[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: 7CFR272.8]



[Page 616-617]

 

                          TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE

 

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

 

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

 

Sec. 272.8  State income and eligibility verification system.



    (a) General. (1) State agencies may maintain and use an income and 

eligibility verification system (IEVS), as specified in this section. By 

means of the IEVS, State agencies may request wage and benefit 

information from the agencies identified in this paragraph (a)(1) and 

use that information in verifying eligibility for and the amount of food 

stamp benefits due to eligible households. Such information may be 

requested and used with respect to all household members, including any 

considered excluded household members as specified in Sec. 273.11(c) of 

this chapter whenever the SSNs of such excluded household members are 

available to the State agency. If not otherwise documented, State 

agencies must obtain written agreements from these information provider 

agencies affirming that they must not record any information about 

individual food stamp households and that staff in those agencies are 

subject to the disclosure restrictions of the information provider 

agencies and Sec. 272.1(c). The information provider agencies, at a 

minimum, are:

    (i) The State Wage Information Collection Agency (SWICA) which 

maintains wage information;

    (ii) The Social Security Administration (SSA) which maintains 

information about net earnings from self-employment, wages, and payments 

of retirement income, which is available pursuant to section 

6103(1)(7)(A) of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Code; and 

information which is available from SSA regarding Federal retirement, 

and survivors, disability, SSI and related benefits;

    (iii) The IRS from which unearned income information is available 

pursuant to section 6103(1)(7)(B) of the IRS Code; and

    (iv) The agency administering Unemployment Insurance Benefits (UIB) 

which maintains claim information and any information in addition to 

information about wages and UIB available from the agency which is 

useful for verifying eligibility and benefits, subject to the provisions 

and limitations of section 303(d) of the Social Security Act.

    (2) State agencies may exchange with State agencies administering 

certain other programs in the IEVS information about food stamp 

households' circumstances which may be of use in establishing or 

verifying eligibility or benefit amounts under the Food Stamp Program 

and those programs. State agencies may exchange such information with 

these agencies in other States when they determine that the same 

objectives are likely to be met. These programs are:

    (i) Temporary Assistance for Needy Families;

    (ii) Medicaid;

    (iii) Unemployment Compensation (UC);

    (iv) Food Stamps; and

    (v) Any State program administered under a plan approved under title 

I, X, or XIV (the adult categories), or title XVI of the Social Security 

Act.

    (3) State agencies must provide information to those administering 

the Child Support Program (title IV-D of the Social Security Act) and 

titles II (Federal Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance 

Benefits) and XVI (Supplemental Security Income for the Aged, Blind, and 

Disabled) of the Social Security Act.

    (4) Prior to requesting or exchanging information with other 

agencies, State agencies must execute data exchange agreements with 

those agencies. The agreements must specify the information to be 

exchanged and the procedures which will be used in the exchange of 

information. These agreements are not part of the State agency's Plan of 

Operation.



[[Page 617]]



    (b) Alternate data sources. A State agency may continue to use 

income information from an alternate source or sources to meet any 

requirement under paragraph (a) of this section.

    (c) Actions on recipient households. (1) State agency action on 

information items about recipient households shall include:

    (i) Review of the information and comparison of it to case record 

information;

    (ii) For all new or previously unverified information received, 

contact with the households and/or collateral contacts to resolve 

discrepancies as specified in Sec. Sec. 273.2(f)(4)(iv) and 273.2 

(f)(9)(iii) and (f)(9)(iv); and

    (iii) If discrepancies warrant reducing benefits or terminating 

eligibility, notices of adverse action.

    (2) State agencies must initiate and pursue the actions on recipient 

households specified in paragraph (c)(1) of this section so that the 

actions are completed within 45 days of receipt of the information 

items. Actions may be completed later than 45 days from the receipt of 

information if:

    (i) The only reason that the actions cannot be completed is the 

nonreceipt of verification requested from collateral contacts; and

    (ii) The actions are completed as specified in Sec. 273.12 of this 

chapter when verification from a collateral contact is received or in 

conjunction with the next case action when such verification is not 

received, whichever is earlier.

    (3) When the actions specified in paragraph (c)(1) of this section 

substantiate an overissuance, State agencies must establish and take 

actions on claims as specified in Sec. 273.18 of this chapter.

    (4) State agencies must use appropriate procedures to monitor the 

timeliness requirements in paragraph (c)(2) of this section.

    (5) Except for the claims actions specified in paragraph (c)(3) of 

this section, State agencies may exclude from the actions required in 

paragraph (c) of this section information items pertaining to household 

members who are participating in one of the other programs listed in 

paragraph (a)(2) of this section.

    (d) IEVS information and quality control. The requirements of this 

section do not relieve the State agency of its responsibility for 

determining erroneous payments and/or its liability for such payments as 

specified in part 275 of this chapter (which pertains to quality 

control) and in guidelines on quality control established under that 

part.

    (e) Documentation. The State agency must document, as required by 

Sec. 273.2(f)(6) of this chapter, information obtained through the IEVS 

both when an adverse action is and is not instituted.



[65 FR 70192, Nov. 21, 2000]