1142.060.00 TERMINATING A CLAIM

Terminating a claim in CARS reduces the balance owed to zero. A claim may be terminated by the system or by staff.

The system terminates claims monthly if

• the total outstanding balance of all claims for a debtor is $25.00 or less, and all claims for the debtor are delinquent 90 days, or
• the claim is over ten years old and there have been no payments by the debtor in the previous three years.

A claim is terminated for the following reasons by staff:

• The EU cannot be located.
  • Two or more pieces of correspondence mailed to the EU have been returned as undeliverable, and
  • The EU is not receiving any assistance from the Family Support Division.
• All responsible members of the claim have died.
• The agency is reversed by a hearing decision and is ordered to terminate the claim.
• The claim was established in error.

NOTE: Unable to locate a case record is NOT a reason to terminate a claim.

For instructions see CARS User Guide TERMINATING OR CLOSING A CLAIM.

1142.065.00 Closing A Claim

A claim is closed by the system if the claim is paid in full.

Division of Legal Services (DLS) and Food Stamp Program and Policy Unit staff will close a claim for the following reasons.

• A court order or administrative ruling eliminates the claim.
• The claim is written off.
• The claim is compromised.
• The claim is transferred to another state.
• An order has been issued in a bankruptcy, which stops the agency from collecting the debt.

County staff cannot close a claim. Refer to policy regarding Terminating a Claim.