County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency HHSA CalFresh Program Guide Management of Claims Number Page 63455 1 of 4 Revision Date 07102019 Background This section describes the management procedures for CalFresh claims Revisions have been made to reflect the change of policy that increases the claims establishment threshold for closed CalFresh cases Purpose This section details management policy for CalFresh claims Policy 634551 Other Repayment Actions Refer to the Management of Claims section in Processing Guide 45001 634552 InterState InterCounty Claims InterState Claims In cases where a household moves from out of state the county can initiate or continue collection for any overissuance OI that occurred while the case was under the other states jurisdiction The state has the option to continue OI collection procedures or transfer the OI claim to the state in which the customer is now residing Prior to initiating action to collect claims against households which have moved into the state the county will contact the state that overissued benefits to determine that the state does not intend to pursue collection Once the county accepts responsibility claim collection will be retained by the county that is collecting the OI InterCounty Claims When a household moves to another county and continues to receive CalFresh The sending county will send all OI information to the receiving county The sending county will no longer be responsible for collection of the OI and will remove the claim from the record The receiving county will be responsible for collection of the OI When a household moves to another county and is not receiving CalFresh the last county responsible for the initiation and collection of the OI will continue to collect 634553 Criteria for Collecting Claims after the case is Discontinued Effective June 1 2019 the CalFresh claims establishment threshold will be 40000 for closed CalFresh cases with an OI caused by an AE or IHE Previously the claims establishment threshold on closed cases was 12500 or less for an AE and 3500 or less for an IHE The new threshold does not apply to OIs arising from IPV or Quality Control QC reviews Any claim established on or after June 1 2019 on a closed case with an OI caused by an AE or IHE will be collected using the new threshold of 40000 This applies regardless of whether the OI itself occurred before June 1 2019 Any claim established before June 1 2019 on a closed case with an OI caused by an AE or IHE will not be affected by this policy change County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency HHSA CalFresh Program Guide Management of Claims Number Page 63455 2 of 4 Effective June 1 2019 the Office of Revenue and Recovery ORR will initiate collection of all Inadvertent Household Error IHE and Administrative Error AE claims from nonparticipating households households not currently receiving CalFresh benefits unless The claim is 400 or less for AE or IHE or ORR has documentation that the liable individual cannot be located ORR will initiate collections of all Intentional Program Violation IPV claims unless The household has already repaid the overissuance or ORR has documentation showing the household and its sponsor cannot be located or ORR determines that collection action will prejudice the case against a household member referred for legal prosecution 634554 Suspending Collection of Claims Suspending collection of AE and IHE claims Suspend further collection action of an IHE or AE claim against a nonparticipating household when ORR initiated the collection action At least one demand letter has been sent The household cannot be located The cost of further collection action is likely to exceed the amount that can be recovered Suspending Collection of IPV Claims ORR will be permitted to suspend collection action on IPV claims any time there is documentation that the household andor the sponsor cannot be located If collection action was initiated and demand letters have been sent ORR will suspend further collection action on any IPV claim against a nonparticipating household or its sponsor when the cost of further collection action is likely to exceed the amount that can be recovered At least one demand letter for claims of less than 100 At least two demand letters for claims between 100 and 400 At least three demand letters for claims of more than 400 634555 Terminating Collection of Claims The ORR will be permitted to determine that a claim is uncollectible after it has been held in suspense for three years ORR will send the CalFresh closing list to HHSA Fiscal benefit recovery to close the claim in CalWIN 634556 Action against Individuals Failing to Respond to Collection Letters For nonparticipating households the Office of Revenue Recovery ORR will pursue other collection actions as appropriate to obtain restitution of a claim against any household or sponsor who fails to respond to written demand letters for repayment of any IPV claim unless the county can determine that such actions are generally not cost effective pursue other collection actions as appropriate to obtain restitution of a claim against any household or sponsor who fails to respond to written demand letters for repayment of any IHE or AE claim unless the county can determine that such actions are generally not cost effective County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency HHSA CalFresh Program Guide Management of Claims Number Page 63455 3 of 4 For nonparticipating households the Office of Revenue Recovery ORR will pursue other collection actions as appropriate to obtain restitution of a claim against any household or sponsor who fails to respond to written demand letters for repayment of any IPV claim unless the county can determine that such actions are generally not cost effective pursue other collection actions as appropriate to obtain restitution of a claim against any household or sponsor who fails to respond to written demand letters for repayment of any IHE or AE claim unless the county can determine that such actions are generally not cost effective These actions include but are not limited to Referrals to collection andor similar private and public sector agencies State tax refund Lottery offsets Wage garnishments Property liens Small claims court Unemployment Compensation Benefits intercept arrangements may be made to intercept the liable individuals unemployment compensation benefits to collect any claim This collection may be included as part of a repayment agreement Public Service if authorized by a court the value of a claim may be paid by the household performing public service Tax Intercept Program Under the Tax Intercept Program any individual who has an outstanding CalFresh OI may have hisher State andor Federal tax return intercepted by the California Department of Social Services CDSS through the State Franchise Tax Board FTB andor the Internal Revenue Service IRS o The individuals tax refund diverted to the county will be applied as payment against the claim o The county will not intercept taxes simultaneously while an OI is being recouped either by allotment reduction or regular payments o Customers contacting staff with questions regarding the Intercept Program are to be referred to The Appeals Department at 619 2378534 for an Administrative Review o If the individual has requested a State hearing or is awaiting a decision from a State hearing the county shall notify CDSS to remove the individual from the tax intercept program MPP 2040324 634557 Determining Delinquency of Claims Consider a claim delinquent if The claim has not been paid by the due date and a satisfactory payment arrangement has not been made o The date of delinquency for the claim is the due date on the initial written notificationdemand letter The claim will remain delinquent until payment is received in full a satisfactory payment agreement is negotiated or allotment reduction is begun County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency HHSA CalFresh Program Guide Management of Claims Number Page 63455 4 of 4 A payment arrangement has been established and a scheduled payment has not been made by the due date o The date of delinquency for the claim is the due date of the missed installment payment The claim will remain delinquent until payment is received in full allotment reduction is begun or the county determines to either resume or renegotiate the 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 county expects to begin collection on the claim once the prior claims is settled Is not subject to the requirement for delinquent debts if the county is unable to determine delinquency status because collection is coordinated through the court system Procedure BENDS 51484 Increasing CalFresh AE and IHE OI Threshold Program Impacts Automation BENDS 51484 Increasing CalFresh AE and IHE OI Threshold References ACL 1950 BENDS 51484 Increasing CalFresh AE and IHE OI Threshold Eligibility Essentials CalFresh ACL 1899 ACL No 1595 ACL 1379 ACL 1379E ACIN 13314 MPP 63801 Sunset Date This policy will be reviewed for continuance by 07312022 Approval for Release RICK WANNE Director Eligibility Operations