An overissuance or overpayment of food benefits occurs when a household receives more food benefits than it is entitled to receive.  When the worker determines a household may have received more food benefits than it is entitled to receive, the worker documents the circumstances leading to the overpayment and computes the amount of the overpayment.  • 1

• (1) Instances which may result in establishment of an overpayment claim include, but are not limited to:
  • (A) the household:
    • (i) failing to provide the Oklahoma Department of Human Services with correct or complete information;
    • (ii) failing to report changes in household circumstances;
    • (iii) electing to receive benefits pending a fair hearing decision which subsequently found the household ineligible or eligible for fewer benefits; or
    • (iv) trafficking benefits;
  • (B) the worker:
    • (i) assigning an incorrect allotment;
    • (ii) failing to take prompt action on a change reported by the household;
    • (iii) incorrectly computing the household's income, deductions, or both; or
    • (iv) incorrectly authorizing issuance to a household; or
  • (C) any overissuance discovered as a result of an Office of Inspector General (OIG) Administrative Review Unit review.
• (2) Persons responsible for paying a claim are:
  • (A) each person who was an adult member of the household when the overpayment or trafficking benefits occurred and which resulted in an established overpayment claim; or
  • (B) a person connected to the household, such as an authorized representative, who actually trafficks or otherwise causes an overpayment or trafficking.
• (3) The Family Support Services Division (FSSD) Benefit Integrity and Recovery Section classifies overpayments as inadvertent household error, intentional program violation also known as fraud, or agency error.  All food benefit overpayment claims are considered as inadvertent household error or agency error until Form 08OP016E, Administrative Disqualification Hearing Waiver, is signed or a court of law finds a household guilty of fraud.  • 2
• (4) The worker and supervisor calculate all overpayment claims and establish any overpayments under $500 due to inadvertent household error and all agency error overpayments, regardless of the amount.  Once an overpayment is established, notices sent to the client include:
  • (A) the Notification of Food Benefit Overpayment notice;
  • (B) page 1 of Form 08OP005E, Report of Food Benefit Overissuance; and
  • (C) Form 08OP118E, Food Benefit Repayment Agreement.
• (5) When the overpayment is $500 or more and due to inadvertent client error, it is sent to the FSSD Benefit Integrity and Recovery Section.  FSSD Benefit Integrity and Recovery Section staff either establishes the overpayment claim and notifies the household of the overpayment with appropriate notices or refers the case to OIG for a possible judicial determination.
  • (A) When the case is transferred to OIG, the overpayment claim is not established and notices are not sent to clients until after OIG completes its determination.
  • (B) After OIG acquires a judicial determination and the claim is either determined to be an intentional program violation or fraud or remains an inadvertent household error, the claim is released back to the FSSD Benefit Integrity and Recovery Section to establish the overpayment claim.
  • (C) After the overpayment claim is established, the client is sent Form 08OP009E, page 1 of Form 08OP005E, and Form 08OP118E.
• (6) Food benefit overpayment claims classified as inadvertent household error or agency error do not cover more than 12 months prior to the month in which the overpayment was discovered.  Food benefit overpayments classified as fraud or intentional program violation may cover the entire time the overpayment occurred.  However, the time covered cannot include periods more than six years prior to the date the overpayment was discovered.
• (7) Food benefit overpayments arising from trafficking related offenses are the value of the trafficked benefits as determined by the person's admission, adjudication, or documentation that forms the basis for the trafficking determination.  OIG refers these cases directly to the FSSD Benefit Integrity and Recovery Section for establishment of the claim and/or disqualification.