Page 245
VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES HANDLING CHANGES
10/24 VOLUME V, PART XIV, PAGE 9
f. adjustment of the full benefit amount.
g. cost-of-living adjustments in Social Security and SSI benefits.
h. any other cost-of-living adjustments in benefits such as VA or Black Lung when VDSS notifies local agencies that a change will be a mass change.
i. mass changes to TANF or GR grants.
j. monthly supplements to TANF grants based on the receipt of child support issued at the beginning of the month.
Many of the mass changes listed in this section may be effective on October 1 of each year.
Local and state agencies will receive instructions for implementing mass changes as the changes occur.
6. Failure to Report Changes
Households must report certain changes in circumstances as specified in Part XIV.A. If the BPS discovers during the certification period that a household failed to report a change as required and, as a result, received benefits to which it was not entitled, the BPS must issue an Advance Notice of Proposed Action and establish a claim against the household according to Part XVII.A if the BPS has enough information to determine ineligibility or the new benefit level. If the BPS does not have enough information to determine a new benefit level or ineligibility, the BPS must send the Request for Contact to allow the household ten days to clarify information or to supply verification. The household must supply information or take required action within ten days or the BPS must close the case. The BPS will have ten days to act on the change from the date the BPS learns of the change.
The BPS may not disqualify household members for failing to report a required change unless the BPS establishes, through investigation, that an intentional program violation occurred. In addition, the BPS may not file a claim against a household for failure to report a change that it is not required to report.
7. Reductions or Terminations Due to Disqualification (7 CFR 273.11(c)(3)
When the BPS determines that an individual is ineligible within the household's certification period, the BPS must determine the eligibility or ineligibility of the remaining household members.
a. If a household's benefits are reduced or terminated within a certification period because one of its members was disqualified due to intentional program violation, the BPS must notify the remaining members of their eligibility and benefit level at the same time the excluded member is notified of his or her
TRANSMITTAL #35