§253.4. Administration. — Inbound Citations

(1) Take action against any State agency under § 253.11(g) with respect to administrative funds available from FNS for use by the State agency or (2) disqualify the State agency from further distribution of USDA Foods to households. Disqualification of the State agency shall not prevent FNS or the Department from taking other actions, including prosecution under applicable Federal statutes, when deemed necessary. Reinstatement shall be contingent upon approval by FNS of the State agency's plan for corrective action or determination by FNS that the State agency has complied with any other requirements for reinstatement which FNS may set forth. These provisions apply to all State agencies, regardless of whether the Program is administered by an agency of the State government or an ITO. If the ITO is disqualified as a State agency, an appropriate agency of State government shall administer the Food Distribution Program on the reservation. If an agency of State government is disqualified as the State agency for the Food Distribution Program on the reservation, the ITO may request in writing a capability determination for program administration in accordance with § 253.4.

(b) Section 253.4 Administration, does not apply and is replaced by § 254.3.

(1) All households residing on a reservation on which the FDPIR operates shall be eligible to apply for program benefits on that reservation regardless of whether they include an Indian member. All Indian tribal households as defined in § 253.2 of this part which reside in near areas established under § 253.4(d) of this part shall be eligible to apply for program benefits. The ITO or State agency shall serve all income-eligible applicant households residing on reservations who apply for benefits, and all income-eligible applicant Indian tribal households residing in near areas. The ITO or State agency administering the program in a near area shall, for purposes of determining program eligibility, accept documentation from a household member's tribe of origin as proof of tribal membership. Residency shall not mean domicile nor shall the State agency impose any durational residency requirement. However, persons on the reservation solely for vacations shall not be considered residents. No household may participate in or in the Food Distribution Program in more than one geographical area at the same time.

(i) Any State agency or ITO that wants to appeal an initial FNS determination under paragraph (l) of this section must notify the Administrator of FNS, in writing, within 15 days from the date of the determination. If the appeal concerns either paragraph (l)(1) (i) or (ii) of this section, the implementation timeframes as specified in paragraph (m) of this section and the timeframe for determining an ITO's capability as specified in § 253.4(e)(2) are suspended from the date the appeal is requested to the date of the final determination.