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VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES RECIPIENT CLAIMS

10/24 VOLUME V, PART XVII, PAGE 13

3. Imposition of Disqualification Penalties

To determine the appropriate disqualification penalty to impose on an individual who has been found to have committed fraud or an IPV, BPS must access the eDRS to see if there is a record of other IPV rulings for individual household members. One or more IPV disqualifications that occurred before April 1, 1983, will be considered as only one previous disqualification when determining the appropriate penalty to impose in a case under consideration.

When eDRS is used to determine the disqualification penalty for an individual found to have committed an IPV, the BPS must verify the information with the Locality Contact provided by the eDRS. A verbal confirmation from the Locality Contact may be accepted for the initial assessment but documentation that supports the prior disqualification(s), must be obtained before a final determination is made of the length of the penalty.

The actual number of prior disqualifications will determine the penalty for a new IPV, not the disqualification number that a State or a Virginia locality assigned to the offense. Only the individual found guilty of IPV is disqualified, not the entire household.

If a court fails to impose a disqualification period for the IPV or fraud conviction, the BPS must impose the disqualification penalties described in this chapter unless it is contrary to the court order. If disqualification is ordered by the court, but a date for initiating the disqualification period is not specified, the individual must be disqualified beginning with the first month which follows the date of the court decision. The BPS must send the Notice of Disqualification before the effective date of the disqualification.

If a hearing officer rules that the household member committed an IPV, that member must be disqualified beginning with the first month that follows the date the household member received written notification of the hearing decision. If the household member signed a waiver to an ADH, that member must be disqualified beginning with the first month which follows the date the signed waiver was received by the agency. The BPS must send the Notice of Disqualification before the effective date of the disqualification.

For a disqualification that results from a court decision or the ADH process, the local department of social services must send the Notice of Disqualification to inform the household of the length, reason and starting date of the disqualification. The BPS must send the Notice of Disqualification before the effective date of the disqualification. The BPS must maintain a copy of the notice.

A BPS may not lengthen the disqualification period after it has been imposed by judicial decision, ADH, or waiver. Once a disqualification penalty has been imposed, the period of disqualification must continue uninterrupted until completed, regardless of the eligibility of the disqualified member's household. If an additional IPV is determined for a person who is already serving a disqualification period, the new disqualification period(s) must begin before the original period expires so that the disqualification periods run concurrently. If the BPS determines the household member is currently serving a disqualification imposed by another locality within Virginia or imposed by another state, the BPS must calculate how much time

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