DSS-4357EL                                                                
WGIUPD                  GENERAL INFORMATION SYSTEM               02/06/01  
                   DIVISION:  Temporary Assistance  
          
GIS 01 TA/DC005                                                           
                                                                           
TO:  		Commissioners; IM Directors; FS Directors; EBT Coordinators;          
     		Finance Directors; WMS Coordinators; CAP Coordinators               
                                                                          
FROM:  	Patricia A. Stevens, Deputy Commissioner                            
       		Division of Temporary Assistance                                    
                                                                           
SUBJECT:  FS Cash-out Conversion                                           

                                                                           
EFFECTIVE DATE:  February 6, 2001                                          
                                                                           
CONTACT PERSON:  Tom Hedderman, 1-800-343-8859, extension 6-6939          

This is to advise the above-designated staff of Albany, Allegany, Broome, Erie, Niagara, Oneida, Onondaga, Rockland, St. Lawrence, Suffolk, and Monroe Counties that the conversion of cashed out food stamp benefits to regular food stamp benefits did not take place February 1, 2001 as scheduled.  The failure of this conversion to take place affects the food stamp benefits of those CAP participants and those elderly and disabled food stamp program participants in Monroe County who received their food stamp benefits as cash instead of food stamp coupons.

Beginning February 1, 2001, all food stamp benefits throughout the state, without exception, were to be posted to EBT food stamp benefit accounts.  Since the conversion did not take place as scheduled, food stamp benefits in the affected cases were posted instead to an EBT cash account.  This includes cases for elderly and disabled recipients in Monroe County that do not receive cash assistance of any kind.

Recipients in affected cases who attempt to purchase food by selecting the food stamp option on a store's point-of-sale (POS) device will have the transaction declined for insufficient funds.  Likewise, balance inquiries will show zero benefits in the EBT food stamp account.  If they receive inquiries from affected recipients, local district staff should inform these recipients that, contrary to what they were told in letters they received from the state and elsewhere regarding the end of food stamp cash out, food stamp benefits for the month of February were placed in their EBT cash account.  In order to use their food stamp benefits for this month to purchase food, they should select the EBT cash option on a food store's POS device.  Their food stamp benefits will be debited from their EBT cash account.

Lockheed-Martin, the contractor responsible for EBT retailer management and the client training Helpline, has notified their Helpline staff about the problem and instructed them on how they should advise callers affected by the conversion failure.  Lockheed also will be calling the retailers most likely to have customers affected by the conversion failure to advise them about the problem and how to instruct their cashiers and customer service representatives to assist affected recipients.

Funding for these cash out benefits will be from the districts cash account.  Districts will submit claims for reimbursement of these benefits to BFS just as they did under EBICS.

The WMS edit that prevents writing a food stamp payment line for CAP cases (cases having Special Program Code C) using Method of Payment Code 01 is still in effect.  When writing a food stamp payment line (Payment Types 91, 93, 94, 95, 96 and 97) for a CAP case, Method of Payment Code 10 (Food Stamp Cash Out) should continue to be used until otherwise directed.

We expect that the conversion will now take place on or about Friday, February 16, 2001.  A notice will be sent to the local districts informing them when the conversion does take place.