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State of Wisconsin |
HISTORY |
The policy on this page is from a previous version of the handbook.
7 CFR 273.18(e) (4) and (5)
CARES automatically generates repayment agreements (RPA) at the beginning of the month following the month in which a claim is sent.
Failure to sign and return a repayment agreement may result in a claim becoming delinquent. If a repayment agreement is signed and returned and the required payments are not made, the claim will become delinquent and will be subject to both tax intercept and monthly repayment. In order to become delinquent, notice of the missed payment(s) must be sent to the liable person.
The policies for monthly repayments are listed on the repayment agreements:
If more than one claim is established, the additional claim(s) will not be considered delinquent so long as the other claim(s) are being currently paid through an installment agreement or allotment reduction and collection on the additional claim(s) are expected to begin once the prior claim is settled.
A claim is not subject to the requirements for delinquent debts if the collection status is unknown because it is coordinated through the courts.
A claim awaiting a fair hearing decision must not be considered delinquent.
Someone who makes a repayment agreement may not be subject to tax intercept as long as they are meeting the conditions of the agreement.
Attempt a personal contact with the liable person(s) in the initial collection efforts. The agency may request the repayment be brought before the court or addressed in an agreement reached between the prosecutor and accused person.
All Repayment Agreements are due on the 25th of the month. In all cases, if the liable person(s) is receiving FoodShare benefits, recoupment will take place from their assistance group. If the liable person signs and returns the repayment agreement, they are expected to make a monthly repayment in addition to any recoupment from the FoodShare benefit allotment.
If FoodShare benefits are not being issued and the FoodShare Repayment Agreement is not signed and returned, dunning notices will be issued through CARES. The local agency may also pursue other collection action. The State of Wisconsin Public Assistance Collection Section (PACS) may also pursue collection action.
If the FoodShare Repayment Agreement is completed and the liable person fails to make a scheduled payment or underpays, send a dunning notice stating that the group must contact the local agency to renegotiate the payment schedule.
The liable person must either:
Collection
Collect repayment for all existing claims with a balance, including all types of errors, regardless of when the claim was created. Only collect up to the amount of the claim. If the liable person wishes to pay the whole claim at once, they may do so.
Pursue collection of FoodShare claims even if the food unit moves out of a county/tribal area or out of Wisconsin.
The agency that overpaid benefits has the first opportunity to collect an overpayment. If the agency does not act promptly to collect, and the group moves, the new agency can begin collection action. The new agency must contact the agency that overpaid the benefits to see if they intend to pursue collection.
7 CFR 273.16(g)(1)
An overpayment due to any type of error will be recovered from a FoodShare assistance group participating in the program by reducing their allotment. This will occur even if a signed and completed FoodShare Repayment Agreement is returned.
The type of error determines the amount that will be recovered each month.
CARES will not allow workers to reduce the recovery amount to less than $10 for client/non-client and less than $20 for an IPV.
The FoodShare Repayment Agreement allows a participating member to opt to have more than the base recoupment amount withdrawn from the FoodShare issuance if they choose.
| Example 1 | Luther failed to report income for FoodShare and was found liable for a $2,000 overpayment claim. Luther receives the FoodShare Repayment agreement and commits to repaying $30 per month. Luther is still eligible for FoodShare and receives the maximum benefit but does not use his entire benefit. In addition to choosing to repay $30 per month, Luther also indicates he wants $40 per month taken from his FoodShare benefit via allotment reduction. Luther has agreed to a total of $70 to be repaid each month, $30 direct payment and $40 via allotment reduction. |
CARES will not reduce the initial allotment when the food unit is first certified unless they agree to a reduction.
7 CFR 273.17(d)(4)
7 CFR 273.18(e)
A participating food unit is one that is still open and receiving FoodShare benefits.
Establish collection of overpayment claims against participating food units unless claims are protected by the Federal Bankruptcy Code.
Do not charge any interest on the claim.
Food units must be allowed to voluntarily pay towards an overpayment claim(s) by reducing the issued benefits from the EBT account. Written permission must be obtained for this to occur which can be completed with the Request to Reduce Quest Card Balance (F-19002) form. If oral permission is instead obtained for a one-time reduction, a receipt showing the reduction must be sent to the food unit within 10 days.
Expunged benefits will be automatically applied to an outstanding claim balance.
If the member wishes to pay the whole claim at once, they may do so.
7 CFR 273.18(g)(3)
Offset an existing FoodShare overpayment (claim) with the calculated FoodShare underpayment (supplement) amount when both situations exist. Offset the claim against any amount that has not been supplemented to the FoodShare assistance group. An IM worker may offset a suspended or terminated claim amount against an underpayment amount.
An initial allotment and a DSNAP benefit allotment must not be reduced to offset a claim. This includes retroactive initial allotments.
Person Adds are not initial allotments and person add benefit supplements can offset an overpayment claim(s). Offset the entire supplement if the claim balance is more than the supplement. If the claim balance is less than the supplement, CARES will correctly apply the amount of supplement that will zero out the claim and issue the remainder of the supplement as a benefit to the member.
7 CFR 273.18(g)(8)
The State of Wisconsin Public Assistance Collections Section (PACS) uses tax intercept from both state and federal tax refunds to recover overpayments claims from anyone who has become delinquent in repayment of a claim.
To use tax intercept, the overpayment must be considered delinquent. Delinquency prior to establishing a repayment agreement is defined as a failure to establish an agreement by its due date. Once the due date passes, the claim is considered delinquent. Delinquency after a repayment agreement is established is defined as failing to make the monthly payment by the due date three times over the life of the debt. The collection system sends three dunning, or past due, notices for each of the three missed payments. The debt must meet all six of the criteria below:
| State Debt Criteria | Federal Data Criteria | |
| 1 | Valid and legally enforceable | Valid and legally enforceable |
| 2 | All error types | All error types |
| 3 | $20 | $25 |
| 4 | At least 30 days after the third notification of the tax intercept. | At least 120 days from notification of overpayment. |
| 5 | Free from any current appeals. | Free from any current appeals. |
| 6 | Incurred by someone who is not currently in bankruptcy. | Incurred by someone who is not currently in bankruptcy. |
Notice and Review
State tax intercept notices include a 30-day fair hearing right. The Division of Hearings and Appeals conducts the fair hearing. Federal intercept notices have a 60-day administrative review process. The Public Assistance Collections Section conducts the federal administrative desk review. The member must provide evidence showing the claim is not past due or is not legally enforceable. If the member cannot provide that evidence, the case will be sent for intercept.
The case is not subject to the state tax intercept while under appeal with the Division of Hearings and Appeals. A State fair hearing has no effect on a Federal Tax Intercept Action. A Federal desk review does not stay a Federal tax intercept action.
7 CFR 273.18(h)
The Department of Children and Families Bureau of Finance, Public Assistance Collections Section (PACS) monitors and processes all refunds centrally at the State level. This section monitors all accounts for refunds. If a refund is due on a FoodShare overpayment and the FoodShare case is open, the PACS will contact the appropriate agency to issue a FoodShare supplement benefit in the amount of the refund due. If an agency notices that a refund has not been processed, the agency can contact the PACS at dwspacu@wisconsin.gov.
When the cause of overpayment is client error, the local agency that establishes the claim may keep 15% of any collection that is made against the claim.
When the cause of overpayment is an IPV, the local agency may, in some circumstances, keep 15% of any collection against the claim.
When the cause of the overpayment is a non-client, also known as agency, error, the local agency cannot retain any portion of any collection that is made against the claim.
Repayment of overpayment claims through expungement does not allow for local agency retention.
7 CFR 273.18(e)(8)
Claims against non-participating food units and FoodShare assistance groups may be written off if reasonable collection efforts have been made and the debt is determined to be uncollectable.
Claims that have been referred to and or have resulted in a successful tax intercept should not be written off but should remain open until paid in full.
Recommendation to write-off can be made if proper documentation is submitted to demonstrate that the claim meets any of the following criteria:
Documentation of the following information is required:
Recommendations for the writing-off of claims must be submitted to the Public Assistance Collection Section (PACS) by mail or email:
Public Assistance Collection Section
PO Box 8938
Madison, WI 53708-8938
This page last updated in Release Number: 23-02
Release Date: 08/14/2023
Effective Date: 08/14/2023
Notice: The content within this manual is the sole responsibility of the State of Wisconsin's Department of Health Services (DHS). This site will link to sites outside of DHS where appropriate. DHS is in no way responsible for the content of sites outside of DHS.
Publication Number: P-16001