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503.8 TANF MANUAL 10/18 Page 4

Failure or refusal of a current recipient or payee to voluntarily repay the overpayment will result in court action only when recoupment is not possible because the payment amount is less than $10.00.

D. Responsibility for Outstanding Overpayments - Outstanding overpayments must be recovered or recouped when a former recipient or payee reapplies for assistance and is found eligible. The schedule of repayment is to be based on the current situation of the client.

The allowable amount of recoupment or recovery of the overpayment from the client is limited to the total amount of the overpayments.

1. When TANF payments or VIEW supportive services are overpaid, the caretaker(s) included in the assistance unit at the time the overpayment occurred shall be responsible for repayment of the overpayment. If there is no parent or non-parent caretaker included in the assistance unit, the payee for the case at the time the overpayment occurred shall be responsible for the overpayment. Individuals who were children on the case at the time of the overpayment are not responsible for repaying the overpayment either while they are children or when they become adults. A minor parent is not liable for the overpayment unless she is living with someone who is standing in loco parentis.

2. Recoupment process:

a. Identify the liable individual(s) in VaCMS by selecting the liable person(s) from the “Client Name” drop-down on the Liable Persons Screen.

b. For payee cases, select the name of the payee.

c. Minors are not responsible for overpayments unless included as a minor parent described in (1) above.

Example 1: Ms. Thomas loses her job and requests assistance for her son, her daughter, and her daughter’s baby. She returns to work one month after the case is approved but does not report her income (which exceeds 130% of the federal poverty level) until her next renewal. The agency establishes an overpayment for Ms. Thomas. The other three persons, including her daughter who is a minor caretaker, are children on the case and are not liable for the overpayment.

Example 2: Mrs. Allen is the payee on a case for her teenage grandsons. She is not needy and is not included in the payment. An overpayment occurs when the children move out to live with their father and Mrs. Allen does not report the change. The agency establishes the claim in VaCMS, making Mrs. Allen the liable person by selecting her name from the “Client Name” drop-down on the Liable Persons Screen before closing the case. Mrs. Allen agrees to voluntary repayment and begins sending the agency a small check each month. After three months, Mrs. Allen refuses to make any more payments. The agency begins to initiate legal action to collect the balance of the overpayment as a debt. (See 503.8C).

TANF Transmittal 65