Page 277

VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES RECIPIENT CLAIMS

10/24 VOLUME V, PART XVII, PAGE 3

the overpayment, except for an IPV claim, which must be calculated back to the month the act of intentional program violation first occurred. In addition, for all claims, the BPS must not include any period that occurred more than six years before the BPS discovered the overpayment.

The BPS must determine the correct benefit amount for each month the household participated. The income conversion factors of 4.3 or 2.15 must be used, if appropriate, based on Part XIII.A.3, to determine the monthly income. If the claim is an IHE or an IPV claim, the BPS must not apply the earned income deduction to that part of any earned income that the household failed to report in a timely manner.

If, due to either an inadvertent error on the part of the household or an intentional act on the part of the household, a household failed to report a required change in its circumstances within the prescribed time limits provided in Part XIV.A, the first month that benefits were overpaid will be the first month in which the change would have been effective had it been reported timely. Factor in only the 10-day reporting period and the advance notice period. In no event, however, may the BPS determine as the first month in which the change would have been effective, any month later than two months from the month in which the change in household circumstances occurred.

If the household reported a change within the prescribed time limits, but the BPS did not act on the change timely, the first month affected by the failure to act must be the first month the BPS should have made the change effective. Therefore, if an advance notice was required but was not sent, the local department of social services BPS must assume that the maximum advance notice period, as provided in Part XIV.D, would have expired without the household requesting a fair hearing. Do not factor in a 10-day agency action period.

If an overpayment is discovered for a month or months in which a mandatory SNAPET participant has already participated in a work experience assignment, the BPS must determine if the person who performed the work is still subject to a work obligation and determine how many extra hours were worked because of the improper benefit. The participant must be credited that number of hours toward future work obligations.

Once the BPS calculates the amount of correct benefits the household should have received, the BPS must subtract the correct amount of benefits from the benefits the household received to determine the amount of the overpayment or claim.

After calculating the amount of the claim, the BPS must offset the amount of the claim by any amounts which have not yet been restored to the household. The BPS must also offset the amount of the overpayment by the amount of any electronic benefits expunged from the household’s EBT account. The difference is the amount of the claim.

If the information needed to compute an overpayment is lacking, no claim can be established until the information is received.

Averaged Income Calculation for Cases Pending Prosecution The provisions of this section will apply only after the local department of social services has attempted to obtain monthly wage information through all possible means, including issuing

TRANSMITTAL #35