. A mass change affecting the household's eligibility or basis, or issuance occurs while the hearing decision is pending.

DSS will promptly inform a household in writing if benefits are reduced or terminated pending the hearing decision.

18200 SUSPECTED PROGRAM VIOLATION (SPV)

When there is an indication that a household intentionally or fraudulently caused benefits to be issued in error, the case will be classified as a Suspected Program Violation (SPV). All SPV cases must be referred to ORFI using the DSS-EA-889 ORFI SPV Request form. This includes situations where fraudulent intent cannot be clearly determined. If there is any question regarding intent, the case must be treated as an SPV and referred to ORFI.