Making payment - Correcting overpayments and underpayments

1. A payment of a cash grant is deemed to be complete as of 12:01 a.m. on the first day of the month for which it is issued. 2. Except as provided in subsection 3, a payment check must be endorsed by the payee, or an attorney-in-fact for the payee, with a signature, written in ink, in the same form as the indicated payee. a. If the payee is a guardian, the endorsement must so indicate and must name the ward. b. If the endorsement is by an attorney-in-fact of the payee, the endorsement must so indicate and must name the attorney-in-fact. 3. If the payee dies or becomes absent before a properly issued check has been endorsed, an endorsement may be made: a. By the payee's spouse or surviving spouse, if that spouse has been living with the payee, and, if there is no such spouse; b. By a temporary payee, and, if there is no such spouse or temporary payee; or c. By the director of the human service zone. 4. A payment check endorsed under subsection 3 must include, immediately below the endorsement, a statement of approval dated and signed by the director of the human service zone. 5. A payment check may be issued to replace a lost, stolen, or destroyed payment check only if: a. An indemnity bond is executed by the payee and delivered to the department's finance office; and b. A stop-payment order is placed against the payment check alleged to be lost or destroyed. 6. Any overpayment, whether resulting from recipient or administrative error, or from assistance granted pending a decision on an appeal adverse to the appellant, and whenever made, is subject to recovery. Except as provided in subsection 7, an overpayment must be collected from any household that includes a member who benefited from, or who was responsible for, the overpayment, by reducing the cash grant, to that household, by an amount equal to ten percent of the standard of need. 7. If a court order, entered in a matter that considered the circumstances leading to the overpayment, requires restitution of an amount less than the amount of the overpayment, or requires periodic payments of restitution greater or less than the monthly amount determined under subsection 6, the amount of restitution and periodic payments so ordered must be used to calculate reduction, in the cash grant amount, used to recover an overpayment. 8. Unless the overpayment was the result of fraud, including fraud involving the crimes of theft and making false statements in a governmental matter, or an intentional program violation, the human service zone may suspend efforts to collect overpayments when no individual who benefited from, or was responsible for, the overpayment is a member of a household: a. If the amount of the overpayment is less than thirty-five dollars; or b. If recovery is not determined to be cost-effective after an effort to recover has failed, including, at a minimum, a written communication describing the amount and basis for the overpayment, and requesting repayment. 9. The human service zone shall promptly correct any underpayment for a current member of a household, or to an individual who would be a current member of a household but for the error that led to the underpayment. 10. The benefit amount may be adjusted to correct an underpayment or overpayment arising out of previous periods of eligibility.