4035 Over-Collection of Claims

Georgia State Seal

GEORGIA DIVISION OF FAMILY AND CHILDREN SERVICES
BENEFIT RECOVERY POLICY MANUAL

Chapter:

4035

Effective Date:

December 2019

Policy Title:

Over-Collection of Claims

Reviewed or Updated in:

MT-11

Policy Number:

4035

Previous Update:

MT-10

Requirements

Over-collections occur when the State receives and posts more money than the balance owed or when over-collection payment is posted in error. Involuntary payments include grant reduction, Federal or State tax refunds and other benefits due to the customer.

Basic Considerations

When a claim is over-collected, the balance must be corrected as soon as possible.

Over-collected funds must be returned to the customer in the same form as received:

  • Cash payment – Apply to existing Food Stamp / TANF Childcare debt or refund from state funds.

  • Benefit Reduction/Benefit Offset – Apply to existing debt in the same program or return funds to EBT account for the appropriate benefit program.

  • State Income Tax Intercepts – Apply to existing Food Stamp / TANF / Childcare debt or refund from County GIA funds.

  • Federal Benefit Intercept – Apply to existing Food Stamp debt or notify Office of Inspector General (OIG) staff that a refund is required. All refunds generated via Federal benefit must be processed by OIG staff.

Food Stamp over-collections resulting from expunged benefits are not returned to the EBT account. Over-collections due to expungement are transferred and applied to another Food Stamp claim.

Over-collected claims can be identified on the Benefit Recovery Management Active Claims Report by County (CLM-007), which must be monitored monthly.