Entitlement for Benefits Including Underpayments

A household is entitled to lost benefits only for those months the household was eligible to participate. In cases where there is no information in the household's case record to document that the household was actually eligible, the Department shall advise the household of what information must be provided to determine eligibility for these months. For each month that the household cannot provide the necessary information to demonstrate its eligibility, the household shall be considered ineligible for restoration of lost benefits. The Department shall restore to the household benefits that were lost because of: (A) an agency error, such as an incorrect allotment, an incorrect denial or termination of benefits, agency delay in acting on a reported change, or failure to provide benefits for the month following the expiration of the certification period for households properly fulfilling the recertification process; (B) a fraud disqualification penalty of a household member that is later reversed; and (C) an error by the Department or by SSA through joint application processing. Such an error shall include, but is not limited to, the loss of an applicant's SNAP application after it has been filed with SSA. Households are also entitled to lost benefits if a Department policy specifically provides for restoration of lost benefits. NON-TEXT PAGE