Under certain conditions, we may replace your
benefits.
(1) You may get either your
EBT cash or food assistance, or both replaced if:
(a) We make a mistake that causes you to lose
benefits;
(b) The EBT card mailed
to you is stolen from the mail, you never had the ability to use the benefits,
and you lost benefits;
(c) You left
a drug or alcohol treatment facility on or before the 15th of the month and the
facility does not have enough food assistance benefits in their EBT account for
one-half of the allotment that they owe you;
(d) Your EBT benefits that were recently
deposited into an inactive EBT account were canceled by mistake; or
(e) The food that your household purchased
with food assistance benefits was destroyed in a household disaster or
misfortune; and
(i) You reported the loss to
the department within 10 days from the date of the loss; and
(ii) You submitted a signed statement
attesting to the household's loss within 10 days from the date the loss was
reported.
(iii) We replace the
amount of your loss up to a one-month benefit amount.
(iv) There is no limit to the number of
replacements for food destroyed in a household misfortune.
(f) Your food benefits were stolen, despite
your EBT card being in your possession, via card skimming, cloning, or other
similar fraudulent method between October 1, 2022, and December 20, 2024, or on
the date that the federal government ends the requirement that food benefits
must be replaced, whichever is later; and
(i)
The head of household of your assistance unit submitted a completed and signed
claim within 30 days of discovering the loss; and
(ii) You have not already received two food
replacements in the current federal fiscal year.
(iii) We replace the amount of your loss or
the amount of twice your food assistance allotment that was issued immediately
prior to the date of the theft, whichever is less.
(iv) Retroactive claims for food assistance
stolen between October 1, 2022, and August 22, 2023, must be reported no later
than October 22, 2023.
(v)
Replacement of benefits stolen via card skimming, cloning, or other similar
method is contingent upon federal approval.
(g) Your cash benefits were stolen, despite
your EBT card being in your possession, via card skimming, cloning, or other
similar fraudulent method on or after July 1, 2024; and
(i) The head of household of your assistance
unit submitted a completed and signed claim within 30 days of discovering the
loss; and
(ii) You have not already
received two cash replacements in the current federal fiscal year;
and
(iii) You received cash
benefits through one of these programs: temporary assistance for needy families
(TANF), state family assistance (SFA), pregnant women assistance (PWA), refugee
cash assistance (RCA), or aged, blind, or disabled (ABD) cash
assistance.
(iv) We replace the
amount of your loss or the amount of twice your cash assistance allotment that
was issued immediately prior to the date of the theft, whichever is
less.
(v) Replacement of cash
benefits stolen via card skimming, cloning, or other similar method will end on
December 20, 2024, or on the date that the federal government ends the
requirement that food benefits must be replaced, whichever is later.
(vi) Replacement of cash benefits stolen via
card skimming, cloning, or other similar method will end if state funds
appropriated for this purpose are exhausted.
(2) We will not replace your benefits if:
(a) We decided that your request is
fraudulent or skimming is not validated;
(b) Your EBT card was lost, stolen, or
misplaced except for (1)(b) of this section;
(c) You are pending an administrative hearing
decision regarding a denial of replacement benefits. You have the right to an
administrative hearing if your request for replacement benefits is denied;
or
(d) You received disaster
supplemental nutrition assistance program (D-SNAP) benefits for the same month
you requested a replacement for food assistance.
(3) It is your responsibility to keep track
of your household's EBT card.
(a) If you have
multiple EBT cards replaced, we may suspect you to be trafficking benefits as
described under WAC
388-412-0046
(2)(d).
(b) If we suspect trafficking, we will refer
your case for investigation by the office of fraud and accountability. Persons
trafficking in food assistance benefits may be subject to fines,
disqualification from food assistance, and legal action including criminal
prosecution.
