[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 7, Volume 4]

[Revised as of January 1, 2006]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 7CFR272.3]



[Page 606-608]

 

                          TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE

 

    CHAPTER II--FOOD AND NUTRITION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

 

PART 272_REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATING STATE AGENCIES--Table of Contents

 

Sec. 272.3  Operating guidelines and forms.



    (a) Coverage of operating guidelines. State agencies shall prepare 

and provide to staff responsible for administering the Program written 

operating procedures. In those States which have State regulations that 

outline these Operating Procedures, these are equivalent to Operating 

Guidelines. Other examples of Operating Guidelines are manuals, 

instructions, directives or transmittal memos. The following categories 

shall be included in the Operating Guidelines:

    (1) Certification of households, including but not limited to:

    (i) Application processing;

    (ii) Nonfinancial eligibility standards;

    (iii) Financial criteria and the eligibility determination;

    (iv) Actions resulting from eligibility determinations;

    (v) Determining eligibility of special situation households as 

specified in Sec. 273.11;

    (vi) Additional certification functions such as processing changes 

during certification periods and reporting requirements for households;

    (vii) Lost benefits/claims against households;

    (viii) Fair/fraud hearings;

    (ix) A list of Federal and State energy assistance programs that 

qualify for the resource and income exclusions discussed in Sec. 

273.8(e)(14) and Sec. 273.9(c)(11) and how these payments



[[Page 607]]



are identified as being eligible for the exemption;

    (x) Work registration and employment and training requirements.

    (2) Issuance, accountability, and reconciliation;

    (3) The Performance Reporting System, including instructions or di 

rectives for conducting quality control and management evaluation 

reviews and the quality control sample plan;

    (4) A description of the training program, including a listing of 

the organizational component which conducts training, to whom and how 

often training is provided;

    (5) The fair/fraud hearing procedures if not included in the 

Certification Handbook.

    (6) The consultation process (where applicable) with the tribal 

organization of an Indian reservation about the State Plan of Operation 

and Operating Guidelines in terms of the special needs of members of the 

tribe and the method to be used for incorporating the comments from the 

tribal organization into the State Plan of Operations and Operating 

Guidelines.

    (b) Submittal of operating guidelines and forms. (1) State agencies 

shall develop the necessary forms, except the Application for Food 

Stamps, and other operating guidelines to implement the provisions of 

the Food Stamp Act and regulations. In accordance with Sec. 273.2(b) 

and Sec. 273.12(b)(1) State agencies shall use the FNS-designed 

Application for Food Stamps or an FNS-approved deviation.

    (2) State agencies shall submit their operating guidelines and forms 

and amendments to these materials to FNS for review and audit purposes 

simultaneous with distribution within the States.

    (3) State agencies may request that FNS review and provide comments 

on their operating guidelines, forms and any amendments to these 

materials prior to distribution of the materials within the State.

    (4) If deficiencies are discovered in a State agency's materials, 

FNS shall provide the State agency with written notification.

    (c) Waivers. (1) The Administrator of the Food and Nutrition Service 

or Deputy Administrator for Family Nutrition Programs may authorize 

waivers to deviate from specific regulatory provisions. Requests for 

waivers may be approved only in the following situations:

    (i) The specific regulatory provision cannot be implemented due to 

extraordinary temporary situations such as a sudden increase in the 

caseload due to the loss of SSI cash-out status;

    (ii) FNS determines that the waiver would result in a more effective 

and efficient administration of the program; or

    (iii) Unique geographic or climatic conditions within a State 

preclude effective implementation of the specific regulatory provision 

and require an alternate procedure; for example, the use of fee agents 

in Alaska to perform many of the duties involved in the certification of 

households including conducting the interviews.

    (2) FNS shall not approve requests for waivers when:

    (i) The waiver would be inconsistent with the provisions of the Act; 

or

    (ii) The waiver would result in material impairment of any statutory 

or regulatory rights of participants or potential participants.

    (3) FNS shall approve waivers for a period not to exceed one year 

unless the waiver is for an on-going situation. If the waiver is 

requested for longer than a year, appropriate justification shall be 

required and FNS will determine if a longer period is warranted and if 

so, the duration of the waiver. Extensions may be granted provided that 

States submit appropriate justification as part of the State Plan of 

Operation.

    (4) When submitting requests for waivers, State agencies shall 

provide compelling justification for the waiver in terms of how the 

waiver will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the 

administration of the Program. At a minimum, requests for waivers shall 

include but not necessarily be limited to:

    (i) Reasons why the waiver is needed;

    (ii) The portion of caseload or potential caseload which would be 

affected and the characteristics of the affected caseload such as 

geographic, urban, or rural concentration;



[[Page 608]]



    (iii) Anticipated impact on service to participants or potential 

participants who would be affected;

    (iv) Anticipated time period for which the waiver is needed; and

    (v) Thorough explanation of the proposed alternative provision to be 

used in lieu of the waived regulatory provision.

    (5) Notwithstanding the preceding paragraphs, waivers of the 

certification period timeframes as described in Sec. 273.10(f) may be 

granted by the Administrator of the Food and Nutrition Service or the 

Deputy Administrator for Family Nutrition Programs as provided in 

section 3(c) of the Act. Waivers authorized by this paragraph are not 

subject to the public comment provisions of Sec. 272.3(d).

    (6) Notwithstanding the preceding paragraphs, waivers may be granted 

by the Administrator of the Food and Nutrition Service or the Deputy 

Administrator for Family Nutrition Programs as provided in section 5(f) 

of the Act. Waivers authorized by this paragraph are not subject to the 

public comment provisions of Sec. 272.3(d).

    (7) Notwithstanding the preceding paragraphs, waivers may be granted 

by the Administrator of the Food and Nutrition Service or the Deputy 

Administrator for Family Nutrition Programs as provided in section 6(c) 

of the Act. Waivers authorized by this paragraph are not subject to the 

public comment provisions of Sec. 272.3(d).

    (d) Public comment. State agencies shall solicit public input and 

comment on overall Program operations as State laws require or as the 

individual State agency believes would be useful.



[Amdt. 156, 46 FR 6315, Jan. 21, 1981]



    Editorial Note: For Federal Register citations affecting Sec. 

272.3, see the List of CFR Sections Affected, which appears in the 

Finding Aids section of the printed volume and on GPO Access.