WSR 19-03-037
PERMANENT RULES
DEPARTMENT OF
SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES
(Economic Services Administration)
[Filed January 7, 2019, 2:34 p.m., effective February 7, 2019]
Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.
Purpose: The department is amending WAC 388-460-0010 Do I have an authorized representative for basic food if I live in a treatment center or group home?, to align with changes to federal regulations specifying how and when treatment centers and group homes act as authorized representatives for residents who receive basic food.
When effective, this filing cancels and supersedes the emergency adopted under WSR 18-21-097.
Citation of Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 388-460-0010.
Other Authority: 7 C.F.R. 273.11 (e) and (f).
Adopted under notice filed as WSR 18-23-099 on November 20, 2018.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at the Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's own Initiative: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.
Date Adopted: January 7, 2019.
Katherine I. Vasquez
Rules Coordinator
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 15-16-022, filed 7/24/15, effective 8/24/15)
WAC 388-460-0010Do I have an authorized representative for basic food if I live in a treatment center or group home?
(1) If you live in a qualified developmental disabilities administration (DDA) group home under WAC 388-408-0040, you may choose to apply for basic food benefits:
(a) On your own behalf;
(b) Through an authorized representative of your choice; or
(c) Through the DDA group home acting as your authorized representative.
(2) If you live in a qualified drug and alcohol treatment center under WAC 388-408-0040, ((you must have an employee of the facility as your authorized representative))a designated treatment center employee must apply for your basic food benefits, and the center will act as your authorized representative.
(3) When the ((person acting as authorized representative for residents in a)) qualified drug and alcohol treatment facility or qualified DDA group home is your authorized representative, it must:
(a) Be aware of ((the resident's))your circumstances;
(b) Notify the department of any changes in your income, resources, or circumstances within ten days of the change;
(c) Use ((the resident's))your basic food benefits for meals served to ((the resident))you; and
(d) ((Keep enough benefits in the facility's account to transfer one-half of a client's monthly allotment to the client's own account. If the client leaves the facility on or before the fifteenth of the month, the facility must return one half of the client's Basic Food allotment for that month))Give you a change in circumstances report form, when the center or group home learns you plan to leave, and advise you to report any changes as required under WAC 388-418-0005 to the department within ten days of the date of change.
(4) When a ((facility assigns an employee as the))center or group home is an authorized representative for residents, the facility accepts responsibility for:
(a) Any misrepresentation or intentional program violation; and
(b) Liability for basic food benefits held at the facility on behalf of ((the resident))residents.
(5) When you leave a facility and the center or group home is your authorized representative, it must:
(a) Either:
(i) Return to you a prorated amount of your basic food allotment for that month based on the number of days remaining in the month; or
(ii) Notify the department, within five days of your departure, that the facility is unable to refund your prorated share;
(b) Notify the department of your change in address, new address if available, and that the facility is no longer your authorized representative; and
(c) Provide you with your electronic benefits transfer (EBT) card within five days of leaving the facility if the facility was in possession of the card; or
(d) Return your EBT card to the department within five days if they are unable to provide it to you.