FAA5.J Benefit Replacement and EBT Cards : 04 Special Participant EBT Usage
Special Participant EBT Usage
Information on this page refers to the Nutrition Assistance program Information on this page refers to the Cash Assistance program
Special participant Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) situations include group living arrangements (GLA) and homebound or itinerant participants.
Policy
Participants residing in a drug and alcohol treatment center (DAATC) or a group living arrangement(g) facility may be eligible when the facility is certified by the Food and Nutrition Service(g) or meets the definition of a Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) authorized institution.
NOTE When the participant is required to apply for NA through the group living arrangement (GLA) authorized representative or resides in an authorized DAATC, a signed Designation of EBT Alternate Cardholder (FAA-1004A) form needs to be provided.
When a participant leaves the certified or authorized institution, the participant is required to contact FAA to have the authorized institution removed as their alternate cardholder.
FNS Certified Institutions
Facilities that are certified through FNS can deduct NA benefits from the participant’s EBT account in any of the following ways:
Point of Sale (POS) device
Offline Food Stamp Voucher form
Use of alternate cardholder EBT cards at authorized stores
The use of a POS devise or Offline Food Stamp Voucher allows NA amounts deducted from each EBT Primary Payee's account to be credited to the certified institution’s financial account. The certified institution can purchase the resident’s food without having to take many different EBT cards to the store.
An EBT Primary Payee who leaves the certified institution may be entitled to all or part of the NA EBT benefits already deducted from their account. In this situation, the certified institution completes an NA purchase refund. This can be completed either through the POS device or by using the Offline Food Stamp Voucher. The NA purchase refund debits the certified institution’s daily transactions and credits the EBT Primary Payee's NA account.
FNS Authorized Institution
Authorized institutions can deduct NA benefits from the participant’s EBT account using the alternate cardholder EBT cards at authorized stores.
An EBT Primary Payee who leaves the authorized institution may be entitled to all or part of the NA EBT benefits already deducted from their account. In this situation the authorized institution notifies FAA to complete an NA purchase refund.
Issuance for Homebound or Itinerant Participants
Participants who are homebound are encouraged to choose an authorized representative or an EBT Alternate Cardholder.
Legal Authorities
last revised 10/10/2023