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Special Investigations Advisory Committee
January 6, 2004
Wake Commons Building
Raleigh, NC
Shelia Dorsett called the meeting to order. The December minutes were approved with 1 correction. This correction was the 3 rd paragraph, 2 nd sentence, which should have read: Any new referrals need to be reported to USDA/FNS. You may feel free to communicate with the new investigator, Calvin Bullock.
Due to the fact that Brenda Porter and Shara Britt were unable to attend the meeting, there were no updates from DMA.
Marilyn Carpenter, USDA, reported there were 42 disqualifications for the year 2003.
Debbie Knowles, DSS, reported that tax season is upon us. She stated there is a change in the DOR collection charge for clients. The new rate is $4.42 this year instead of $4.32. There has been no word regarding whether TOP has been affected. At this time, it appears the rate will be the same as last year, which is $13.20. The interest rate is 5% for any DOR overcollections. Be sure to check all reports regarding tax intercepts to determine whether a client should be excluded from tax intercept.
Food Stamp collections for the previous quarter were:
IPV--$294,318.35
IHE--$313,737.00
AE---$144,174.00
Total---$750,230.00
The retention amount the state office kept was $165,748.00.
Debbie stated that David Locklear, from Robeson County, is the new FS consultant in the State Office. He will officially begin January 12, 2004. His e-mail address is david.locklear@ncmail.net .
No report from Director's Association. There was discussion regarding who will replace Paul Burge as Co-Chair for SIAC due to his retirement. At this time, there has been no word from the Director's Association regarding co-chairs. Discussion was also brought up regarding the involvement of NCSSA. SIAC will follow up with NCSSA to get the Program Integrity Special Committee back in progress.
There was no update from the Planning Committee due to Diane Daniels' absence.
Shelia Dorsett did state the registration packets for the 2004 conference will be mailed to all directors on January 15, 2004. These will also be sent out on List Serve (which all directors have access to). Check with your directors if you do not receive a copy of this packet.
Sub Committee Reports:
Day Care Committee:
Sherry Arnold stated the Day Care Case in Lee County through the court system is still left open at this time due to DHHS has a period of time to argue the decision made by the courts. The Day Care Committee has drafted a letter to DHHS.
There were no other committee reports.
It was suggested that for the next meeting, the sub-committees meet at 10:00 a.m. instead of 9:30 due to some people having problems getting to the meetings. It was decided that we will plan this for February. The regular SIAC meeting will still be at 10:30. If it appears more time is needed for sub-committees, this will be discussed at a later time.
Disqualification Consent Agreements were discussed. This was done by the Office of the Inspector General and the question is whether this agreement is still valid. Shelia had gone thru the form and noted 2 changes for Food Stamps only that needed correcting. The group decided to send this out to the counties to look over and see if anyone else can find any other changes that need to be made. Vickie Huskey, who originally designed this form, stated it can still be used. Any investigators that use the DCAs for deferred prosecution are encouraged to e-mail any suggestions to Linda Peters for the next SIAC meeting.
ACTS has now changed in what can be reported to caseworkers and investigators. A letter was sent out dated 12/19/03 regarding these changes. Because of how this affects investigators, it was mentioned that at the next meeting to have someone from child support and policy people to meet with us so this could be discussed.
It was also discussed how the new Food Stamp policy has affected the investigators. A suggestion was made that all “Nightmare Stories” (such as deceased people still receiving Food Stamps) to the next meeting.
The next meeting will be February 10 at the Albert Coats Building.
The meeting was adjourned.
Respectfully submitted by:
Linda C. Peters
SIAC Secretary
