FNS is proposing to amend Food Stamp Program regulations by increasing the disqualification penalties for individuals who are found guilty in a federal, state or local court of trading or receiving food stamp coupons (coupons) for firearms, ammunition, explosives or controlled substances.
This final rule implements those nondiscretionary provisions pertaining to increased limits for civil money penalties for trafficking in benefit redemption instruments and for selling firearms, ammunition, explosives, or controlled substances for benefit redemption instruments. The intended effect of this rule is to raise the amounts of civil money penalties paid by authorized firms for the types of violations specified.
The Maryland demonstration was the first statewide roll-out of an electronic benefit transfer (EBT) system involving multiple programs on a single card. The goal was to confirm that a large- scale, multi-program EBT system is technically feasible and determine whether such a system can achieve cost-neutrality government-wide while maintaining high quality service for recipients. The test involved food stamps plus five cash-benefit programs: Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), Bonus Child Support for AFDC Recipients, Disability Assistance Loan Program, Non-Public Assistance Child Support, and Public Assistance for Adults. All parts of Maryland, both urban and rural, were converted to EBT.
The objectives of the demonstration were to determine the technological feasibility of offline EBT; whether it would be accepted by stakeholder groups; and whether it would be cost-effective.
Prior to 1982, school districts were not required to verify the income or household size declared by households that applied for meal benefits. It was assumed that households were correctly reporting their income, and children from households that applied and declared a sufficiently Low income were given free or reduced-price meals. From 1982 to the present, the verification of household income for at least some of the approved application s for meal benefits has been part of each school district's responsibilities.
PIRS (Policy Interpretation Response System) Memo 85-05 deals primarily with funding aspects of state food stamp investigations, as its title indicates.
This policy memo provides clarification on the use of telephone administrative disqualification hearings.