IM-52 May 30, 2013; IM-36 April 22, 2010; IM-40 May 28, 2008; IM-142 December 2, 2005
The eligibility specialist (ES) responsible for establishing the claim obtains the needed information and computes a budget for each month of the overpayment period using the Worker Initiated Budget Calculation Area (WIBCA) in FAMIS. Refer to the FAMIS User Guide WIBCA for instructions.
The correct benefit amount for each month as determined from the WIBCA budgets and the amount actually received by the EU is entered in the Claims and Restitution System (CARS.) CARS uses this information to determine the overpayment amount.
- For Inadvertent Household Error (IHE) and Suspected Program Violation (SPV) claims involving earned income, do not apply the earned income deduction to that part of any earned income that the EU failed to report in a timely manner when that is the basis for the claim.
- For Agency Error (AE) claims involving earned income, apply the earned income deduction.
The ES identifies all responsible EU members in CARS (see 1142.040.00 Responsible Members); the system then tracks payment responsibility for each person. The claim is established when CARS generates the demand letter.
For trafficking claims, the Welfare Investigation Unit (WIU) determines the amount of the claim as part of their investigation. WIU notifies the worker of the period of time in which trafficking occurred and the amount of benefits that was used inappropriately. This determines the claim period and the claim amount.