16 Del. Admin. Code § 9000-9090
[271.7]; [273.10(e)(2)(vi)]
Under the Food Stamp Act of 1977, the Secretary of Agriculture may not spend more money for food stamp allotments than is appropriated by Congress. If the Secretary of Agriculture determines that there is not enough money available to provide full benefits to all certified households, USDA is required to reduce the value of the benefits issued to those households. This section establishes the procedures to be used if such an action is necessary. Such action may be a suspension or cancellation of allotments for one or more months, a reduction in allotment levels for one or more months, or a combination of these three actions. At such time as a decision is made to implement reduction, suspension, or cancellation procedures, FNS will notify DSS of the date of action and all relevant details.
Reductions, suspensions, and cancellations of allotments will be regarded as Federal adjustments to allotments. As such, DSS will notify households of reductions, suspensions, and cancellations of allotments in accordance with the notice provisions of DSSM 9086, except that DSS will not provide notices of adverse action to households affected by reductions, suspensions, or cancellations of allotments.
Households whose allotments are reduced or cancelled as a result of the enactment of these procedures are not entitled to the restoration of the lost benefits at a future date. However, if there is a surplus of funds as a result of the reduction or cancellation, FNS will direct DSS to provide affected households with restored benefits unless it is determined that the amount of surplus funds is too small to make this practicable.
Except as provided in DSSM 9090.4, determinations of the eligibility of applicant households will not be affected by reductions, suspensions, or cancellations of allotments. DSS will accept and process applications and determine eligibility during a month(s) in which a reduction, suspension, or cancellation is in effect. If an applicant is found to be eligible for benefits and a reduction is in effect, the amount of benefits will be calculated by reducing the maximum food stamp allotment amount by the appropriate percentage for the applicant's household size and then deducting 30 percent of the household's net food stamp income from the reduced maximum food stamp allotment amount. If the applicant is found to be eligible for benefits while a suspension or cancellation is in effect, no benefits will be issued to the applicant until issuance is again authorized by FNS.
Households eligible to receive expedited processing who apply for program benefits during months in which reductions or suspensions are in effect, will have their cases processed in accordance with the expedited processing provisions of DSSM 9041. However, if a suspension is still in effect at the time the issuance is to be made, the issuance will be suspended until the suspension is ended. In the case of a cancellation, the deadline for completing the processing for expedited service will be five days or the end of the month of application, whichever date is later. All other rules pertaining to expedited service contained in DSSM 9041 will be applicable to these cases.
The reduction, suspension, or cancellation of allotments in a given month will have no effect on the certification periods assigned to households. Those participating households whose certification periods expire during a month in which allotments have been reduced, suspended, or cancelled will be recertified according to the provisions of DSSM 9091. Households found eligible to participate during a month in which allotments have been reduced, suspended, or cancelled will have certification periods assigned in accordance with the provisions of DSSM 9061.
Any household that has its allotment reduced, suspended, or cancelled as a result of an order issued by FNS in accordance with these rules may request a fair hearing if it disagrees with the action, subject to the following conditions:
Since the reduction, suspension, or cancellation would be necessary to avoid an expenditure of funds beyond those appropriated by Congress, households do not have a right to continuation of benefits pending the fair hearing. A household may receive retroactive benefits in an appropriate amount if it is determined that its benefits were reduced by more than the amount by which DSS was directed to reduce benefits.
16 Del. Admin. Code § 9000-9090