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West Virginia Income Maintenance Manual Chapter 10
West Virginia Income Maintenance Manual Page 35 Chapter 10 The Case Maintenance Process
Workers must inform all clients at the time of a change of primary person that the Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card will be deactivated and that funds will be inaccessible during this time. This includes a change from one type of primary cardholder to another. The Worker may delay the entry of the change to give the client time to access enough benefits to provide for the AG until the new EBT card is received. Once the EBT card is received, the cardholder must call the EBT helpline to create a PIN and activate the card. The EBT benefits cannot be accessed until the new card is received and activated. This occurs even if the primary person is changed back to the original primary person on the same day. Any changes in spelling, middle initial, or last name do not deactivate the existing EBT card. If the payee requests a new card to reflect the name change, the Worker makes the request the same date the change is entered in the eligibility system or by contacting the EBT Helpline. In addition, if the client reports non-receipt of the newly issued card and the Worker issues another, the newly issued card is deactivated and cannot be used if or when the client receives it. EBT cards are mailed from the vendor only on weekdays, federal holidays not included. Changes in the payee, address, and authorized cardholder can be made immediately because files are sent to the EBT vendor overnight and changes are not restricted to the eligibility system deadline. 10.5.4.C Change of Address A change of address is made in the eligibility system as soon as the client reports it. Any other changes the client reports, in addition to the address change, are also acted on at the same time. A change of address after deadline does not affect receipt of WV WORKS benefits in an EBT account. When the client requests a replacement EBT card and his address has changed, the address change must be made before the new card is issued to ensure the card is sent to the correct address.