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West Virginia Income Maintenance Manual Chapter 1

West Virginia Income Maintenance Manual Page 85 Chapter 1 Application/Redetermination Process

STATUS THE EBT CARD Deactivate the card so that it cannot be used. This occurs when a replacement card is requested, a payee is changed, or an authorized cardholder is removed or changed. 1.4.19.C.2 EBT Card Issuance ➢ Initial Card Issuance The EBT card is issued when the first benefit to be issued into an EBT account is approved. It is mailed the day after the approval in the eligibility system. When the card is received the cardholder must call the EBT Helpline to create a PIN and activate the card. All cards are mailed to the payee following the address hierarchy in the eligibility system, which includes the card(s) for any additional authorized cardholder(s). It is the responsibility of the payee to distribute the cards to any other cardholder(s). ➢ Legal Guardian or Protective Payee When the Worker indicates in the eligibility system that the AG has a legal guardian or protective payee, all cards are mailed to the address of that individual. Current policy contains no reference to a specified legal guardian as a payee. Any other representative or protective payee is indicated in eligibility system as a protective payee. ➢ Authorized Cardholder The AG may designate an additional individual(s) as an authorized cardholder for EBT. The authorized cardholder has his own card and PIN and accesses the EBT account for the specified benefit(s) without restriction. For this reason, the choice of an authorized cardholder and its importance must be stressed with the applicant or recipient. The authorized cardholder is designated, changed, or removed in the eligibility system. When the individual designated as primary person for the AG has a legal guardian or protective payee coded in the eligibility system, the card for the AG is mailed to that person. In this situation, if the primary person or other individual NOTE: Only one authorized cardholder may be selected for SNAP benefits. If the AG receives both SNAP benefits and cash assistance, they may select one authorized cardholder for each benefit. The maximum number of cards issued for any case is three.