10 Colo. Code Regs. § 2506-1-4.903
Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 22, November 25, 2024
Section 10 CCR 2506-1-4.903 - STATE ADMINISTRATION RESPONSIBILITIES4.903.1Information Available to the PublicA. Federal regulations, federal procedures embodied in Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) notices and policy memos, the SNAP rules, and State Plans of Operation (including specific planning documents such as corrective action plans) shall be available upon request for examination by members of the public during office hours at the State Department. Copies of materials are available to recipient organizations, action centers, and other individuals for a minimal printing charge.B. The SNAP rules shall be available for examination upon request at each local office within each county. They are also available online through the Secretary of State's official publication of State Agency rules in the Colorado Code of Regulations, accessible at: https://www.sos.state.co.us/CCR/Welcome.do.4.903.2Reporting LawsuitsFNS regulations require prompt notification from the State Department of any lawsuits involving the administration of SNAP.
As SNAP is administered under the supervision of the State Department, it is mandatory that all legal proceedings involving SNAP be brought to the attention of the State Department immediately for notification to the FNS.
4.903.3Management Evaluations (ME)The State Department is responsible for supervising the administration of SNAP. To ensure compliance with program requirements, the State Department is responsible for conducting ME reviews to measure compliance with the provisions of these rules. The objectives of the ME review system are to:
A. Provide a systematic method of monitoring and assessing program operations in the counties;B. Provide a basis for counties to improve and strengthen program operations by identifying and correcting deficiencies;C. Provide a continuous flow of information between the counties, the State Department, and FNS to develop solutions to problems in SNAP policy and procedures; and,D. Provide a review of target program areas as identified by USDA, FNS.4.903.31Frequency of ME ReviewsThe State Department shall conduct an ME review of all SNAP operations:
A. At least once annually on each large project area containing more than twenty-five thousand and one (25,001) participating households;B. At least once every two (2) years on each medium project area containing five thousand (5,000) to twenty-five thousand (25,000) participating households; and,C. At least once every three (3) years on each small project area containing four thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine (4,999) or fewer participating households. The State Department may conduct ME reviews on an alternative schedule with the written approval of the USDA, FNS. The State Department may also perform reviews of specific local offices or program elements. The USDA, FNS, or the State Department, may identify the need for a special review, or the local office may request a special review.
Reviews will generally include all aspects of program administration in the large project areas. The reviews may be more limited in scope in the medium and small project areas. The USDA, FNS, generally identifies target program areas that it requires for review each fiscal year.
The State Department will complete the ME report for all counties that are reviewed and will be responsible for monitoring the county responses to any findings.
The county shall be responsible for submitting any factual corrections to the ME review within twenty (20) state working days and shall submit a final plan to correct all other cited deficiencies within twenty (20) state working days of receiving the review. The response shall include specific actions, persons responsible for implementation, and the date for completion. When the review identifies ongoing problems in critical areas, the county response shall also include a method for monitoring implementation of the plan and reporting progress to the state department on at least a quarterly basis.
4.903.32Compliance Action for ME ReviewsThe State Department is the designated entity responsible for ensuring that corrective action is taken at the state and/or county level on the deficiencies found by the ME Reviews.
The state may impose fiscal sanctions on counties that do not make good-faith efforts to address ongoing problems in critical areas. Fiscal sanctions may be imposed in accordance with Section 4.901.1, which requires local offices to operate the program in accordance with state rules.
4.903.4Quality Assurance (QA) ReviewsQA reviews are conducted during the annual federal QA review period, which is the twelve (12) month period from October 1 of each calendar year through September 30 of the following calendar year.
A. QA reviews are federally mandated to provide: 1. A systematic method of measuring the validity of the SNAP caseload;2. A basis for determining error rates;3. A timely and continuous flow of information on which to base corrective action at all levels of administration; and,4. A basis for establishing liability for errors that exceed the federal error rate target and the State's eligibility for an increased share of federal administrative funding and/or federal high-performance bonuses.B. Reviews are conducted on: 1. Active cases to determine if the household is eligible and, if eligible, whether the household is receiving the correct SNAP benefits.2. Negative cases to determine if households that were denied or terminated were, in fact, not eligible to participate in SNAP and that the household received an accurate, timely notice as defined in sections 4.205.2, 4.209.1, and 4.608. The review of a negative case includes:a. A household case record review;c. Client notification; and,d. The reporting of review findings.4.903.41QA Review ProceduresA. Each month a statistically random sample of active and negative cases is selected for QA review. The sampling of both active and negative cases is accomplished through the master file from the automated system.B. Case records for the monthly selected sample may be reviewed by QA in the local office, or the local office may be requested to forward the case recrods to the appropriate state QA office for review prior to the field reviews and verification of eligibility factors. Local offices shall make case records available for review no later than seven (7) business days from the date that the request is received by the local office.C. When the local office receives a request for one or more cases for QA review, the following steps shall be taken in preparing the case record:1. All documents and notes supporting eligibility decisions and/or basis of issuance related to the case and actions taken by the local office that apply to the sample/review month shall be included in the case record.2. Accomplishment of the objectives of QA depends upon the successful operation of all aspects of the sampling system, including the elimination of bias to prevent bias, the local office shall not take any action that might alter the findings or misrepresent the household's circumstance including, but not limited to:a. Making changes that would affect eligibility and payment;b. Adding or removing documentation/verification from the official case record; or,c. Contacting the household sampled, the QA reviewer, or making collateral contacts to obtain additional information to clarify the household's circumstances, obtain statements or coerce the household into saying or doing anything that might alter the findings or misrepresent the household's circumstances for the review month.D. These provisions do not apply to routine case management such as acting on reported changes, completing recertifications, or issuing a notice of expiration.4.903.42Refusal to Cooperate with QA ReviewHouseholds selected for review are required to cooperate with federal and state QA review processes.
Households that refuse to cooperate in a QA review shall be declared ineligible for SNAP benefits in this section. The state QA reviewer shall notify the local office of the household's refusal to cooperate in the review process, including everyone who refused, and the local office shall document the refusal to cooperate in the statewide automated system.
A. Within ten (10) calendar days from the date of receipt of QA's notification of the household's refusal to cooperate, the local office shall take action to disqualify or terminate the entire household from participation in SNAP and each household member who refused to cooperate shall be entered into the automated system to initiate a period of ineligibility. The period of ineligibility is as follows: 1. For refusal to cooperate with a state QA review, the period of ineligibility shall exist for the remainder of the current federal fiscal year plus one hundred twenty-five (125) days and shall expire on February 2 of that federal fiscal year.2. For refusal to cooperate with a federal QA review, the period of ineligibility shall exist for the remainder of the current federal fiscal year plus nine (9) months and shall expire on June 30 of that federal fiscal year.B. If a member or members who refused to cooperate with a QA review leaves the household, the ineligibility period shall follow the household member(s) who refused to cooperate. If a household is disqualified or terminated for refusal to cooperate with a QA review, the household may reapply. The household cannot be determined eligible until it cooperates with the QA review and provides verification of all eligibility factors.
C. If a household that has refused to cooperate with a state QA review reapplies more than one hundred twenty-five (125) days after the end of the annual federal QA review period, or refused to cooperate with a federal review and reapplies more than nine (9) months from the end of the annual federal QA review period, the household shall not be determined ineligible for its refusal to cooperate and is required to provide verification of all eligibility factors before it can be approved for benefits.4.903.43QA Findings and Required ResponsesQA shall notify local offices on State-prescribed forms of the review findings for each sampled active and negative case. Brief descriptions of the review findings shall be given with references to applicable rule sections.
A. When the review findings document no error and/or only other observations have been noted, a response is not required by the local office; however, any observation that affects the payment accuracy must be corrected and a claim or restoration established in accordance with Sections 4.801.2 and 4.702 . The report of review findings shall be retained in the case record.B. When the review findings document that an error resulted in ineligibility, over-issuance, under-issuance, or an incorrect negative action, the local office shall take action to correct any errors discovered within ten (10) calendar days. If the local office disagrees with a review finding then a response should be sent to the State Department for further review.
C. Upon receiving the local office's response to the QA review findings, the State Department shall review the action taken by the local office and either concur with the QA findings; concur with the local office rebuttal; or concur/disagree with the corrective action taken by the local office.1. The local office shall be notified of the final QA review findings.2. Upon receipt of final notification of the results of the findings, the local office must take corrective action to terminate ineligible households within ten (10) calendar days, restore lost benefits, or establish a claim in accordance with Sections 4.801.2 and 4.702.D. Local offices are required by the State Department to report twice a year to the State Department the status of all QA review findings that required case corrections.4.903.44Federal QA ReviewsFor purposes of validating the State's QA findings, the FNS Regional Office will conduct a sub-sample re-review of the State QA sample. As part of this re-review process, the Federal Regional Office will conduct case record reviews to the extent necessary to determine the accuracy of state QA findings. The FNS Regional Office may request case records and/or verify any aspects of state QA findings. The local offices shall forward case records in their entirety as outlined in Section 4.903.41 that are selected for FNS regional office review within ten (10) calendar days of the request.
37 CR 15, August 10, 2014, effective 9/1/201437 CR 21, November 10,2014, effective 12/1/201438 CR 23, December 10, 2015, effective 1/1/201639 CR 01, January 10, 2016, effective 2/1/201639 CR 05, March 10, 2016, effective 4/1/201639 CR 07, April 10, 2016, effective 5/1/201639 CR 15, August 10, 2016, effective 9/1/201639 CR 17, September 10, 2016, effective 10/1/201639 CR 19, October 10, 2016, effective 11/1/201639 CR 23, December 10, 2016, effective 1/1/201740 CR 11, June 10, 2017, effective 7/1/201740 CR 17, September 10, 2017, effective 10/1/201741 CR 15, August 10, 2018, effective 9/1/201840 CR 23, December 10, 2017, effective 12/30/201842 CR 01, January 10, 2019, effective 2/1/201942 CR 03, February 10, 2019, effective 3/15/201942 CR 17, September 10, 2019, effective 10/1/201942 CR 18, October 10, 2019, effective 10/1/201942 CR 23, December 10, 2019, effective 12/30/201943 CR 01, January 10, 2020, effective 1/30/202043 CR 05, March 10, 2020, effective 2/7/202043 CR 07, April 10, 2020, effective 4/30/202043 CR 21, November 10, 2020, effective 11/30/202044 CR 21, November 10, 2021, effective 11/30/202145 CR 05, March 10, 2022, effective 3/30/202245 CR 19, October 10, 2022, effective 10/1/202245 CR 19, October 10, 2022, effective 11/1/202245 CR 21, November 10, 2022, effective 11/30/2022