7 AAC 45.580 - Intentional program violation
(a) If an
individual member of an assistance unit applying for or receiving ATAP
benefits, including PASS I child care assistance, or having received AFDC
benefits, is believed by the department to have committed an intentional
program violation, as defined in (n) of this section, the department may
(1) proceed against the accused individual
through an administrative disqualification hearing, in accordance with
7
AAC 45.585; or
(2) refer the matter to the appropriate
authorities for civil or criminal action in a state or federal court.
(b) The department will coordinate
action against an individual accused of an intentional program violation under
(a) of this section with any corresponding action being taken in the food stamp
program under 7 AAC 46, if the factual issues involved arise from the same or
related circumstances.
(c) An
individual is disqualified from receiving ATAP benefits for the time period
specified in (d) of this section if the individual
(1) is found, through an administrative
disqualification hearing under
7
AAC 45.585, to have committed an intentional program
violation;
(2) has waived the
individual's right to an administrative disqualification hearing under
7
AAC 45.585;
(3) is found, by a state or federal court, to
have committed an intentional program violation; or
(4) has signed a disqualification consent
agreement, confirmed by a court, in which the individual admits committing an
intentional program violation.
(d) An individual who is disqualified from
ATAP for an intentional program violation will be ineligible to receive ATAP
benefits for the disqualification periods specified in
AS
47.27.015(e).
(e) When the department is determining an
ATAP assistance unit's financial eligibility and the department finds that the
assistance unit would include an individual if that individual were not
disqualified under this section, the department
(1) will not include the disqualified
individual in the assistance unit;
(2) will not include the income and resources
of the disqualified individual who is not a member of the mandatory filing unit
under 7 AAC 45.195; and
(3) will include the income and resources of
the disqualified individual who is a member of the mandatory filing unit under
7
AAC 45.195.
(f) For an individual who is a member of an
ATAP assistance unit at the time that individual is disqualified by a court of
law under this section, the disqualification period will begin on the date
specified by the court order. If that individual is disqualified by a hearing
officer, by consent, or by a court of law that has not specified the date for
initiating the disqualification period, the disqualification period will begin
on the first day of the second calendar month following the date
(1) of the notice of disqualification, as
described in (k) of this section, resulting from a hearing or court
action;
(2) the individual waived
that individual's right to appear at an administrative disqualification hearing
under 7 AAC
45.583(12);
(3) the individual signed a disqualification
consent agreement under (c)(4) of this section; or
(4) a court rules that the individual has
committed a crime involving an intentional program violation.
(g) If, at the time an individual
is disqualified under this section, the individual is not a member of an ATAP
assistance unit, the department will postpone the disqualification period until
the individual applies for and is determined eligible for ATAP
benefits.
(h) If what was the
assistance unit of an individual disqualified under this section becomes
ineligible for ATAP benefits during that individual's period of
disqualification, the department will impose the remaining months of that
individual's disqualification period at the time the assistance unit, or any
other assistance unit with which the disqualified individual could be included,
is determined eligible for ATAP benefits again.
(i) A period of disqualification for an
intentional program violation under this section is in addition to, and cannot
be substituted for, any period an individual is ineligible for ATAP benefits
for
(4) refusal of or voluntary separation from
suitable employment as stated in
AS
47.27.015(c); or
(5) failure to comply with a provision of the
FSSP as required by
AS
47.27.030.
(j) For any month or months that an
individual is ineligible for ATAP benefits for the reasons specified in (i) of
this section, the intentional program violation disqualification period will be
suspended and any month or months remaining in the disqualification period will
be imposed after the ATAP ineligibility period is over.
(k) When an action to disqualify an
individual is taken, the department will notify the disqualified individual in
writing. If the disqualified individual is not the caretaker relative, the
notice will be sent to both the disqualified individual and the caretaker
relative. The notice of disqualification will
(1) state the period of
disqualification;
(2) state the
date that the disqualification period begins;
(3) state that, for the duration of the
disqualification period, the disqualified individual will not be considered
when determining eligibility or calculating the ATAP payment to the assistance
unit;
(4) state the amount of
payment the remaining members of the assistance unit will receive for the first
month of the individual's disqualification period.
(l) Any period for which a disqualification
penalty is imposed will remain in effect, without possibility of an
administrative stay, until the finding upon which the penalty was based is
subsequently reversed by a court of appropriate jurisdiction; in no event will
the duration of the period for which the penalty is imposed be subject to
administrative review.
(m) If an
individual, disqualified in another state for an intentional program violation,
moves to this state, the department may
(1)
impose the remaining period of disqualification originally imposed by the other
state; and
(2) for any subsequent
intentional program violation committed in this state, consider all prior
violations committed in another state when determining the disqualification
period under (d) of this section.
(n) As used in this section, "intentional
program violation" means an action taken by an individual for the purpose of
establishing or maintaining a family's eligibility for ATAP benefits or for
benefits under the former AFDC program or for increasing or preventing a
reduction in the amount of the benefit, that intentionally misrepresents,
conceals, or withholds a material fact.
SLA 1996
Notes
Authority: Sec. 55, ch. 107,
AS 47.05.010
AS 47.27.005
AS 47.27.015
AS 47.27.030
AS 47.27.035
AS 47.27.040
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