| Effective immediately for the Temporary
Assistance and the Food Stamp Programs, before an individual(s) can be
disqualified as a fleeing felon, he or she must be acting with the intent
to avoid prosecution. For cases where a warrant has been issued,
the individual(s) must have knowledge that the warrant has been issued
for his or her arrest in order to be considered "fleeing."
If it is learned from an outside source
the individual(s) has an outstanding warrant, use the IM-31, Appointment
Letter/Request for Contact form (RFC), to obtain information needed to
establish continued eligibility as a means to notify the individual(s)
of the outstanding warrant. Memorandum IM-#39
dated March 27, 2002, introduces this form.
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Check the box to contact within 10 days of
this letter.
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In the space marked reason for contact write
in the following information: "We received information there is an outstanding
felony warrant for (name)
arrest. (name)
is ineligible to receive food stamp or Temporary Assistance benefits while
considered a fleeing felon. Contact our office to discuss the status
of the outstanding warrant."
Give the individual(s) ten days to respond
regarding the outstanding warrant. Use the following guidelines to
determine when the disqualification begins and if a claim is necessary.
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If the individual(s) responds that s/he knew
about and cleared the warrant, do not disqualify the individual.
Establish a claim from the date of the warrant to the date cleared.
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If the individual(s) responds that s/he knew
about the outstanding warrant and has not cleared the warrant, disqualify
the individual(s) and establish a claim back to the date of the warrant.
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If the individual(s) responds that s/he did
not know about the warrant and the warrant is not cleared, send the Notice
of Adverse Action (NOAA) to disqualify the individual from the date of
the RFC/IM-31. The NOAA to remove the individual needs to say: "There
may be a claim established against you.
(name) will be
removed from the case because s/he is a fleeing felon." A claim may
be necessary depending on how quickly the household responds to the RFC
and the adverse action is taken.
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If the individual(s) responds that s/he didn't
know about the warrant and the warrant is cleared, there is no disqualification
and no claim is necessary. Obtain verification the warrant has been
cleared.
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If the individual(s) fails to respond to the
RFC/IM-31, send the NOAA to remove the individual(s) from the case or close
the case, as appropriate. After the IM-80 expires, disqualify the
individual until the warrant is cleared. Establish a claim back to
the date of the RFC/IM-31.
The Food Stamp Manual is being revised to
include this information. It will be available when it is complete. |