016.20.02 Ark. Code R. § 007 - FSC 02-10 - Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) Adjustment Policy
FSC - TYPES OF ISSUANCE Group Living Arrangements
Eligible food stamp clients residing in a group living arrangement are certified as a one person household. In these facilities the customer may or may not be certified through an authorized representative (AR) who is an employee of the group living arrangement. (See FSC 982.) In order to avoid duplicate entries on the ANSWER System, the AR will not be classified as an alternate payee or the primary payee. Instead, the authorized representative will maintain physical control over the EBT card and PIN. These decisions will be made by the group living arrangement on a case by case basis.
Jefferson County EBT cards are issued at the county office for all households. The instructions in this section will not apply to homeless households that participate in the Food Stamp Program in Jefferson County.
For all counties but Jefferson County, EBT cards are delivered by the U.S. Postal Service. In these counties, a homeless household's EBT card and PIN will be mailed if the household has an address considered deliverable by the U.S. Postal Service. For example, the EBT card and PIN could be mailed to a general delivery address or sent to a homeless shelter.
If the household does not have an address, the EBT card and PENT may be sent to the county office. Any time the county office's address is used by a homeless household to receive an EBT card and PIN, the receipt of the EBT card and PIN must be recorded in a County EBT Card and PIN Log. A sample of this log is provided in The Arkansas Benefits Transfer Handbook.
NO EBT CARD RECEIVED IN A COUNTY OFFICE IS ACTIVE. THE CARD MUST BE ACTIVATED BY THE HOUSEHOLD BEFORE IT CAN BE USED. Any EBT card or PIN received in a county office must be held in a safe or in a locked file cabinet that is in a secure location within the office. County office staff must not have routine access to the safe or file cabinet where EBT cards and PINS are held.
If an envelope containing either an EBT card or a PIN is opened at any time before the envelope is delivered to the household, a supervisor or designee must destroy both the EBT card and the PIN. The destruction of the EBT card and PIN will be recorded on the Affidavit of Destruction for EBT Card and PIN Log. A sample of this log is provided in The Arkansas Benefits Transfer Handbook. The household must call the Help Desk at 1-800-997 -9999 to request another EBT card.
If a homeless household fails to pick up the EBT Card and PIN within 90 days, the EBT Card and PIN must be destroyed. All destroyed EBT Cards and PINs must be recorded on the Affidavit of Destruction for EBT Card and PIN Log. The destruction of the EBT Card and PIN must also be recorded in the food stamp case record. Any household that appears in the county office after the destruction will be instructed to call the Help Desk at 1-800-997 -9999 to request a new EBT Card and PFN.
When a food stamp household leaves an EBT project area either temporarily or permanently, EBT benefits can be converted to food stamp coupons upon the customer's request. Any requests for conversion to food stamp coupons solely for the purpose of shopping outside the State will be denied.
The county office will use the administrative terminal to authorize the conversion. Food stamp benefits remaining in an EBT account will be automatically rounded down by the FACTS system to the nearest dollar amount suitable for coupon issuance. The smallest allotment that can be issued is $2.00. The household should spend any remaining balance that cannot be converted to coupons ($1.99 or less).
Food stamp coupons lost in the mail will be reissued using a code 452 (full allotment lost in mail) or code 453 (partial allotment lost in mail). The Food Stamp Section must authorize all such replacements.
An EBT adjustment occurs when benefits are returned to a household's account after they were deducted in error.
Example A household member uses an EBT card to purchase groceries. Due to a system error, food stamp benefits are debited from the household's EBT account twice for the same transaction.
The household has 90 days from the date of the problem transaction to contact the Arkansas EBT Help Desk at 1-800-997 -9999 and inform the customer service representative that a problem has occurred. The household will need to tell the customer service representative the date, time and location of the transaction and the amount of food stamp benefits that were debited in error.
If this is found to be a legitimate request, the funds should be returned to the household's EBT account within 10 business days from the date the household filed the report with the Arkansas EBT Help desk. A business day is any calendar day other than a Saturday, a Sunday or a federal holiday.
If the household's request for a credit adjustment is denied, the household may request an administrative hearing. See FSC 14922. The EBT Unit will provide documentation to the county office for the hearing. No action will be taken to credit the household's EBT account to correct the alleged system error unless the hearing decision is in the household's favor.
Notes
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