b) withholding amounts from unemployment compensation from a member of the household;

1. the household is currently participating,

2. the claim has already been established;

3. there is already an existing FS claim,

4. there are other program claims,

5. the claim referral is for multiple programs, or

6. the claim was discovered in a Quality Control review.

1) ARMS will initiate collection action (proper notice should have been sent prior to submittal to ARMS, except for food stamps) against the household on all inadvertent household or agency error claims unless the claim is collected through offset or one of the following conditions apply:

• The total amount of the claim is less than $125, and the claim cannot be recovered by reducing the household's allotment;

• Documentation can be provided which shows that the household cannot be located.

2) ARMS will postpone collection action on inadvertent household error claims where an overissuance is being referred for possible criminal prosecution, or an administrative disqualification hearing, and it is determined collection action will prejudice the case.

• The household has repaid the overissuance already;

• DSS or ARMS has documentation that the household cannot be located; or

• It has been determined that collection action will prejudice the case against a household member referred for prosecution.

1) The amount of the claim;

3) The type, (IPV, IHE, or AE) and reason for the claim;

4) The time period of the claim;

5) How the claim was calculated;

6) The phone number to call for more information about the claim;

7) That, if the claim is not paid, it will be sent to other collections agencies, who will use various collection methods to collect the claim;

8) The opportunity to inspect and copy records related to the claim;

9) Unless the amount of the claim was established at a fair hearing, the opportunity for a fair hearing on the decision related to the claim. The household will have 90 days to request a fair hearing.

10) That if not paid, the claim will be referred to the Federal government for federal collection action;

11) That the household can make a written agreement to repay the amount prior to it being referred for Federal collection action; that is the claim becomes delinquent, the household may be subject to additional processing charges;

12) That the State agency may reduce any part of the claim if the agency believes that the household is not able to repay the claim;

13) A due date or time frame to either repay or make arrangements to repay the claim, unless the State agency is to impose allotment reduction;

14) If allotment reduction is to be imposed, the percentages to be used and the effective date; and

15) The due date or time frame for repayment must not be later than 30 days after the date of the initial written notification or demand letter.

A) The claim has not been paid by the due date and a satisfactory payment arrangement has not been made; or

B) A payment arrangement has been established and a scheduled payment has not been made by the due date. The date of delinquency for a claim is the due date of the missed installment payment. The claim will remain delinquent until payment is received in full, allotment reduction is invoked, or the agency determines to either resume or re-negotiate repayment schedule.

A claim will not be considered delinquent if another claim for the same household is currently being paid either through an installment agreement or allotment reduction, and the agency expects to begin collection on the claim once the prior claim is settled.

A claim is not subject to the requirements for delinquent debts if the agency is unable to determine delinquency status because collection is coordinated through the court system.

1) Lump Sum - If the household is financially able to repay the claim at one time, ARMS will collect a lump sum cash payment. However, the household will not be required to liquidate all of its resources to make this one lump sum payment. If the household is financially unable to repay the entire amount of the claim at one time and prefers to make a lump sum cash payment as partial payment of the claim, ARMS will accept this method of repayment. If the household chooses to make a lump sum payment of food stamp benefits as full or partial repayment of the claim, ARMS will accept this method of repayment.

2) Installments - ARMS may negotiate a repayment schedule with the household for repayment of any amounts of the claim not repaid through a lump sum payment. Payments will be accepted by ARMS in regular installments. The household may use food stamp benefits as full or partial repayment of any installment. If the full claim or remaining amount of the claim cannot be liquidated in three (3) years, ARMS may compromise the claim by reducing it to an amount that will allow the household to repay the claim in three (3) years. ARMS may use the full amount of the claim (including any amount compromised) to offset benefits in accordance with DSSM 9011 .

If the household fails to make a payment in accordance with the established repayment schedule (either in a lesser amount or no payment), ARMS will send the household a notice explaining that no payment or an insufficient payment was received. The notice will inform the household that it may contact ARMS to discuss renegotiation of the repayment schedule. The notice will also inform the household unless the overdue payments are made, or ARMS is contacted to discuss renegotiation of the repayment reschedule, the allotment of a currently participating household against which an administrative error, inadvertent household error, or intentional Program violation claim has been established may be reduced without a notice of adverse action.

If the household responds to the notice, ARMS will take one of the following actions as appropriate:

a) If the household makes the overdue payments and wishes to continue payments based on the previous schedule, permit the household to do so;

b) If the household requests renegotiation, and if ARMS concurs with the request, negotiate a new repayment schedule;

c) If the household requests renegotiation of the amount of its repayment schedule, but ARMS believes that the household's economic circumstances have not changed enough to warrant the requested settlement, ARMS may continue renegotiation until a settlement can be reached. ARMS may invoke allotment reduction against a currently participating household for repayment of an agency error, inadvertent household error, or intentional Program violation claim if a settlement cannot be reached.

ARMS may also invoke allotment reduction if such a household responds by requesting renegotiation of the amount of its repayment schedule but ARMS believes that the household's economic circumstances have not changed enough to warrant the requested settlement. If the allotment reduction is invoked, no notice of adverse action is required.

In cases where the household is currently participating in the Program and a repayment schedule is negotiated for repayment of an administrative error, inadvertent household error, or intentional Program violation claim, ARMS will ensure that the negotiated amount to be repaid each month through installment payments is not less than the amount which could be recovered through allotment reduction. Once negotiated, the amount to be repaid each month through installment payments will remain unchanged regardless of subsequent changes in the household's monthly allotment. However, both ARMS and the household have the option to initiate renegotiation of the repayment schedule if they believe that the household's economic circumstances have changed enough to warrant such action.

3) Allotment Reduction - ARMS will collect payments for agency error claims, inadvertent household error claims and intentional Program violation claims from households currently participating in the Program by reducing the household's food stamp allotment, unless the claim is being regularly collected at a higher amount or another household is already having it's allotment reduced for the same claim. The amount of food stamps to be recovered each month through allotment reduction will be determined as follows:

a) Agency Error and Inadvertent Household Error Claims - The amount of food stamps will be the greater of ten (10) percent of the household's monthly allotment, or $10 per month, unless the household agrees to a higher amount. Round all figures with amounts to the next highest dollar.

b) Intentional Program Violation Claims - The amount of food stamps will be the greater of twenty (20) percent of the household's monthly entitlement, or $20 per month, unless the household agrees to a higher amount. Round all figures with the next highest dollar.

c) The provision for a $10 minimum benefit level for households with one and two members only, as described in DSSM 9066 applies to the allotment prior to reduction.

d) Do not reduce the initial allotment when the household is first certified unless the household agrees to this reduction.

e) Do not use additional involuntary collection methods against individuals in a household that is already having its allotment reduced unless the additional payment is irregular and unexpected such as having a State tax refund or lottery winnings offset.

f) ARMS may collect using allotment reduction from two separate households for the same claim. ARMS must make sure that the recouped amounts do not exceed the total amount of the claim.

g) Arms may continue to use any other collection method against any individual who is not a current member of the household that is undergoing allotment reduction as long as the amounts collected do not exceed the total amount of the claim.

1) ARMS Accounting Section will establish the claim in DCIS II. Mass changes then runs before the pull down of recoupment, to re-determine the benefit and recoupment amounts.

2) DCIS II automatically issues a notice to the client stating that their benefits have been reduced by a certain amount (a percentage or a flat amount) to repay their Food Stamp debt.

3) As a result of the date entry performed by ARMS and the mass change run, allotment reduction will take place. This debt will remain in DCIS II until paid in full, even through periods of inactivity. Any cash payments made by the household will be entered by ARMS, using the DCIS II Benefit Recovery Repayment options.

4) This action will be reflected in the balance figure shown in Benefit Recovery, Query Claims by Individual.

5) During the time that a household's allotment is reduced to recover an overissuance, DSS will be required to handle any case maintenance required. Changes to financial data performed by DCIS will be governed by the allotment reduction indicator. The system will apply the appropriate percentage reduction to the calculated allotment whenever a change is made. When the recoupment balance falls below the monthly withholding amount, the DCIS system will withhold the remaining balance. When the balance is reduced to zero, the system will automatically search for any other food stamp claims that are outstanding. If there are none, the system will automatically cancel the recoupment. If there are outstanding food stamp claims, the recoupment will continue until all outstanding food stamp claims are satisfied.

4) Benefits from EBT Accounts

a) Collecting from active (or reactivated) EBT benefits - the agency needs written permission or oral permission for one-time reductions with the agency sending the household a receipt of the transaction within ten (10) days.

The written permission must include:

1. A statement that this collection activity is strictly voluntary;

2. The amount of the payment;

3. The frequency of the payments;

4. The length (if any) of the agreement;

5. A statement that the household may revoke this agreement at any time.

b) Collecting from stale EBT benefits – the agency must mail or otherwise deliver to the household written notification that the agency intends to apply the benefits to the outstanding claim and give the household at least ten (10) days to notify the agency that it doesn’t want to use these benefits to pay the claim.

c) Making an adjustment with expunged EBT benefits – the agency must adjust the amount of any claim by subtracting any expunged amount from the EBT benefit account and this can be done anytime.

d) A collection from an EBT account must be non-settling against the benefit drawdown account.

8) Other collection actions

The agency may employ any other collection actions to collect claims. These actions include, but are not limited to, referrals to collection agencies, state tax refund, lottery offsets, wage garnishments, property liens, and small claims court.

A. Reducing benefits prior to issuance. This includes allotment reductions and offsets to restored benefits.

B. Reducing benefits after issuance. These are benefits from electronic benefit transfer accounts.

C. Accepting cash or any of its generally accepted equivalents. These equivalents include check, money order, and credit or debit cards.

E. Conducting other offsets and intercepts like wage garnishments and intercepts of various State payments.