§253.7. Certification of households. — Inbound Citations

(G) The earned or unearned income of an individual disqualified from participation in SNAP for fraud shall continue to be counted as income, less the pro rata share for the disqualified member. Procedures for calculating this pro rata share are described in § 253.7.

(a) All applicant households shall be certified in accordance with the eligibility and certification provisions in §§ 253.6 and 253.7.

(ii) A State agency which is not an ITO shall submit its plan of operation, budget and any substantive subsequent amendments to the ITO for comment at least 45 days prior to submission of the plan, budget or amendment to FNS. Comments by the ITO shall be attached to the plan, budget or amendment which is submitted to FNS. This paragraph does not apply to amendments required by FNS under § 253.7(a)(1).

(1) The State agency shall provide bilingual staff, certification forms, including the application form and certification notices as specified in § 253.7(a)(2) and (b)(3), respectively, and any form developed by the State agency for reporting changes in household composition and income, pursuant to § 253.7(c), and outreach materials, when either an estimated 100 or more low income households or the majority of low-income households on the reservation are a single language minority. Single-language minority refers to households which speak the same non-English language and which do not contain adults(s) fluent in English as a second language. If the non-English language is spoken but not written, the State agency shall provide bilingual staff, if required, but not bilingual material.

(6) Emergency issuance of USDA Foods will be made to households certified for expedited service in accordance with the provisions of § 253.7(a)(9).

(3) The head of the household, spouse, or any other responsible member of the household may designate an authorized representative to act on behalf of the household in making application for USDA Foods and/or obtaining USDA Foods as provided in § 253.7(a)(10)(i) and § 253.7(a)(10)(ii) respectively.

(3) The head of the household, spouse, or any other responsible member of the household may designate an authorized representative to act on behalf of the household in making application for USDA Foods and/or obtaining USDA Foods as provided in § 253.7(a)(10)(i) and § 253.7(a)(10)(ii) respectively.

(ix) The procedures for computing the cost of producing self-employment income are described in § 253.7(b)(1)(iii).

(1) The State agency shall provide bilingual staff, certification forms, including the application form and certification notices as specified in § 253.7(a)(2) and (b)(3), respectively, and any form developed by the State agency for reporting changes in household composition and income, pursuant to § 253.7(c), and outreach materials, when either an estimated 100 or more low income households or the majority of low-income households on the reservation are a single language minority. Single-language minority refers to households which speak the same non-English language and which do not contain adults(s) fluent in English as a second language. If the non-English language is spoken but not written, the State agency shall provide bilingual staff, if required, but not bilingual material.

(2) The notice must conform to the requirements of § 253.7(b)(3)(iii)(C) for notices of adverse action.

(1) The State agency shall provide bilingual staff, certification forms, including the application form and certification notices as specified in § 253.7(a)(2) and (b)(3), respectively, and any form developed by the State agency for reporting changes in household composition and income, pursuant to § 253.7(c), and outreach materials, when either an estimated 100 or more low income households or the majority of low-income households on the reservation are a single language minority. Single-language minority refers to households which speak the same non-English language and which do not contain adults(s) fluent in English as a second language. If the non-English language is spoken but not written, the State agency shall provide bilingual staff, if required, but not bilingual material.

(c) Additionally, under no circumstances shall any household participate simultaneously in SNAP and the Food Distribution Program. Policy governing this prohibition is found in § 253.7(e).

(6) The State agency must provide the household member to be disqualified with an opportunity to appeal the disqualification through a fair hearing, as required by § 253.7(h).

(d) Household members determined by the State agency to have committed an intentional program violation may appeal the disqualification, as provided under § 253.7(h)(1).

(2) The State agency must provide the household member with a notification of the time and place of the fair hearing as described in § 253.7(h)(7). The notice must also include:

(i) A warning that if the household member fails to appear at the hearing, the hearing decision will be based solely on the information provided by the State agency; and

(ii) A statement that the hearing does not prevent the Tribal, Federal, State, or local government from prosecuting the household member in a civil or criminal court action, or from collecting any overissuance(s).

(2) If the household member requested a fair hearing and the disqualification was upheld by the fair hearing official, the disqualification must begin with the next scheduled distribution of USDA Foods that follows the date the hearing decision is issued. If the USDA Foods are normally made available to the household within a specific period of time (for example, from the first day of the month through the tenth day of the month), the effective date of the disqualification will be the first day of that period. The State agency must apply the disqualification period (that is, 12 months, 24 months, or permanent) specified in the notice of disqualification. No further administrative appeal procedure exists after an adverse fair hearing decision. The decision by a fair hearing official is binding on the State agency. The household member, however, may seek relief in a court having appropriate jurisdiction. As provided under § 253.7(h)(11)(iii)(B), the State agency must advise any remaining household members if the household's benefits will change, or if the household is no longer eligible as a result of the disqualification.