Conn. Agencies Regs. § 16a-41-34

Current through October 16, 2024

Section 16a-41-34 - Definitions

As used in Sections 34 through 45 inclusive

(a) Administrative overpayment means an overpayment which occurs through the error or fraud of a service provider agency or fraud on part of a recipient and may be attributable to an action or inaction by the service provider agency.

(b) Appellant is an individual or service provider agency seeking administrative remedy, through a Departmental Hearing or a Community Action Agency Desk Review, to a decision rendered concerning the weatherization assistance program.

(c) Applicant means any individual who has filled out an application.

(d) Applicant household is any individual or group of individuals living together as one economic unit whose source of residential heat is purchased in common and is applying for weatherization assistance.

(e) Bid is a specific price quotation requested from a potential seller or supplier. Bids must follow the format set forth in Section 16a-41-31, Standards for Procurement.

(f) Commissioner means the Commissioner of the Department of Human Resources.

(g) Current income status is the applicant household's income from the previous four (4) weeks preceding the date of application or the fifty-two (52) weeks from the date of application, except in cases of self-employment.

Income derived from self-employment shall be determined based upon the six (6) calendar months preceding the date of application.

(h) Departmental Hearing is:

(1) A hearing held between an applicant or a service recipient and the Department of Human Resources in response to the filing of an appeal; or,

(2) A hearing held with an applicant or a service recipient and a service provider agency and the Department of Human Resources in response to the filing of an appeal.

(i) Disabled means any individual who has a physical or mental impairment, whether congenital or acquired, which substantially limits one or more major life activities, has a record of having such an impairment, or is regarded as having such an impairment, including, but not limited to, blindness, epilepsy, deafness or hearing impairment, or reliance on a wheelchair or other remedial appliance or device.

(j) Dwelling unit is a house, including a stationary mobile home, an apartment, a group of rooms, or a single room occupied as separate living quarters with a private entrance.

(k) Elderly means any individual 60 years of age or over.

(l) Desk Review is a process by which a service provider agency responds in writing to an appeal filed by an applicant or a service recipient.

(m) Excluded income is as follows:

(1) Day care, foster care, or homecare service program payments.

(2) Payments received under Title II of the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 (84 Stat. 1902, 42 USC 1636).

(3) The value of the coupon allotment made under the Food Stamp Act of 1964 [78 Stat. 705, as amended, 7 USC 2016(c)] .

(4) The value of assistance to children under the National School Lunch Act (60 Stat. 230, 42 USC 1751 et. seq.) as amended by PL 90-302.

(5) The value of assistance to children under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 [80 Stat. 889, 42 USC 1870(b)] .

(6) Any grant or loan to any undergraduate student for tuition and fees made or insured under any program administered by the Commissioner of Education as provided by Section 507 of the Higher Education Amendments of 1968, PL 90-575 (82 State. 1063).

(7) Payments to volunteers under the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 as provided by Section 404 (g) of that act (87 State. 409, 42 USC 5044 ).

(8) The value of any assistance paid with respect to a dwelling unit under the United States Housing Act of 1937, the National Housing Act, section 101 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965, or Title V of the Housing Act of 1959, as provided by Section 2 (n) of PL 94-375 (90 Stat. 1068).

(9) Value of Federally donated foods distributed pursuant to section 32 of PL 94-320 or section 416 of the Agriculture Act of 1949 [ 7 CFR 250.6(e) (9) as authorized by 5 USC 301] .

(10) Payments for supporting services or reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses made to individual volunteers serving as foster grandparents, senior health aides, or senior companions, and to persons serving in the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) and Active Corps of Executives (ACE) and any other programs under Titles II and III, pursuant to section 418 of PL-93-113.

(11) Income from employment or self-employment of individuals under 18 years of age who are at least part-time students.

(n) Fraud is:

(1) Any false statement, misrepresentation, or concealment of or failure to disclose information regarding circumstances relevant to a determination of eligibility.

(2) Any false statement or misrepresentation or impersonation or other fraudulent act or device, made to obtain or attempt to obtain, or aiding or abetting any attempt to obtain any assistance to which a household is not entitled.

(o) Household means any individual or group of individuals living together in one dwelling unit, whose source of residential heat is customarily purchased in common.

(p) Included Income is as follows:

(1) Income from employment means the gross earnings from salaries, wages, and tips for all household members excluding those cited in Section 16a-41-25(m) (1).

(2) Income from self-employment means the total gross profit from business enterprises, for all household members, excluding those cited in Section 16a-41-25(m) (1), including farming, remaining after the total cost of production of the income is deducted from the gross income. Personal expenses such as income tax payments, social security deductions, lunches, transportation, etc., are not classified as business expenses.

(3) Income from all other sources means pensions, annuities, dividends, interest, rental income, estate or trust income, royalties, social security or supplemental security income, unemployment compensation, workmen's compensation, alimony, child support, and cash assistance from federal, state and municipally funded assistance programs that are not otherwise excluded as income by the federal or state governments for all household members.

(q) Materials Inventory means the actual cost of weatherization materials, repair materials and low cost/no cost items in bulk inventory and not yet transferred and cost allocated to a job site. This amount shall be based on a physical count and reconciliation to supporting documentation.

(r) Multi-Family means any structure with three (3) or more separate living quarters.

(s) Overpayment means assistance to which a service recipient was not entitled because he/she failed to meet the eligibility requirements for which the payment was made or the amount of the assistance was not appropriate to the household's circumstances.

Overpayment may occur through a fraudulent action by the service recipient or the service provider agency or through administrative error.

(t) Individual means any person of majority status as defined by Section 1-1d of the Connecticut General Statutes or any individual not of majority status who is a head of household.

(u) Recoupment is the recovery of any assistance properly paid because a household withheld information on their application or because of an administrative overpayment.

(v) Redetermination is the periodic evaluation of household income to determine eligibility for assistance which shall occur at least every twelve (12) months from the initial date of eligibility.

(w) Repair Materials are items necessary for the effective performance or preservation of weatherization materials.

(x) Respondent is an individual or service provider agency against whom an appeal is filed.

(y) Service provider agency is an agency with which the Department of Human Resources contracts for the provision of weatherization assistance services.

(z) Service recipient is a household that has been determined eligible for weatherization assistance.

(aa) Weatherization Materials are those items intended primarily to improve the heating efficiency of a dwelling unit as cited in section 16a-41-30 a-h.

(bb) Willful withholding of information means oral or written misstatements made by an applicant/service recipient in response to questions from a service provider agency regarding circumstances affecting the provision of assistance, or the failure by an applicant household to provide documentation(s), certification(s) or information required of it by the service provider agency.

(cc) Emergency repairs are items necessary for the operation of a furnace.

(dd) Head of Household is an individual who has maintained and contributed to more than one-half (1/2) of the maintenance of the household for the previous twelve (12) months, and has had that dwelling as his/her principal residence for that time.

(ee) S.W.A.P. is the acronym for the State Weatherization Assistance Program.

(ff) D.O.E. is the acronym for the United States Department of Energy.

Conn. Agencies Regs. § 16a-41-34

Effective August 25, 1986