016.20.96 Ark. Code R. 016
INSTRUCTIONS DCO-256
Purpose
The DCO-256 is used to notify individuals of their disqualification period when they are found guilty of an IPV through an administrative disqualification hearing or when they sign a hearing-waiver.
Completion
Routing
Original to disqualified household member. Copy to case record. Copy to Overpayments Unit, Slot 3005.
Retention
Three years from the date of fiscal or administrative closure. See FSC 410.
YOUR RIGHT TO APPEAL THE ACTION ON YOUR FOOD STAMP CASE
If you do not agree with the action we plan to take on your food stamp case, you may ask for a hearing. If you wish to discuss your case with the DHS County Office before you ask for a hearing, contact the person who signed this notice.
You may call or go into the DHS County Office to ask for a hearing. You may also ask for a hearing by calling or writing directly to the Appeals and Hearings Section. The address is given below.
Arkansas Department of Human Services ATTN: Appeals and Hearings Section, Slot 1001 Little Rock, AR 72203-1437 (501)682.8622 TDD for Hearing Impaired 1-800-285 -1131
YOUR RIGHT TO APPEAL THE ACTION ON YOUR FOOD STAMP CASE
If you do not agree with the action we plan to take on your food stamp case, you may ask for a hearing. If you wish to discuss your case with the DHS County Office before you ask for a hearing, contact the person who signed this notice.
You may call or go into the DHS County Office to ask for a hearing. You may also ask for a hearing by calling or writing directly to the Appeals and Hearings Section. The address is given below.
Arkansas Department of Human Services
ATTN: Appeals and Hearings Section, Slot 1001
Little Rock, AR 72203-1437
(501) 682.8622
TDD for Hearing Impaired 1-800-285 -1131
INSTRUCTIONS DCO-259
Purpose
The DCO-259 is used to notify individuals of their disqualification period when they are found guilty by a court of an intentional program violation (IPV) in the Food Stamp Program.
Completion
Routing Original to disqualified household member. Copy to case record. Copy to Overpayments Unit, Slot 3005.
Retention Three years from the date of fiscal or administrative closure. See FSC 410.
The Fraud Investigations Unit will notify the County ES Supervisor of the initial disposition of each referral.
For cases referred for prosecution, the Fraud Investigations Unit will:
- request the Prosecuting Attorney to file charges and send a copy of the request to the County Office; and
- advise the Overpayment Unit of the factual basis for the overpayment as well as submit overpayment calculation documents.
For cases referred for an Administrative Disqualification Hearing, the Fraud Investigations Unit will prepare a DHS-1208 to the Overpayment Unit for determination of whether or not the cases should be referred to Appeals and Hearings for an Administrative Disqualification Hearing.
For cases containing a signed Waiver of Hearing and Disqualification Agreement(Form DHS-267) the Fraud Investigations Unit will:
advise the County Office and the Overpayment Unit of the facts of the case, send a copy of the DHS-267, and, if negotiated, a copy of the Repayment Agreement. Unl ess the Fraud Investigations Unit can reasonably expect to get a waiver packet to the county by the 20th of the month, imposition of the penalty will be delayed by the Fraud Investigations Unit until the following month. See FSC 16830.
For cases administratively closed, the Fraud Investigations Unit will:
forward a memo to the County Office and the Overpayment Unit explaining the reason for the closure. If an overpayment has been calculated, these documents will be forwarded to the Overpayment Unit.
The final disposition of cases adjudicated by the court will be furnished to the County EMS supervisor and the Overpayment by the memorandum from the Director of the Fraud Investigations Unit.
The Director of the Fraud Investigations Unit will present to the Prosecuting Attorney of jurisdiction the original investigative report of those cases deemed worthy of prosecution. The prosecutor has sole discretion to either prosecute, accept repayment in lieu of prosecution, or decline to prosecute.
The Hearing Officer will prepare a recommended decision based on a comprehensive report of the proceedings. The format will consist of an Introduction, Findings of Facts, Conclusions of Law and a Decision. The order may be reviewed by the manager, Food Stamp Section, or designee for policy correctness. The Administrator, Appeals and Hearings Section, will review and sign the order.
Final action (including arriving at a decision and initiating administrative action) must be taken within 90 days of the date the household member is notified in writing that an Administrative Disqualification Hearing has been scheduled.
If the decision is that an IPV has not occurred, the household member will be notified of this decision by the Appeals and Hearings Section in writing. A copy of the.decision will be sent to the county office, the Overpayments Unit and to the Fraud Investigation Section if this section was involved in the case.
If the decision is that an IPV has occurred, the original hearing decision and one copy will be sent to the appropriate county office. Copies will also be sent to the Overpayments Unit, to the household and to the Fraud Investigation Section if this section has been involved.
NOTE: The copy is being sent to the household for informational purposes only. The county is still obligated to send the original decision to the household as instructed in FSC 16800.
When the county office receives a hearing decision finding that an IPV has occurred, a period of disqualification will be imposed against the individual who committed the violation. The disqualification periods are:
. 6 months for the first violation;
12 months for the second violation; and . Permanently for the third violation.
The disqualification periods for individuals found guilty in a federal, state or local court of trading food stamps for controlled substances will be subject to disqualification for a period of 12 months for the first offense and permanently for the second offense. Individuals found guilty by a court of trading firearms, ammunition or explosives for food stamps will be subject to permanent disqualification for the first offense.
Only the household member found to have committed an IPV, will be disqualified. The remaining members may participate if otherwise eligible. See FSC 1623.2 for instructions on handling the disqualified member's income and resources. The disqualification will be effective with the first month which follows the date the household member receives written notification of the hearing decision. After a disqualification period has been imposed, it continues on an uninterrupted basis until completed. This is true regardless of whether the food stamp case is open or closed.
Upon receipt of a decision, the worker will take the following actions:
Establish a disqualification period that begins with the month following the month the household received the hearing decision.
Recalculate the household's budget in accordance with FSC 1623.2 and complete the Food Stamp Authorization Document(DCO-233). If necessary, the certification period will be shortened to coincide with the end of the disqualification period. The completed DCO-233 will be routed for keying.
Name
SSN
Date of Birth
Sex Code
Disqualification Number
Disqualification Start Date
Length of Disqualification (99 if permanently disqualified)
Disqualification Decision Date
The following information appears on the report to assist the County Office in obtaining any needed information from the state and/or county which placed the DRS record on the national system:
State of Disqualification
Locality of Disqualification (County Code if State is Arkansas,
FIPS Code if State is not Arkansas. A FIPS Code Directory is available in each DHS County Office.)
Contact Title (Job title of individual to contact for information about the disqualified individual, e.g., County Supervisor.)
Contact Organization (Office to contact for information about the disqualified individual, e.g. Yell DHS County Office.)
Contact Phone
Contact Phone Extension (if applicable)
Upon imposition of the disqualification, an DCO-19 is completed by the DHS County Office and a copy is forwarded to the Food Stamp Section. The Food Stamp Section keys the DCO-19 into the DRS file for transmission to FCS.
Upon receipt of a copy of the hearing decision of IPV, the Overpayments Unit will issue a letter to the household. The letter will specify:
After the individual who committed the IPV is disqualified, the household continues to be liable for repayment of the resulting overpayment. The remaining household members must begin restitution during the period of disqualification.
If the household agrees to make restitution, but fails to do so, the household's food stamp allotment will be reduced to recoup the overpayment. (The household may also choose to make restitution through recoupment.) Either 20% of the household's monthly food stamp allotment or $10.00, whichever is greater, will be recouped. If the household ceases participation in the Program while the overpayment is being recouped, equivalent cash payments will be required until the overpayment is completely repaid.
See FSC 15530 for additional information on collection of overpayments.
If the accused individual signs the yaiver of Hearing and Disqualification Agreement(DHS-267) within the specified time frames, the individual will be disqualified as instructed in FSC 1623.2.
The original signed waiver is routed to the Overpayment Unit. Two copies are sent to the appropriate county office. One copy will be retained in the case record. The second copy will be sent to the disqualified individual with a completed Action Taken on Your Administrative Disqualification Hearing/Waiver(DCO-256).
The period of disqualification will begin with the first month following the date the household member received written notification of the disqualification. (Unless the Fraud Investigations Unit can reasonably expect to get a waiver packet to the county by the 20th of the month, imposition of the penalty will be delayed by the Fraud Investigations Unit until the following month.) If appropriate, the household's certification period will be shortened to end in the month when the disqualification ends. The household of the disqualified member is liable for the overissuance resulting from the IPV.
The Overpayment Unit will contact households which complete the DCO-257 to arrange for repayment to begin. An Food Stamp Intentional Program Violation Repayment Agreement(DHS-254) will be issued to the household.
See FSC 16800 for complete instructions on disqualifying a household member for IPV.
DCO will disqualify an individual found to have committed an IPV by a court of law for the length of time specified by the court. The disqualification periods for individuals found guilty in a federal, state or local court of trading food stamps for controlled substances will be subject to disqualification for a period of 12 months for the first offense and permanently for the second offense. Individuals found guilty by a court of trading firearms, ammunition or explosives for food stamps will be subject to permanent disqualification for the first offense. If the court does not impose a disqualification period, DCO will impose a disqualification period in accordance with FSC 16800, paragraphs 1 and 2.
When a court finds that a household member has committed an IPV, the Fraud Investigation Section will inform the county office by memo, with a copy to the Overpayments Unit. Upon receipt of the memo, the county office will immediately complete an Notice of Court Decision(DCO-259), and send it to disqualified household member to initiate the disqual ification.
NOTE: Court decisions which specify that NO disqual ification be imposed do not require an DCO-259.
An DCO-233 will be completed indicating the new allotment, household size, income, etc. The certification period will be shortened to coincide with the disqualification period if necessary. The income and resources of the disqualified member are handled according to procedures described in FSC 1623.2.
An Food Stamp Intentional Program Violation Repayment Agreement(DC0-254) will be sent to the household by the Overpayments Unit upon notification of a determination of an IPV by a court of law.
No further administrative appeal procedure exists after an adverse decision through an Administrative Disqualification Hearing. The determination of an IPV resulting from an Administrative Disqualification Hearing cannot be reversed by another Administrative Disqualification Hearing. The household member is, however, entitled to seek relief in a court having appropriate jurisdiction since the period of disqualification may be subject to change through a court decision.
An individual found guilty of an IPV through an Administrative Disqualification hearing has the right to judicial review.
A petition must be filed in the Circuit Court of any county in which the petitioner lives or does business or in the Circuit Court of Pulaski County within 30 days from the date the petitioner received the decision. Copies of the petition are served on the Agency and other parties of record by personal delivery or mail.
Within 30 days from the date of the service of the petition on the agency or additional time granted by the Court, not to exceed 90 days total, DEMS must transmit to the Court, the original or a certified copy of the entire record of the hearing under review.
The review shall be conducted by the Court without jury and will be confined to the record unless a question of irregularity in the procedure exists which is not indicated in the record. Testimony may then be taken before the Court.
In cases where the conviction of an individual for IPV is reversed by a court of appropriate jurisdiction, DCO will reinstate the individual in the Program if the household is otherwise eligible. Benefits that were lost as a result of the disqualification will be restored in accordance with the procedures specified in FSC 13330. The county office will be advised if an Administrative Disqualification Hearing is reversed so that the penalty can be removed.
016.20.96 Ark. Code R. 016