Pennsylvania Code › Title 28 - HEALTH AND SAFETY › Part VIII - Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC Program) › Chapter 1103 - AUTHORIZATION OF STORES › Section 1103.1 - Authorization and reauthorization process and requirements

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
(a)
Duration of authorization or
				reauthorization.
To serve as a WIC authorized store, a store shall be
				authorized in accordance with subsection (b) or reauthorized in accordance with
				subsection (c). A store's authorization or reauthorization shall remain in
				effect until the Department acts on the store's application for reauthorization
				when the next periodic review is conducted in the trade area in which the store
				is located, unless terminated earlier in accordance with subsection (d). At
				least once every 3 years, the Department will conduct a periodic review in each
				trade area. Failure to submit an application for reauthorization as prescribed
				under subsection (c) shall result in expiration of the store's authorization or
				reauthorization. The Department will provide 30 days written notice to the
				store prior to expiration of authorization or reauthorization for any store
				failing to submit an application. A store that has received a letter of
				authorization dated less than 60 days prior to the date of the notice of the
				periodic review in the store's trade area shall be exempt from the periodic
				review.
(b)
Authorization
				process.
(1) The store's
				representative shall contact the local agency responsible for the trade area
				where the store is located to request an application for authorization. The
				local agency shall send WIC Program information and an application for
				authorization to the store. The store shall complete the application for
				authorization and return it to the local agency.
(2) The Department will refuse to accept an
				application from a store if the store has been provided notice of
				disqualification or is disqualified from the WIC Program, if the Department
				determines that the store relocated or effected a change of ownership to avoid
				a disqualification, or if the store has been denied authorization or
				reauthorization and is not eligible to apply for authorization.
(3) The Department will not accept an
				application for authorization less than 90 days prior to the scheduled start
				date of the periodic review in that trade area unless the Department finds that
				there would be inadequate participant access, as set forth in §
										1103.7 (relating to inadequate
				participant access), if it does not consider the application.
(4) If the store's application for
				authorization is accepted, the local agency shall schedule, as expeditiously as
				possible, an announced onsite review of the store to determine if the store
				meets the selection criteria in §
										1103.4 (relating to selection
				criteria for authorization and reauthorization). The local agency shall notify
				the store in advance of the approximate date of the review.
(5) The Department may request from the store
				any information necessary for the Department to determine whether the store
				qualifies as an above-50-percent-store. This information may include official
				State and Federal Income Tax filings, official State Sales Tax records,
				inventory purchase records, sales records or a self-declaration from the
				applicant.
(6) The local agency
				shall conduct the onsite review and forward the results to the Department for a
				decision on the store's application.
(7) The Department will deny the application
				if the selection criteria in §
										1103.4 are not satisfied, unless
				the Department grants probationary authorization under §
										1103.2 (relating to probationary
				authorization). The Department will notify the store in writing whether the
				store's application for authorization is granted or denied. If the Department
				denies the application for authorization, the store shall be eligible to
				reapply for authorization 6 months after the effective date of the
				denial.