111-5          RECOUPMENTS, REPAYMENTS, AND ALLOTMENT REDUCTIONS

When the case is in active open status, the Alaska Temporary Assistance, Adult Public Assistance, and/or SNAPSupplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefit amount will be reduced to repay the overpayment claim. The BIRUBenefit Issuance & Recovery Unit sends an overpayment/recoupment notice to the recipient prior to beginning this benefit reduction.

111-5 A.      RECOUPMENT PROCESS

Once the caseworker completes and submits the GEN 95Report of Claim Determination form to the BIRUBenefit Issuance & Recovery Unit Claims Unit, the BIRUBenefit Issuance & Recovery Unit will initiate the recoupment process by following these steps:

• Open active claim account against household within the Eligibility Information System (EIS) and i-Sight at https://fcm.i-sight.com/login?redirect=true&win=/home.
• Enter the overpayment amount, due date of payment and repayment period within EISEligibility Information System and i-Sight.
• Generate a repayment agreement through i-Sight and send notice to the household. A household can contact BIRUBenefit Issuance & Recovery Unit to set up monthly payment plan by completing an agreement plan.

111-5 B.      REPAYMENT AGREEMENT

Clients must complete a repayment agreement with BIRUBenefit Issuance & Recovery Unit for the overpayment. The client must sign the repayment agreement within 30 days from the date of the notice. If not received within 30 days, SNAPSupplemental Nutrition Assistance Program claim will be considered delinquent. The balance must be paid in full within three years.

The options of repayment:

1. Pay in full; or
2. Pay monthly payment

If the client is still receiving SNAPSupplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, they can choose to deduct the amount from their EBTElectronic Benefit Transfer card/account and applied to the overpayment.

111-5 C.      SNAP COMPROMISE

A household may request a compromise to reduce the balance to SNAPSupplemental Nutrition Assistance Program claim owed if they cannot repay the overpayment amount within 36 months. No written request or form is required for a household to compromise a SNAPSupplemental Nutrition Assistance Program claim.

If the household meets the threshold amount of the established debt the Benefit Issuance and Recovery Unit (BIRU) will compromise as follows:

• Client or Agency Caused Errors, open cases: Compromise the amount exceeding $360 ($10 per month times 36 months).
• Client or Agency Caused Errors, closed cases: Compromise the amount exceeding $720 ($20 per month times 36 months).

And following the criteria listed below:

1. Household contains a Special Category (SPECAT) individual or an individual that was considered SPECATSpecial Category when the household was receiving Food Stamps, claim is eligible for compromise.
2. BIRUBenefit Issuance & Recovery Unit request a financial statement from the household for determination. BIRUBenefit Issuance & Recovery Unit will only approve a compromise if household expense is more than 50% of the household income. Expenses include mortgage or rent, electricity, gas, water/sewer, telephone, health insurance, food, and child support/alimony, and medical expense.

111-5 D.      UNSPECIFIED JOINT COLLECTION

An unspecified joint collection is when a payment is received for a combined public assistance program and the client did not specify which claim or program is being paid. When a client does not specify a program to apply the collection, the payment will be in the following hierarchy order:

• SNAPSupplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Claims
• TANFTemporary Assistance for Needy Families Claims
• APAAdult Public Assistance Claims

Refer to the policy manuals for information on when to establish recoupments and allotment reductions.

111-5 E.      EXPUNGEMENT OF BENEFITS

Expungement of benefits occur when a SNAPSupplemental Nutrition Assistance Program client has not used their SNAPSupplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for a specific amount of time. Systems Support is responsible for expunging benefits of clients who have not used their SNAPSupplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for the past 9 months. When SNAPSupplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have not been used, the benefits are expunged from the EBTElectronic Benefit Transfer card. A notice is sent to the client, notifying of potential expungement of benefits if they are not used. Once benefits are expunged, benefits are removed and no longer available to the client.

Prior to expungement, the BIRUBenefit Issuance & Recovery Unit utilizes a monthly report in MOBIUS (HESMAG3P) to identify cases whose benefits are nearing expungement and have active SNAPSupplemental Nutrition Assistance Program claims. Once identified, the BIRUBenefit Issuance & Recovery Unit applies stale benefits from the recipients current SNAPSupplemental Nutrition Assistance Program balance and applies them towards the claim balance. BIRUBenefit Issuance & Recovery Unit has 15-20 days to work and process the expungement.

Note:

Do not process expunged amount if less than $10. When the amount is less than $10, a notice is not sent to the client.

Expungement process only occurs for cases with active claims.

All claims management is completed in i-Sight, with the exception when a transaction is posted in EISEligibility Information System to facilitate collections through benefit reduction. Expunging benefits are recorded and processed through i-Sight.

The following is the SNAPSupplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Expungement Process:

1. Log into MOBIUS to access the expungement report.
2. Then log into EISEligibility Information System to expunge the benefit and go to the CAP2 screen to verify case closure.
3. Go to the EBCM screen to ensure a card is issued on the case. Verify the benefit balance and if the reported expunged amount is still available.
4. If there is no active card, a card must be issued first on the EBCM screen.
   1. After card is issued, go to the CEOM screen to process the expunged benefit amount listed on the report.
   2. Once expunged, go back to the EBCM screen and deactivate "Z1" the card.

Note:

Cannot process the SNAPSupplemental Nutrition Assistance Program expungement if there is no active card.

5. If there is an active card, enter NEXT to go to the OVCM screen and write down or make note of the active SNAPSupplemental Nutrition Assistance Program claim number with an outstanding balance. 
6. Next to the CEOM screen, select 8 (EBT Voluntary repayment) and hit enter.
7. Enter the amount on the report on the EBVR screen. Use full dollar amount.
   1. Enter "FS" in the Claim Program Type field.
   2. Tab to the Claim ID number and enter the claim number that is active.
   3. Hit Enter.
8. On the OVCM screen, to go the current FS screen. Type "FS" and hit enter.
9. At the bottom of the OVCM screen, enter the expunged dollar amount.
10. Tab over to the Remark field and type "Expunged Benefit." 
11. Hit enter.
12. Once expunged in EISEligibility Information System, process the payment in i-Sight. 
    1. In i-Sight, enter the follow field.
       1. Case number - The claim number generated in i-Sight when a claim is established.
       2. Transaction Date
       3. Transaction Type - "Payment"
       4. Debtor Name - Client's name
       5. Payment Type - "Expungement"
       6. Check/Money Order Number - "Expunged Benefit"
       7. Payment Processed by - Name of individual who processed the expungement
       8. Processed by BIRUBenefit Issuance & Recovery Unit Date
13. Send the payment receipt to the client at the last known address. Make necessary edits on i-Sight payment receipt template.
14. Save the payment receipt to FILES in H: Claim Unit/I-sight and delete the payment receipt template created.