Code of Vermont Rules › Agency 13 - AGENCY OF HUMAN SERVICES › Sub-Agency 170 - DEPARTMENT FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES (DCF) › Chapter 005 - FOOD STAMPS (3SQUARESVT) (270 TO 280) › Section 13 170 005 - FOOD STAMPS (3SQUARESVT) (270 TO 280)

Current through June, 2024
a. Purpose of Supplemental Nutrition
				Assistance Program (SNAP)
The SNAP program is designed to promote the general welfare
				  and to safeguard the health and well being of the Nation's population by
				  raising the levels of nutrition among low-income households. Section
				  2
				  of the Food Act of 2008 states, in part:
Congress hereby finds that the limited food purchasing power
				  of low-income households contributes to hunger and malnutrition among members
				  of such households. Congress further finds that increased utilization of food
				  in establishing and maintaining adequate national levels of nutrition will
				  promote the distribution in a beneficial manner of the Nation's agricultural
				  abundance and will strengthen the Nation's agricultural economy, as well as
				  result in more orderly marketing and distribution of foods. To alleviate such
				  hunger and malnutrition, a supplemental nutrition assistance program is herein
				  authorized which will permit low-income households to obtain a more nutritious
				  diet through normal channels of trade by increasing food purchasing power for
				  all eligible households who will apply for participation.
Section 271.2 Definitions
"Access Device" means any card, plate, code, account number,
				  or other means of access that can be used alone, or in conjunction with another
				  access device, to obtain payments, allotments, benefits, money, goods, or other
				  things of value, or that can be used to initiate a transfer of funds under the
				  Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, as amended.
"Active case" means a household which was certified prior to,
				  or during, the sample month and issued SNAP benefits for the sample
				  month.
"Active case error rate" means an estimate of the proportion
				  of cases with an error in the determination of eligibility or basis of
				  issuance. This estimate will be expressed as a percentage of the completed
				  active quality control reviews excluding all results from cases processed by
				  SSA personnel or participating in a demonstration project identified by FNS as
				  having certification rules that are significantly different from standard
				  requirements.
"Adequate notice" in a periodic reporting system such as
				  monthly reporting or quarterly reporting means a written notice that includes a
				  statement of the action the agency has taken or intends to take; the reason for
				  the action; the household's right to request a fair hearing; the name of the
				  person to contact for additional information; the availability of continued
				  benefits; and the liability of the household for any over issuances received
				  while awaiting a fair hearing if the hearing official's decision is adverse to
				  the household. Depending on the timing of a State's system and the timeliness
				  of report submission by participating households, such notice may be received
				  prior to agency action, at the time reduced benefits are received, or, if
				  benefits are terminated, at the time benefits would have been received if they
				  had not been terminated. In all cases, however, participants will be allowed
				  ten days from the mailing date of the notice to contest the agency action and
				  to have benefits restored to their previous level. If the 10-day period ends on
				  a weekend or a holiday and a request is received the day after the weekend or
				  holiday, the State agency shall consider the request to be timely.
"Allotment" means the total value of benefits a household is
				  authorized to receive during each month or other time period.
"Application form" means:
1. The application form designed or approved
				by FNS, which is completed by a household member or authorized representative;
				or
2. For households consisting
				solely of public assistance or general assistance recipients, it may also mean
				the application form used to apply for public assistance or general assistance,
				including attachments approved by FNS, which is completed by a household member
				or authorized representative.
"Assessment" An in-depth evaluation of employability skills
				  coupled with counseling on how and where to search for employment. If combined
				  with work experience, employment search or training, an assessment of this
				  nature could constitute part of an approvable employment and training
				  component.
"Authorization to participate card (ATP)" means a document
				  which is issued by the State agency to a certified household to show the
				  allotment the household is authorized to receive on presentation of such
				  document.
VERMONT NOTE : Vermont does not use an ATP.
"Base of Eligibles" Employment and training mandatory
				  participants plus persons who volunteer for employment and training
				  participation.
"Beginning month(s)" in a Monthly Reporting and Retrospective
				  Budgeting system means either the first month for which the household is
				  certified for SNAP benefits (where the State agency has adopted a one-month
				  accounting system) or the first month for which the household is certified for
				  SNAP benefits and the month thereafter (where the State agency has adopted a
				  two-month accounting system). For a household which applies for Food Stamps at
				  the same time that it applies for TANF and is eligible in both Programs, the
				  State agency may extend the household an additional beginning month if
				  necessary, to coincide with the household's AFDC budgeting system. Except for
				  beginning months in sequence as described in the preceding sentences, a
				  beginning month cannot be any month which immediately follows a month in which
				  a household is certified. The month following the month of termination
				  resulting from a one-month temporary change in household circumstances shall
				  not be considered a beginning month.
VERMONT NOTE: Monthly Reporting is not applicable in
				  Vermont.
"Budget month" in a Monthly Reporting and Retrospective
				  Budgeting system means the fiscal or calendar month from which the State agency
				  uses income and other circumstances of the household to calculate the
				  household's SNAP allotment to be provided for the corresponding issuance
				  month.
VERMONT NOTE: Monthly Reporting is not applicable in
				  Vermont.
"Bulk storage point" means an office of the State agency or
				  any person, partnership, corporation, organization, political subdivision, or
				  other entity with which a State agency has contracted for, or to which it has
				  assigned responsibility for, the security and storage of food coupons.
"Communal dining facility" means a public or nonprofit
				  private establishment, approved by FNS, which prepares and serves meals for
				  elderly persons, or for supplemental security income (SSI) recipients, and
				  their spouses, a public or private nonprofit establishment (eating or
				  otherwise) that feeds elderly persons or SSI recipients, and their spouses, and
				  federally subsidized housing for the elderly at which meals are prepared for
				  and served to the residents. It also includes private establishments that
				  contract with an appropriate State or local agency to offer meals at
				  concessional prices to elderly persons or SSI recipients, and their
				  spouses.
"Coupons" means any coupon, stamp, type of certificate,
				  authorization card, cash or check issued in lieu of a coupon, or access device,
				  including an electronic-benefit transfer card or personal identification
				  number.
"Coupon issuer" means any office of the State agency or any
				  person, partnership, corporation, organization, political subdivision, or other
				  entity with which a State agency has contracted for, or to which it has
				  assigned responsibility for, the issuance of coupons to households.
"Department" means the U. S. Department of
				  Agriculture.
"Drug addiction or alcoholic treatment and rehabilitation
				  program" means any drug addiction or alcoholic treatment and rehabilitation
				  program conducted by a private, nonprofit organization or institution, or a
				  publicly operated community mental health center, under part B of title XIX of
				  the Public Health Service Act (42 U. S. C. 300x et seq.). Under part B of title
				  XIX of the Public Health Service Act is defined as meeting the criteria which
				  would make it eligible to receive funds, even if it does not actually receive
				  funding under part B of title XIX.
"Elderly or disabled member" means a member of a household
				  who:
1. is 60 years of age or
				older;
2. receives Supplemental
				Security Income benefits under Title XVI of the Social Security Act or
				disability or blindness payments under Titles I, II, X, XIV, or XVI of the
				Social Security Act;
3. receives
				Federally or State-administered supplemental benefits under section 1616(a) of
				the Social Security Act provided that the eligibility to receive the benefits
				is based upon the disability or blindness criteria used under Title XVI of the
				Social Security Act;
4. receives
				Federally or State-administered supplemental benefits under section 212(a) of
				Public Law 93-66;
5. receives
				disability retirement benefits from a government agency because of a disability
				considered permanent under section 221(i) of the Social Security Act;
6. is a veteran with a service-connected or
				non-service connected disability rated by the Veteran's Administration (VA) as
				total or paid as total by the VA under Title 38 of the United States
				Code;
7. is a veteran considered by
				the VA to be in need of regular aid and attendance or permanently housebound
				under Title 38 of the United States Code;
8. is a surviving spouse of a veteran and
				considered by the VA to be in need of regular aid and attendance or permanently
				housebound or a surviving child of a veteran and considered by the VA to be
				permanently incapable of self-support under Title 38 of the United States
				Code;
9. is a surviving spouse or
				surviving child of a veteran and considered by the VA to be entitled to
				compensation for a service-connected death or pension benefits for a
				non-service connected death under Title 38 of the United States Code and has a
				disability considered permanent under section 221(i) of the Social Security
				Act. "Entitled" as used in this definition refers to those veterans' surviving
				spouses and surviving children who are receiving the compensation or pension
				benefits stated or have been approved for such payments but are not yet
				receiving them;
10. receives an
				annuity payment under section
				2(a)(1)(iv)
				of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 and is determined to be eligible to
				receive Medicare by the Railroad Retirement Board; or section
				2(a)(1)(v)
				of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 and is determined to be disabled based
				upon the criteria used under Title XVI of the Social Security Act; or
11. (Definition not applicable to Vermont.)
"Eligible foods" means
(1) any food or food product intended for
				human consumption except alcoholic beverages, tobacco, and hot foods and hot
				food products prepared for immediate consumption;
(2) seeds and plants to grow foods for the
				personal consumption of eligible households;
(3) meals prepared and delivered by an
				authorized meal delivery service to households eligible to use coupons to
				purchase delivered meals; or meals served by an authorized communal dining
				facility for the elderly, for SSI households or both, to households eligible to
				use coupons for communal dining;
(4) meals prepared and served by a drug
				addict or alcoholic treatment and rehabilitation center to narcotic addicts or
				alcoholics and their children who live with them;
(5) meals prepared and served by a group
				living arrangement facility to residents who are blind or disabled as defined
				in paragraphs 2 through 11 of the definition of"Elderly or disabled member"
				contained in this section;
(6)
				meals prepared by and served by a shelter for battered women and children to
				its eligible residents;
(7) in the
				case of certain eligible households living in areas of Alaska where access to
				food stores is extremely difficult and the households rely on hunting and
				fishing for subsistence, equipment for the purpose of procuring food for
				eligible households, including nets, lines, hooks, fishing rods, harpoons,
				knives, and other equipment necessary for subsistence hunting and fishing but
				not equipment for the purpose of transportation, clothing, or shelter nor
				firearms, ammunition or other explosives;
(8) in the case of homeless SNAP households,
				meals prepared for and served by an authorized public or private nonprofit
				establishment (e.g. soup kitchen, temporary shelter), approved by an
				appropriate State or local agency, that feeds homeless persons; and
(9) in the case of homeless food stamp
				households, meals prepared by a restaurant which contracts with an appropriate
				State agency to serve meals to homeless persons at concessional (low or
				reduced) prices.
"Employment and Training Component (E&T)" A work
				  experience, work training or job search program, as described in section
				  6(d)(B)(iv)
				  of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 [7 U. S. C. 2014(2)(4)(B)] designed to
				  help SNAP recipients move promptly into unsubsidized employment.
"Employment and Training Mandatory Participant (E&T)" A
				  SNAP program applicant or participant who is required to work register under 7
				  U. S. C. 2014(d)(1) or (2) and who the State determines should not be exempted
				  from participation in an employment and training program.
"Employment and Training Program (E&T)" A program
				  operated by each State agency consisting of one or more work, training,
				  education or job search components.
"Exempted" For purposes of 273.7 excluding paragraphs (a) and
				  (b)--this term refers to a work-registered person or persons excused by the
				  State, under the conditions in 273.7(f) from participation in an employment and
				  training program.
"Expunged EBT benefits" means unused benefits that revert to
				  the SNAP Program from the
EBT benefit account when they have not been accessed by a
				  household for 270 days. A household loses its entitlement to expunged EBT food
				  account benefits and they cannot be reactivated. Expunged EBT benefits are
				  sometimes referred to as being "aged-off."
"Federal fiscal year" means a period of 12 calendar months
				  beginning with each October 1 and ending with September 30 of the following
				  calendar year.
"Firm's practice" means the usual manner in which personnel
				  of a firm or store accept food coupons as shown by the actions of the personnel
				  at the time of the investigation. "FNS" means the Food and Consumer Service of
				  the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
"Food Stamp Act" means the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (Pub.L-
				  95-113), including any subsequent amendments thereto.
"General Assistance (GA)" means cash or another form of
				  assistance, excluding in-kind assistance, financed by State or local funds as
				  part of a program which provides assistance to cover living expenses or other
				  basic needs intended to promote the health or well-being of recipients.
"Group living arrangement" means a public or private
				  nonprofit residential setting that serves no more than sixteen residents that
				  is certified by the appropriate agency or agencies of the State under
				  regulations issued under Section 1616(e) of the Social Security Act or under
				  standards determined by the Secretary to be comparable to standards implemented
				  by appropriate State agencies under section 1616(e) of the Social Security Act.
				  To be eligible for SNAP benefits, a resident of such a group living arrangement
				  must be blind or disabled as defined in paragraphs 2 through 11 of the
				  definition of "Elderly or disabled member" contained in this section.
"Homeless individual" means an individual who lacks a fixed
				  and regular nighttime residence or an individual whose primary nighttime
				  residence is:
1.
				A supervised shelter designed to provide temporary accommodations (such as a
				welfare hotel or congregate shelter);
2. A halfway house or similar institution
				that provides temporary residence for individuals intended to be
				institutionalized;
3. A temporary
				accommodation, for not more than 90 days, in the residence of another
				individual; or
4. A place not
				designed for, or ordinarily used, as a regular sleeping accommodation for human
				beings (a hallway, a bus station, a lobby or similar places).
"Homeless meal provider" means
(1) A public or private nonprofit
				establishment (e.g., soup kitchens, temporary shelters) that feed homeless
				persons; or
(2) A restaurant which
				contracts with an appropriate State agency to offer meals at concessional(low
				or reduced) prices to homeless persons.
" House-to-house trade route" means any retail food business
				  operated from a truck, bus, pushcart, or other mobile vehicle.
"Identification (ID) Card" means a card which identifies the
				  bearer as eligible to receive and use food coupons.
"Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS)" means the
				  Immigration and Naturalization Service, U. S. Department of Justice.
"Insured financial institution" means a financial institution
				  insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or the Federal
				  Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC).
"Insured financial institution" means a financial institution
				  insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or the Federal
				  Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC).
"Issuance month" in a Monthly Reporting and Retrospective
				  Budgeting system means the fiscal or calendar month for which the State agency
				  shall issue a SNAP benefits. Issuance is based upon income and circumstances in
				  the corresponding budget month. In prospective budgeting, the budget month and
				  issuance month are the same. In retrospective budgeting, the issuance month
				  follows the budget month and the issuance month shall begin within 32 days
				  after the end of the budget month. (NOTE: Issuance month corresponds to payment
				  month in TANF.)
"Meal delivery service" means a political subdivision, a
				  private nonprofit organization, or a private establishment with which a State
				  or local agency has contracted for the preparation and delivery of meals at
				  concessional prices to elderly persons, and their spouses, and to the
				  physically or mentally handicapped and persons otherwise disabled, and their
				  spouses, such that they are unable to adequately prepare all of their
				  meals.
"Medicaid" means medical assistance under title XIX of the
				  Social Security Act as amended.
"Minimum benefit" means the minimum monthly amount of SNAP
				  benefits that one- and two-person households receive.
"Newly Work Registered" SNAP participants work registered at
				  the point of application.
"Nonprofit cooperative food purchasing venture" means any
				  private nonprofit association of consumers whose members pool their resources
				  to buy food.
"Offset year" means the calendar year during which offsets
				  may be made to collect certain recipient claims from individuals' federal
				  income tax refunds.
"Overissuance" means the amount by which SNAP benefits issued
				  to a household exceeds the amount it was eligible to receive.
"Overpayment error rate" means the percentage of the value of
				  all allotments issued in a fiscal year that are either:
(1) issued to households that fail to meet
				basic program eligibility requirements, or
(2) overissued to eligible households.
"Payment error rate" means the sum of the point estimates of
				  two component error rates: an overpayment error rate and an underpayment error
				  rate. Each component error rate is the value- of SNAP benefits either
				  overissued or underissued expressed as a percentage of all allotments issued to
				  completed active sample cases, excluding those cases processed by SSA personnel
				  or participating in certain demonstration projects designated by FNS.
"Placed in an Employment and Training Program (E&T)" A
				  State agency may count a person as "placed" in an employment and training
				  program when the individual commences a component or is sent a Notice of
				  Adverse Action (NOAA) for noncompliance with a SNAP employment and training
				  requirement. Persons who refuse to work register or who voluntarily quit a job
				  and are sent a NOAA may not be considered "placed".
"Program" means the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
				  Program_conducted under the Food and Nutrition Act and regulations.
"Project area" means the county or similar political
				  subdivision designated by a State as the administrative unit for program
				  operations. Upon prior FNS approval, a city, Indian reservation, welfare
				  district, or any other entity with clearly defined geographic boundaries, or
				  any combination of such entities, may be designated as a project area, or a
				  State as a whole may be designated as a single project area.
"Prospective budgeting" in a Monthly Reporting and
				  Retrospective Budgeting system means the computation of a household's SNAP
				  benefit for an issuance month based on an estimate of income and circumstances
				  which will exist in that month.
"Public Assistance (PA)" means Supplemental Security
				  Income/Aid to the Aged, Blind, or Disabled (SSI/AABD) combined benefits, the
				  AABD state supplement to SSI, and Reach Up financial assistance.
"Qualified Alien" means an alien who, at the time of
				  application or receipt of SNAP benefits, is one of the following:
(1) An alien lawfully admitted for permanent
				residence as defined in section
				101(a)(2)
				of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
(2) An alien who is granted asylum under
				section
				208
				of the INA.
(3) A refugee who is
				admitted to the United States under section
				207
				of the INA.
(4) An alien who is
				paroled into the United States under section 212(d)(5) of the INA for a period
				of at least one year.
(5) An alien
				whose deportation is being withheld under section 243(h) of the INA or whose
				removal is being withheld under section 241(b)(3) after April 1,
				1997.
(6) An alien who is granted
				conditional entry under section 203(a)(7) of the INA as in effect prior to
				April 1, 1980.
(7) An alien
				battered or subjected to extreme cruelty in the United States, when all of the
				following three conditions are true:
a. The
				person responsible for the battery or cruelty is the aliens spouse or parent,
				or the aliens spouse or parent consented to or acquiesced in the battery or
				cruelty by a family member residing in the same household as the alien. In
				addition, the person responsible for the battery or cruelty must be living
				apart from the victim for the alien to qualify for SNAP benefits.
b. There is substantial connection between
				the battery or cruelty and the need for benefits, as determined by the United
				States Attorney General.
c. The
				alien has been approved or has a petition pending for:
i. status as a spouse or child of a United
				States citizen, pursuant to clause (ii), (iii), or (iv) of section 204(a)(1)(A)
				of the Immigration and Nationality Act,
ii. classification pursuant to clause (ii) or
				(iii) of section 204(a)(1)(B) of the Act,
iii. suspension of deportation and adjustment
				of status pursuant to section 244(a)(3) of the Act, or
iv. status as a spouse or child of a United
				States citizen pursuant to clause (i) of section 204(a)(1)(A) of the Act or
				classification pursuant to clause (i) of section 204(a)(1)(B) of the
				Act.
(8) An
				alien whose child was battered or subjected to extreme cruelty in the United
				States, when all of the following conditions are true:
a.. The person responsible for the battery or
				cruelty was the aliens spouse or parent, or the aliens spouse or parent
				consented or acquiesced in the battery or cruelty by a family member residing
				in the same household as the alien. In addition, the person responsible for the
				battery or cruelty must be living apart from the victim for the alien to
				qualify for SNAP benefits.
b. The
				alien did not actively participate in the battery or cruelty.
c. There is a substantial connection between
				the battery or cruelty and the need for benefits, as determined by the United
				States Attorney General.
d. The
				alien meets one of the provisions of 7 (c) above.
(9) An alien child residing in the same
				household as a parent who was battered or subjected to extreme cruelty in the
				United States, when all of the following conditions are true:
a. The person responsible for the battery or
				extreme cruelty was the parents spouse or a member of the spouses family
				residing in the same household as the parent. In addition, the person
				responsible for the battery or cruelty must be living apart from the victim for
				the alien child to quality for SNAP benefits.
b. There is substantial connection between
				the battery or cruelty and the need for benefits, as determined by the United
				States Attorney General.
c. The
				alien child meets one of the provisions of 7(c) above.
(10) An alien who is a Cuban or Haitian
				entrant, as defined in section
				501(e)
				of the Refugee Education Assistance Act of 1980.
"Quality control review" means a review of a statistically
				  valid sample of active and negative cases to determine the extent to which
				  households are receiving the SNAP benefits to which they are entitled, and to
				  ensure that negative cases are not incorrectly denied or terminated.
"Record-for-issuance file" means a file which is created
				  monthly from the master issuance file, which shows the amount of benefits each
				  eligible household is to receive for the issuance month, and the amount
				  actually issued to the household.
"Regulations" means the provisions of this subchapter.
				  Regulatory citations refer to provisions of the subchapter unless otherwise
				  specified.
"Reservation" means the geographically defined area or areas
				  over which an ITO exercises governmental jurisdiction so long as such area or
				  areas are legally recognized by the Federal or a State government as being set
				  aside for the use of Indians.
"Retail food store" means
(1) an establishment or recognized department
				of an establishment, or a house-to-house trade route, whose eligible food sales
				volume as determined by visual inspection, sales, records, purchase records, or
				other inventory or accounting record keeping methods are customary or
				reasonable in the retail food industry is more than 50 percent staple food
				items for home preparation and consumption;
(2) public or private communal dining
				facilities and meal delivery services; private nonprofit drug addict or
				alcoholic treatment and rehabilitation programs; publicly operated community
				mental health centers which conduct residential programs for drug addicts
				and/or alcoholics; public or private nonprofit group living arrangements;
				public or private nonprofit shelters for battered women and children; public or
				private nonprofit establishments, approved by an appropriate State or local
				agency, that feed homeless persons; or a restaurant that contracts with an
				appropriate State agency to provide meals at concessional (low or reduced)
				prices to homeless SNAP households;
(3) any stores selling equipment for
				procuring food by hunting and fishing to eligible households in Alaska, as
				specified in the definition of eligible foods;
(4) any private nonprofit cooperative food
				purchasing venture, including those whose members who pay for food prior to
				receipt of the food; and
(5) a
				farmers' market.
"Retrospective budgeting" in a Monthly Reporting and
				  Retrospective Budgeting system means the computation of a household's SNAP
				  benefits for an issuance month based on actual income and circumstances which
				  existed in a previous month, the "budget month".
VERMONT NOTE: Monthly Reporting is not applicable in
				  Vermont.
"Review date" for quality control active cases means a day
				  within the sample month, either the first day of the calendar or fiscal month
				  or the day the household was certified, whichever is later. The "review date"
				  for negative cases is the date of the agency's decision to deny or terminate
				  program benefits. For no case is the "review date" the day the QC review is
				  conducted.
"Review period" means the 12-month period from October 1 of
				  each calendar year through September 30 of the following calendar year.
"Sample frame" means a list of all units from which a sample
				  is actually selected.
"Sample month" means the month of the sample frame from which
				  a case is selected (e.g., for all cases selected from a frame consisting of
				  households participating in January, the sample month is January).
"Screening" means an evaluation by the eligibility worker as
				  to whether a person should or should not be referred for participation in an
				  employment and training program. This activity would not be considered an
				  approvable E & T component.
"Secretary" means the Secretary of the U. S. Department of
				  Agriculture.
"Shelter for battered women and children" means a public or
				  private nonprofit residential facility that serves battered women and their
				  children. If such a facility serves other individuals, a portion of the
				  facility must be set aside on a long-term basis to serve only battered women
				  and children.
"Spouse" refers to either of two individuals:
1. who would be defined as married to each
				other under applicable State law: or
2. who are living together and are holding
				themselves out to the community as husband and wife by representing themselves
				as such to relatives, friends, neighbors, or trades people.
"Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)" means the
				  food program conducted under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008.
VERMONT NOTE: In Vermont, this is known as the Three Squares
				  Vermont (3SVT) and formerly known as the Food Stamp Program.
"SSA processed/demonstration case" means a case that is
				  participating or has been denied based upon processing by SSA personnel or is
				  participating or has been denied/terminated based upon the rules of a
				  demonstration project with significantly different certification rules (as
				  identified by FNS).
"Stale EBT benefits" means unused benefits that have become
				  inactive because a SNAP household has not used any benefits from the EBT
				  benefit account for a 90-day period. A household retains its entitlement to
				  stale benefits, sometimes referred to as "aged" benefits, and may have the
				  benefits reactivated at any time within 180 days of becoming stale. After 180
				  days, stale EBT food benefits are expunged from the EBT account and cannot be
				  reactivated.
"Staple food" means those food items intended for home
				  preparation and consumption, which include meat, poultry, fish, bread and
				  breadstuffs, cereals, vegetables, fruits, fruit and vegetable juices, and dairy
				  products. Accessory food items, such as coffee, tea, cocoa, carbonated and
				  uncarbonated drinks, candy, condiments, and spices are not staple foods for the
				  purpose of qualifying a firm to participate in the program as a retail store or
				  as a wholesale food concern.
"State" means any one of the 50 States, the District of
				  Columbia, Guam, the Virgin Islands of the United States, and the reservation of
				  an Indian tribe whose ITO meets the requirements of the SNAP Act for
				  participation as a State agency.
"State agency" means the agency of the State government,
				  including the local offices thereof, which has the responsibility for the
				  administration of the federally aided' public assistance programs within the
				  State and in those States where such assistance programs are operated on a
				  decentralized basis, it includes the counterpart local agencies which
				  administer such assistance programs for the State agency.
VERMONT NOTE: The state agency is the Division of Economic
				  Services.
"State Income and Eligibility Verification System (IEVS)"
				  means a system of information acquisition and exchange for purposes of income
				  and eligibility verification which meets the requirements of Section 1137 of
				  the Social Security Act, generally referred to as the IEVS.
"State Wage Information Collection Agency (SWICA)" means the
				  State agency administering the State unemployment compensation law, another
				  agency administering a quarterly wage reporting system, or a State agency
				  administering an alternative system which has been determined by the Secretary
				  of Labor, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary
				  of Health and Human Services, to be as effective and timely in providing
				  employment related income and eligibility data as the two just mentioned
				  agencies.
"Shelter for battered women and children" means a public or
				  private nonprofit residential facility that serves battered women and their
				  children. If such a facility serves other individuals, a portion of the
				  facility must be set aside on a long-term basis to serve only battered women
				  and children.
"Spouse" refers to either of two individuals:
1. who would be defined as married to each
				other under applicable State law: or
2. who are living together and are holding
				themselves out to the community as husband and wife by representing themselves
				as such to relatives, friends, neighbors, or trades people.
"Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)" means the
				  food program conducted under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008.
VERMONT NOTE: In Vermont, this is known as the Three Squares
				  Vermont (3SVT) and formerly known as the Food Stamp Program.
"SSA processed/demonstration case" means a case that is
				  participating or has been denied based upon processing by SSA personnel or is
				  participating or has been denied/terminated based upon the rules of a
				  demonstration project with significantly different certification rules (as
				  identified by FNS).
"Stale EBT benefits" means unused benefits that have become
				  inactive because a SNAP household has not used any benefits from the EBT
				  benefit account for a 90-day period. A household retains its entitlement to
				  stale benefits, sometimes referred to as "aged" benefits, and may have the
				  benefits reactivated at any time within 180 days of becoming stale. After 180
				  days, stale EBT food benefits are expunged from the EBT account and cannot be
				  reactivated.
"Staple food" means those food items intended for home
				  preparation and consumption, which include meat, poultry, fish, bread and
				  breadstuffs, cereals, vegetables, fruits, fruit and vegetable juices, and dairy
				  products. Accessory food items, such as coffee, tea, cocoa, carbonated and
				  uncarbonated drinks, candy, condiments, and spices are not staple foods for the
				  purpose of qualifying a firm to participate in the program as a retail store or
				  as a wholesale food concern.
"State"means any one of the 50 States, the District of
				  Columbia, Guam, the Virgin Islands of the United States, and the reservation of
				  an Indian tribe whose ITO meets the requirements of the SNAP Act for
				  participation as a State agency.
"State agency" means the agency of the State government,
				  including the local offices thereof, which has the responsibility for the
				  administration of the federally aided public assistance programs within the
				  State and in those States where such assistance programs are operated on a
				  decentralized basis; it includes the counterpart local agencies which
				  administer such assistance programs for the State agency.
VERMONT NOTE: The State agency is the Economic Services
				  Division,
"State Income and Eligibility Verification System (IEVS)"
				  means a system of information acquisition and exchange for purposes of income
				  and eligibility verification which meets the requirements of Section 1137 of
				  the Social Security Act, generally referred to as the IEVS.
"State Wage Information Collection Agency (SWICA)" means the
				  State agency administering the State unemployment compensation law, another
				  agency administering a quarterly wage reporting system, or a State agency
				  administering an alternative system which has been determined by the Secretary
				  of Labor, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary
				  of Health and Human Services, to be as effective and timely in providing
				  employment related income and eligibility data as the two just mentioned
				  agencies.
"Sub-units" means the physical location of an organizational
				  entity within a project area/management unit involved in the operation of SNAP,
				  excluding Post Offices.
"Supplemental Security Income (SSI)" means monthly cash
				  payments made under the authority of:
1. Title XVI of the Social Security Act, as
				amended, to the aged, blind and disabled (Federal SSI); or
2. section 1616(a) of the Social Security Act
				(optional State supplementation); or
3. section 212(a) of Public Law 93-66
				(mandatory minimum State supplementation).
"Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE)" means
				  the INS program whereby State agencies may verify the validity of documents
				  provided by aliens applying for SNAP benefits by obtaining information from a
				  central data file.
"Thrifty Food Plan" means the diet required to feed a family
				  of four persons consisting of a man and a woman 20 through 50, a child 6
				  through 8, and a child 9 through 11 years of age, determined in accordance with
				  the Secretary's calculations. The cost of such diet shall be the basis for
				  uniform allotments for all households regardless of their actual composition.
				  In order to develop maximum SNAP allotments, the Secretary shall make household
				  size and other adjustments in the Thrifty Food Plan taking into account
				  economies of scale and other adjustments as required by law.
"Trafficking" means:
1. The buying, selling, stealing or otherwise
				effecting an exchange of SNAP benefits issued and accessed via Electronic
				Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards, card numbers and personal identification numbers
				(PINS), or by manual voucher and signature, for cash or consideration other
				than eligible food, either directly, indirectly, in complicity or collusion
				with others, or acting alone;
2.
				The exchange of firearms, ammunition, explosives, or controlled substances, as
				defined in section 802 of title 21, United States Code, for SNAP
				benefits;
3. Purchasing a product
				with SNAP benefits that has a container requiring a return deposit with the
				intent of obtaining cash by discarding the product and intentionally returning
				the container for the deposit amount, intentionally discarding the product, and
				intentionally returning the container for the deposit amount;
4. Purchasing a product with SNAP benefits
				with the intent of obtaining cash or consideration other than eligible food by
				reselling the product, and subsequently intentionally reselling the product
				purchased with SNAP benefits in exchange for cash or consideration other than
				eligible food; or
5. Intentionally
				purchasing products originally purchased with SNAP benefits in exchange for
				cash or consideration other than eligible food.
"Underissuance" means the amount by which the allotment to
				  which the household was entitled exceeds the allotment which the household
				  received.
"Underissuance error rate" (See Underpayment error
				  rate.)
"Underpayment error rate" means the ratio of the value of
				  allotments underissued to recipient households to the total value of allotments
				  issued in a fiscal year by a State agency.
"Universe" means all units for which information is
				  desired.
"Variance" means the incorrect application of policy and/or a
				  deviation between the information that was used to authorize the sample month
				  issuance and the verified information that should have been used to calculate
				  the sample month issuance.
VERMONT NOTE:
-- "Cash-Out" means the SSI/Elderly Cash-Out Demonstration
				  Project. Vermont was a test site for this one-year project. Legislation has
				  provided for continuance.
-- "Cash-Out Household" means a SNAP household in which all
				  members are either in receipt of SSI/AABD or 65 years old or older.
"Wholesale food concern" means an establishment which sells
				  eligible food to retail food stores or to meal services for resale to
				  households. Section 271.7 Allotment Reduction Procedures.
a. General Purposes
This section sets forth the procedures to be followed if the
				  monthly Food Stamp allotments determined in accordance with the provisions of
				  § 273.10 must be reduced, suspended or cancelled to comply with Section 18
				  of the Food Stamp Act of 1977, as amended. The best available data pertaining
				  to the number of people participating in the program and the amounts of
				  benefits being issued shall be used in deciding whether such action is
				  necessary.
b. Nature Of
				Reduction Action
Action to comply with Section 18 of the Food Stamp Act of
				  1977, as amended, may be a suspension or cancellation of allotments for one or
				  more months, a reduction in allotment levels for one or more months or a
				  combination of these three actions. If a reduction in allotments is deemed
				  necessary, allotments shall be reduced by reducing Thrifty Food Plan amounts
				  for each household size by the same percentage. This results in all households
				  of a given size having their benefits reduced by the same dollar amount. The
				  dollar reduction would be smallest for one-person households and greatest for
				  the largest households. Since the dollar amount would be the same for all
				  households of the same size, the rate of reduction would be lowest for zero net
				  income households and greatest for the highest net income households. All one
				  and two-person households affected by a reduction action shall be guaranteed a
				  minimum benefit unless the action is a cancellation of benefits, a suspension
				  of benefits, or a reduction of benefits of 90 percent or more of the total
				  amount of benefits projected to be issued in the affected month.
c. Reduction Method
If a reduction in allotments is deemed necessary, the Thrifty
				  Food Plan amounts for all household sizes shall be reduced by a percentage
				  specified by FNS. For example, if it is determined that a 25 percent reduction
				  in the Thrifty Food Plan amount is to be made, the reduction for all
				  four-person households would be calculated as follows: The Thrifty Food Plan
				  amount for a four-person household ($ 209 in November 1980) would be reduced by
				  25% to $ 157. Then 30 percent of the household's net Food Stamp income would be
				  deducted from the reduced Thrifty Food Plan Amount. For example, 30 percent of
				  a net Food Stamp income of $ 200, $ 60, would be deducted from the reduced
				  Thrifty Food Plan Amount ($ 157), resulting in a reduced allotment of $
				  97.
d. Implementation Of
				Allotment Reductions
1. Reductions
i. If a decision is made to reduce monthly
				Food Stamp allotments, FNS shall notify State agencies of the date the
				reduction is to take effect and by what percentage Thrifty Food Plan amounts
				are to be reduced.
ii. Upon
				receiving notification that a reduction is to be made in an upcoming month's
				allotments, State agencies shall act immediately to implement the reduction.
				Such action would differ from State to State depending on the nature of the
				issuance system in use. Where there are computerized issuance systems, the
				program used for calculating allotments shall be altered to reflect the
				appropriate percentage reduction in the Thrifty Food Plan for each household
				size and the computer program shall be adjusted to allow for a minimum benefit
				for one and two person households. The computer program shall also be adjusted
				to provide for the rounding of benefit levels of $ 1, $ 3 and $ 5 to $ 2, $ 4
				and $ 6 respectively. FNS will provide State agencies with revised issuance
				tables reflecting the percentage reductions to be made in the Thrifty Food Plan
				amounts and reduced Thrifty Food Plan levels. In States where manual issuance
				is used, State agencies shall reproduce the issuance tables provided by FNS and
				distribute them to issuance personnel. State agencies shall ensure that the
				revised issuance tables are distributed to issuance agents and personnel in
				time to allow benefit reductions during the month ordered by FNS. In an HIR
				card system State agencies have the option of enacting the reduction in
				benefits either by changing all HIR cards before issuance activity for the
				affected month begins or by adjusting allotments at the point of issuance as
				each household appears at the issuance office.
2. Suspensions And Cancellations
i. If a decision is made to suspend or cancel
				the distribution of Food Stamp benefits in a given month, FNS shall notify
				State agencies of the date the suspension or cancellation is to take effect. In
				the event of a suspension or cancellation of benefits, the provision for a
				minimum benefit level for households with one or two members only shall be
				disregarded and all households shall have their benefits suspended or
				cancelled. Upon receiving notification that an upcoming month's issuance is to
				be suspended or cancelled, State agencies shall take immediate action to effect
				the suspension or cancellation. This action would involve making necessary
				computer adjustments, and notifying issuance agents and personnel.
ii. Upon being notified by FNS that a
				suspension of benefits is over, State agencies shall act immediately to resume
				issuing benefits to certified households and shall resume benefit issuance as
				soon as practicable.
3.
				Affected Allotments
Whenever a reduction of allotments is ordered for a
				  particular month, reduced benefits shall be calculated for all households for
				  the designated month. However, any household with one or two members whose
				  reduced benefits would be less than $ 10 shall receive a minimum benefit except
				  as provided in 273.10e2. Allotments or portions of allotments representing
				  restored or retroactive benefits for a prior unaffected month would not be
				  reduced, suspended or cancelled, even though they are issued during an affected
				  month.
4. Notification Of
				Eligible Households
Reductions, suspensions and cancellations of allotments shall
				  be considered to be Federal adjustments to allotments. As such, State agencies
				  shall notify households of reductions, suspensions and cancellations of
				  allotments in accordance with the notice provisions of § 273.12(c)(1),
				  except that State agencies shall not provide notices of adverse action to
				  households affected by reductions, suspensions, or cancellations of
				  allotments.
5. Restoration
				Of Benefits
Households whose allotments are reduced or cancelled as a
				  result of the enactment of these procedures are not entitled to the restoration
				  of the lost benefits at a future date. However, if there is a surplus of funds
				  as a result of the reduction or cancellation, FNS shall direct State agencies
				  to provide affected households with restored benefits unless the Secretary
				  determines that the amount of surplus funds is too small to make this
				  practicable. The procedures implemented by State agencies for reducing and
				  cancelling benefits shall be designed so that in the event FNS directs the
				  restoration of benefits, such benefits are issued promptly.
e. Effects Of Reductions,
				Suspensions And Cancellations on The Certification Of Eligible Households
1. Except as provided in paragraph (e) (2)
				below, determinations of the eligibility of applicant households shall not be
				affected by reductions, suspensions or cancellations of allotments. State
				agencies shall accept and process applications during a month(s) in which a
				reduction, suspension or cancellation is in effect in accordance with the
				requirements of Part 273. Determinations of eligibility shall also be made
				according to the provisions of Part 273. If an applicant is found to be
				eligible for benefits and a reduction is in effect, the amount of benefits
				shall be calculated by reducing the Thrifty Food Plan amount by the appropriate
				percentage for the applicant's household size and then deducting 30 percent of
				the household's net Food Stamp income from the reduced Thrifty Food Plan
				amount. If an applicant is found to be eligible for benefits while a suspension
				or cancellation is in effect, no benefits shall be issued to the applicant,
				until issuance is again authorized by FNS.
2. Expedited Service
i. Households eligible to receive expedited
				processing who apply for program benefits during months in which reductions or
				suspensions are in effect, shall have their cases processed in accordance with
				the expedited processing provisions of § 273.2(i).
A. Those households that receive expedited
				service in months in which reductions are in effect and that are determined to
				be eligible shall be issued allotments that are reduced in accordance with the
				reduction in effect. These reduced allotments shall be made available to the
				households within the benefit delivery timeframe specified in §
				273.2(i).
B. Those households that
				receive expedited service in months in which suspensions are in effect and that
				are determined to be eligible shall have benefits issued to them within the
				timeframe specified in § 273.2(i). However, if the suspension is still in
				effect at the time issuance is to be made, the issuance shall be suspended
				until the suspension is ended.
ii. Households eligible to receive expedited
				processing who apply for Program benefits during months in which cancellations
				are in effect shall receive expedited service. However, the deadline for
				completing the processing of such cases shall be five calendar days or the end
				of the month of application, whichever date is later. All other rules
				pertaining to expedited service, contained in § 273.2(i), shall be
				applicable to these cases.
3. The reduction, suspension or cancellation
				of allotments in a given month shall have no effect on the certification
				periods assigned to households. Those participating households whose
				certification periods expire during a month in which allotments have been
				reduced, suspended or cancelled shall be recertified according to the
				provisions of § 273.14. Houscholds found eligible to participate during a
				month in which allotments have been reduced, suspended or cancelled shall have
				certification periods assigned in accordance with the provisions of §
				273.10.
f. Fair Hearings
Any household that has its allotment reduced, suspended or
				  cancelled as a result of an order issued by FNS in accordance with these rules
				  may request a fair hearing if it disagrees with the action, subject to the
				  following conditions. State agencies shall not be required to hold fair
				  hearings unless the request for a fair hearing is based on the household's
				  belief that its benefit level was computed incorrectly under these rules or
				  that the rules were misapplied or misinterpreted. State agencies shall be
				  allowed to deny fair hearings to those households who are merely disputing the
				  fact that a reduction, suspension or cancellation was ordered. Furthermore,
				  since the reduction, suspension or cancellation would be necessary to avoid an
				  expenditure of funds beyond those appropriated by Congress, households do not
				  have a right to a continuation of benefits pending the fair hearing. A
				  household may receive retroactive benefits in an appropriate amount if it is
				  determined that its benefits were reduced by more than the amount by which the
				  State agency was directed to reduce benefits.
g. Issuance Services
State agencies must have issuance services available to serve
				  households receiving restored or retroactive benefits for a prior, unaffected
				  month.
h. Penalties
Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter, FNS
				  may take one or more of the following actions against a State agency that fails
				  to comply with a directive to reduce, suspend or cancel allotments in a
				  particular month.
1. If FNS ascertains
				that a State agency does not plan to comply with a directive to reduce, suspend
				or cancel allotments for a particular month, a warning will be issued advising
				the State agency that if it does not comply, FNS may cancel 100 percent of the
				Federal share of the State's administrative costs for the affected month(s).
				If, after receiving such a warning, a State agency does not comply with a
				directive to reduce, suspend or cancel allotments, FNS may cancel 100 percent
				of Federal share of the State agency's administrative costs for the affected
				months.
2. If FNS ascertains after
				warning a State agency as provided in 1. above, that the State agency does not
				plan to comply with a directive to reduce, suspend or cancel allotments, a
				court injunction may be sought to compel compliance.
3. If a State agency fails to reduce, suspend
				or cancel allotments as directed, FNS will bill the State agency for all
				overissuances that result. If a State agency fails to remit the billed amount
				to FNS within a prescribed period of time the funds will be recovered through
				offsets against the Federal share of the State agency's administrative costs,
				or any other means available under law.