Access device means any card, plate, code, account number, or other means of access that can be used alone, or in conjunction with another access device, to obtain payments, allotments, benefits, money, goods, or other things of value, or that can be used to initiate a transfer of funds under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, as amended.

Active case means a household which was certified prior to, or during, the sample month and issued SNAP benefits for the sample month.

Active case error rate means an estimate of the proportion of cases with an error in the determination of eligibility or basis of issuance. This estimate will be expressed as a percentage of the completed active quality control reviews excluding all results from cases processed by SSA personnel or participating in a demonstration project identified by FNS as having certification rules that are significantly different from standard requirements.

Adequate notice in a periodic reporting system such as monthly reporting or quarterly reporting means a written notice that includes a statement of the action the agency has taken or intends to take; the reason for the intended action; the household's right to request a fair hearing; the name of the person to contact for additional information; the availability of continued benefits; and the liability of the household for any overissuances received while awaiting a fair hearing if the hearing official's decision is adverse to the household. Depending on the timing of a State's system and the timeliness of report submission by participating households, such notice may be received prior to agency action, at the time reduced benefits are received, or, if benefits are terminated, at the time benefits would have been received if they had not been terminated. In all cases, however, participants will be allowed ten days from the mailing date of the notice to contest the agency action and to have benefits restored to their previous level. If the 10-day period ends on a weekend or a holiday and a request is received the day after the weekend or holiday, the State agency shall consider the request to be timely.

Alien Status Verification Index (ASVI) means the automated database maintained by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) which may be accessed by State agencies to verify immigration status.

Allotment means the total value of benefits a household is authorized to receive during each month or other time period.

Application form means:

Assessment an in-depth evaluation of employability skills coupled with counseling on how and where to search for employment. If combined with work experience, employment search or training, an assessment of this nature could constitute part of an approvable employment and training component.

Authorization document means an intermediary document issued by the State agency and used in an issuance system to authorize a specific benefit amount for a household.

Beginning month(s) in a Monthly Reporting and Retrospective Budgeting system means either the first month for which the household is certified for SNAP benefits (where the State agency has adopted a one month accounting system) or the first month for which the household is certified for SNAP benefits and the month thereafter (where the State agency has adopted a two month accounting system). Except for beginning months in sequence as described in the preceding sentences, a beginning month cannot be any month which immediately follows a month in which a household is certified. The month following the month of termination resulting from a one-month temporary change in household circumstances shall not be considered a beginning month.

Benefit means the value of supplemental nutrition assistance provided to a household by means of an EBT system or other means of providing assistance, as determined by the Secretary.

Benefit issuer means any office of the State agency or any person, partnership, corporation, organization, political subdivision or other entity with which a State agency has contracted for, or to which it has delegated functional responsibility, in connection with the issuance of benefits to households.

Budget month in a Monthly Reporting and Retrospective Budgeting system means the fiscal or calendar month from which the State agency uses income and other circumstances of the household to calculate the household's SNAP allotment to be provided for the corresponding issuance month.

Communal dining facility means a public or nonprofit private establishment, approved by FNS, which prepares and serves meals for elderly persons, or for supplemental security income (SSI) recipients, and their spouses, a public or private nonprofit establishment (eating or otherwise) that feeds elderly persons or SSI recipients, and their spouses, and federally subsidized housing for the elderly at which meals are prepared for and served to the residents. It also includes private establishments that contract with an appropriate State or local agency to offer meals at concessional prices to elderly persons or SSI recipients, and their spouses.

Coupon means any coupon, stamp, type of certificate, authorization card, cash or check issued in lieu of a coupon, or access device, including an electronic benefit transfer card or personal identification number issued pursuant to the provisions of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, as amended, for the purchase of eligible food.

Deficiency means any aspect of a State's program operations determined to be out of compliance with the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, FNS Regulations, or program requirements as contained in the State agency's manual, the State agency's approved Plan of Operation or other State agency plans.

Department means the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Drug addiction or alcoholic treatment and rehabilitation program means any drug addiction or alcoholic treatment and rehabilitation program conducted by a private, nonprofit organization or institution, or a publicly operated community mental health center, under part B of title XIX of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300x et seq.). Under part B of title XIX of the Public Health Service Act is defined as meeting the criteria which would make it eligible to receive funds, even if it does not actually receive funding under part B of title XIX.

Elderly or disabled member means a member of a household who:

Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) account means a set of records containing demographic, card, benefit, transaction and balance data for an individual household within the EBT system that is maintained and managed by a State or its contractor as part of the client case record.

Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card means a method to access EBT benefits issued to a household member or authorized representative through the EBT system by a benefit issuer. This method may include an on-line magnetic stripe card, an off-line smart card, a chip card, a contactless digital wallet with a stored card, or any other similar benefit access technology approved by FNS.

Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) contractor or vendor means an entity that is selected to perform EBT-related services for the State agency.

Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) system means an electronic payments system under which household benefits are issued from and stored in a central databank, maintained and managed by a State or its contractor, and uses electronic funds transfer technology for the delivery and control of food and other public assistance benefits.

Eligible foods means:

Employment and Training (E&T) component a work experience, work training, supervised job search or other program described in section 6(d)(4)(B)(i) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015(d)(4)(B)(i)) designed to help SNAP participants move promptly into unsubsidized employment.

Employment and Training (E&T) mandatory participant a supplemental nutrition assistance program applicant or participant who is required to work register under 7 U.S.C. 2015(d)(1) or (2) and who the State determines should not be exempted from participation in an employment and training program and is required to participate in E&T.

Employment and Training (E&T) participant means an individual who meets the definition of a mandatory or voluntary E&T participant.

Employment and Training (E&T) program means a program operated by each State agency consisting of case management and one or more E&T components.

Employment and Training (E&T) voluntary participant means a supplemental nutrition assistance program applicant or participant who volunteers to participate in an employment and training (E&T) program.

Error for active cases results when a determination is made by a quality control reviewer that a household which received SNAP benefits during the sample month is ineligible or received an incorrect allotment. Thus, errors in active cases involve dollar loss to either the participant or the government. For negative cases, an “error” means that the reviewer determines that the decision to deny, suspend, or terminate a household was incorrect.

Exempted for purposes of § 273.7 excluding paragraphs (a) and (b) - this term refers to a work registered person or persons excused by the State, under the conditions in § 273.7(e) from participation in an employment and training program.

Exercises governmental jurisdiction means the active exercise of the legislative, executive or judicial powers of government by an Indian tribal organization.

Federal fiscal year means a period of 12 calendar months beginning with each October 1 and ending with September 30 of the following calendar year.

Firm.

Firm's practice means the usual manner in which personnel of a firm or store accept SNAP benefits as shown by the actions of the personnel at the time of the investigation.

FNS means the Food and Nutrition Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 means the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 95-113), including any subsequent amendments thereto.

General assistance (GA) means cash or another form of assistance, excluding in-kind assistance, financed by State or local funds as part of a program which provides assistance to cover living expenses or other basic needs intended to promote the health or well-being of recipients.

Group living arrangement means a public or private nonprofit residential setting that serves no more than sixteen residents that is certified by the appropriate agency or agencies of the State under regulations issued under section 1616(e) of the Social Security Act or under standards determined by the Secretary to be comparable to standards implemented by appropriate State agencies under section 1616(e) of the Social Security Act. To be eligible for SNAP benefits, a resident of such a group living arrangement must be blind or disabled as defined in paragraphs (2) through (11) of the definition of “Elderly or disabled member” contained in this section.

Homeless individual means an individual who lacks a fixed and regular nighttime residence or an individual whose primary nighttime residence is:

Homeless meal provider means:

House-to-house trade route means any retail food business operated from a truck, bus, pushcart, or other mobile vehicle.

Identification (ID) card means a card for the purposes of 7 CFR 278.2(j).

Indian tribe means:

Indian tribal organization (ITO) means:

Insured financial institution means a financial institution insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or financial institutions which are insured under the Federal Credit Union Act and which have retail food stores or wholesale food concerns in their field of membership.

Interoperability means a system that enables program benefits issued to be redeemed outside the State that issued the benefits.

Issuance month in a Monthly Reporting and Retrospective Budgeting system means the fiscal or calendar month for which the State agency shall issue a SNAP allotment. Issuance is based upon income and circumstances in the corresponding budget month. In prospective budgeting, the budget month and issuance month are the same. In retrospective budgeting, the issuance month follows the budget month and the issuance month shall begin within 32 days after the end of the budget month.

Large project area means those project areas/management units with monthly active caseloads of more than 25,000 households based on the most current information available at the time the large project area review schedule is developed.

Low-income household means a household whose annual income does not exceed 125 percent of the Office of Management and Budget poverty guidelines.

Management Evaluation (ME) reviews means reviews conducted by States at the project area level to determine if State agencies are administering and operating SNAP in accordance with program requirements.

Management unit means an area based on a welfare district, region, or other administrative structure designated by the State agency and approved by FNS to be reviewed for ME review purposes.

Manual transaction means an EBT transaction that is processed with the use of a paper manual voucher when there is an EBT system outage.

Manual voucher means a paper document signed by the EBT cardholder that allows a retailer to redeem benefits through a manual transaction.

Master issuance file means a cumulative file containing the individual records and status of households, and the amount of benefits, if any, each household is authorized to receive.

Meal delivery service means a political subdivision, a private nonprofit organization, or a private establishment with which a State or local agency has contracted for the preparation and delivery of meals at concessional prices to elderly persons, and their spouses, and to the physically or mentally handicapped and persons otherwise disabled, and their spouses, such that they are unable to adequately prepare all of their meals.

Medicaid means medical assistance under title XIX of the Social Security Act, as amended.

Medium project area means those project areas/management units with monthly active caseloads of 5,000 to 25,000 households based on the most current information available at the time the medium project area review schedule is developed.

Minimum benefit means the minimum monthly amount of SNAP benefits that one- and two-person households receive. The amount of the minimum benefit shall be determined according to the provisions of § 273.10 of this chapter.

National performance measure means the sum of the products of each State agency's payment error rate times that State agency's proportion of the total value of the national allotments issued for the fiscal year using the most recent issuance data available at the time the State agency is notified of its performance error rate.

Negative case means any action taken to deny, suspend, or terminate a case.

Negative case error rate means an estimate of the proportion of denied, suspended, or terminated cases where the household was incorrectly denied, suspended, or terminated. This estimate will be expressed as a percentage of completed negative quality control reviews excluding all results from cases processed by SSA personnel or participating in a demonstration project identified by FNS as having certification rules that are significantly different from standard requirements.

Newly work registered SNAP participants work registered at the point of application.

Nonprofit cooperative food purchasing venture means any private nonprofit association of consumers whose members pool their resources to buy food.

Offset year means the calendar year during which offsets may be made to collect certain recipient claims from individuals' Federal income tax refunds.

Overissuance means the amount by which benefits issued to a household exceeds the amount it was eligible to receive.

Overpayment error rate means the percentage of the value of all allotments issued in a fiscal year that are either:

Payment error rate means the sum of the point estimates of two component error rates: an overpayment error rate and an underpayment error rate. Each component error rate is the value of allotments either overissued or underissued expressed as a percentage of all allotments issued to completed active sample cases, excluding those cases processed by SSA personnel or participating in certain demonstration projects designated by FNS.

Personal identification number (PIN) means a numeric code selected by or assigned to a household and used to verify the identity of an EBT cardholder when performing an EBT transaction.

Point-of-Sale (POS) terminal means a range of devices deployed at authorized retail food stores for redeeming benefits by initiating electronic debits and credits of household EBT accounts and retailer bank accounts.

Primary account number (PAN) means a number embossed or printed on the EBT card and encoded onto the card to identify the State and EBT account holder.

Project area means the county or similar political subdivision designated by a State as the administrative unit for program operations. Upon prior FNS approval, a city, Indian reservation, welfare district, or any other entity with clearly defined geographic boundaries, or any combination of such entities, may be designated as a project area, or a State as a whole may be designated as a single project area.

Prospective budgeting in a Monthly Reporting and Retrospective Budgeting system means the computation of a household's SNAP allotment for an issuance month based on an estimate of income and circumstances which will exist in that month.

Public assistance (PA) means any of the following programs authorized by the Social Security Act of 1935, as amended: Old-age assistance, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), including TANF for children of unemployed fathers, aid to the blind, aid to the permanently and totally disabled and aid to aged, blind, or disabled.

Quality control review means a review of a statistically valid sample of active and negative cases to determine the extent to which households are receiving the SNAP allotments to which they are entitled, and to determine the extent to which decisions to deny, suspend, or terminate cases are correct.

Record-for-issuance file means a file which is created monthly from the master issuance file, which shows the amount of benefits each eligible household is to receive for the issuance month, and the amount actually issued to the household.

Regulations means the provisions of this subchapter. Regulatory citations refer to provisions of this subchapter unless otherwise specified.

Reservation means the geographically defined area or areas over which an ITO exercises governmental jurisdiction so long as such area or areas are legally recognized by the Federal or a State government as being set aside for the use of Indians.

Retail food store means:

Retailer EBT Data Exchange (REDE) system means the FNS system that allows the automated exchange of authorized retailer demographic data between FNS and the State and/or EBT contractor for notification of changes in retailer Program participation.

Retrospective budgeting in a Monthly Reporting and Retrospective Budgeting system means the computation of a household's SNAP allotment for an issuance month based on actual income and circumstances which existed in a previous month, the “budget month.”

Review date for quality control active cases means a day within the sample month, either the first day of the calendar or fiscal month or the day a certification action was taken to authorize the allotment, whichever is later. The “review date” for negative cases, depending on the characteristics of individual State systems, could be the date on which the eligibility worker makes the decision to suspend, deny, or terminate the case, the date on which the decision is entered into the computer system, the date of the notice to the client or the date the negative action becomes effective. For no case is the “review date” the day the quality control review is conducted.

Review period means the 12-month period from October 1 of each calendar year through September 30 of the following calendar year.

Sample frame means a list of all units from which a sample is actually selected.

Sample month means the month of the sample frame from which a case is selected (e.g., for all cases selected from a frame consisting of households participating in January, the sample month is January).

Screening an evaluation by the eligibility worker as to whether a person should or should not be referred for participation in an employment and training program. This activity would not be considered an approvable E&T component.

Secretary means the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Shelter for battered women and children means a public or private nonprofit residential facility that serves battered women and their children. If such a facility serves other individuals, a portion of the facility must be set aside on a long-term basis to serve only battered women and children.

Small project area means those project areas/management units with monthly active caseloads of 4,999 households or fewer based on the most current information available at the time the small project area review schedule is developed.

SSA processed/demonstration case means a case that is participating or has been denied based upon processing by SSA personnel or is participating or has been denied/terminated based upon the rules of a demonstration project with significantly different certification rules (as identified by FNS).

Staple food means those food items intended for home preparation and consumption in each of the following four categories: Meat, poultry, or fish; bread or cereals; vegetables or fruits; and dairy products. The meat, poultry, or fish staple food category also includes up to three types of plant-based protein sources (i.e., nuts/seeds, beans, and peas) as well as varieties of plant-based meat analogues (e.g., tofu). The dairy products staple food category also includes varieties of plant-based dairy alternative staple food items such as, but not limited to, almond milk and soy yogurt. Hot foods are not eligible for purchase with SNAP benefits and, therefore, do not qualify as staple foods for the purpose of determining eligibility under § 278.1(b)(1) of this chapter. Commercially processed foods and prepared mixtures with multiple ingredients that do not represent a single staple food category shall only be counted in one staple food category. For example, foods such as cold pizza, macaroni and cheese, multi-ingredient soup, or frozen dinners, shall only be counted as one staple food item and will be included in the staple food category of the main ingredient as determined by FNS. Accessory food items include foods that are generally considered snack foods or desserts such as, but not limited to, chips, ice cream, crackers, cupcakes, cookies, popcorn, pastries, and candy, and other food items that complement or supplement meals, such as, but not limited to, coffee, tea, cocoa, carbonated and uncarbonated drinks, condiments, spices, salt, and sugar. Items shall not be classified as accessory food exclusively based on packaging size but rather based on the aforementioned definition and as determined by FNS. A food product containing an accessory food item as its main ingredient shall be considered an accessory food item. Accessory food items shall not be considered staple foods for purposes of determining the eligibility of any firm.

State means any one of the fifty States, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Virgin Islands of the United States, and the reservation of an Indian tribe whose ITO meets the requirements of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 for participation as a State agency.

State agency means:

State Income and Eligibility Verification System (IEVS) means a system of information acquisition and exchange for purposes of income and eligibility verification which meets the requirements of section 1137 of the Social Security Act, generally referred to as the IEVS.

State Wage Information Collection Agency (SWICA) means the State agency administering the State unemployment compensation law, another agency administering a quarterly wage reporting system, or a State agency administering an alternative system which has been determined by the Secretary of Labor, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to be as effective and timely in providing employment related income and eligibility data as the two just mentioned agencies.

Sub-units means the physical location of an organizational entity within a project area/management unit involved in the operation of SNAP, excluding Post Offices.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP or Program) means the program operated pursuant to the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008.

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) means monthly cash payments made under the authority of:

Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) means the INS program whereby State agencies may verify the validity of documents provided by aliens applying for SNAP benefits by obtaining information from a central data file.

Thrifty food plan means the diet required to feed a family of four persons consisting of a man and a woman 20 through 50, a child 6 through 8, and a child 9 through 11 years of age, determined in accordance with the Secretary's calculations. The cost of such diet shall be the basis for uniform allotments for all households regardless of their actual composition. In order to develop maximum SNAP allotments, the Secretary shall make household size and other adjustments in the Thrifty Food Plan taking into account economies of scale and other adjustments as required by law.

Trafficking means:

Underissuance means the amount by which the allotment to which the household was entitled exceeds the allotment which the household received.

Underissuance error rate. (See Underpayment error rate.)

Underpayment error rate means the ratio of the value of allotments underissued to recipient households to the total value of allotments issued in a fiscal year by a State agency.

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) means the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Universe means all units for which information is desired.

Variance means the incorrect application of policy and/or a deviation between the information that was used to authorize the sample month issuance and the verified information that should have been used to calculate the sample month issuance.

Wholesale food concern means an establishment which sells eligible food to retail food stores or to meal services for resale to households.