TN 1 (01-05)

NOTE: On April 1, 2009, SSA changed its policy of not paying fleeing felons. Follow the instructions below only for felony warrants with offense codes 4901, 4902, or 4999. Follow the Martinez settlement instructions in GN 02613.860 – GN 02613.885 for all other felony warrant codes.

On May 9, 2011, SSA changed its policy and no longer suspends or denies benefits or payments based solely on a probation or parole violation warrant (i.e., warrants with offense codes 5011, 5012, 8101, 8102, or 9999 or “Blank” and an offense charge symbol of “probation or parole violation”). Follow the Clark Court Order instructions in GN 02615.100 – GN 02615.190 for all probation or parole violation warrants.

We will make additional changes to this section, as necessary, in the future.

A. Background

The Fugitive Felon Automation Program (FFAP) is designed to automate the suspension action and notices for most SSI fugitive felon (FF) cases. Some cases will be excluded from the process and will still require FO action to process the N25 suspension action, post remarks to the SSR, and send the manual notice.

B. Procedure – how cases are processed by FFAP

Each week a file of the FF cases slated to be referred to the FO will be input into FFAP. One of the following results will occur:

• A majority of cases will be fully automated by FFAP. The period of N25 will be posted to the SSR and the appropriate notice sent. The notice will be available on Online Retrieval System (ORS).

• Some cases will be partially processed. The period of N25 will be posted and the notice sent, but field office review is required to determine if additional action is needed.

• A few cases will be excluded from the automated process and referred to the field office for manual processing.

• A small number of cases will be returned to OIG due to insufficient information.

NOTE: Cases fully or partially processed will reflect a transaction by F02 and Unit FFAP in the TRAN segment on the SSR.

C. Procedure -- notification for field office action

For each case that would have been generated to an FO, an e-mail will be sent to that servicing FO with the OI-5D information. The e-mail will notify you that the case was processed to completion, partially processed, excluded from automation or returned to OIG. The e-mail will explain what action is required.

1. Is any action required on fully automated cases?

FFAP automates the fugitive felon development, but not the representative payee development required by GN 00504.100. When the field office receives the e-mail notification of the completed case, they must query the Representative Payee System (RPS). If the fugitive felon is a payee, determine whether a continued suitability review is needed. Until an ongoing RPS/Fugitive Felon interface is operational, this action must be done by the field office.

2. Which cases will be partially processed by the system?

The following cases will have N25 posted, the notice sent, and feedback sent to OIG, but will require FO review and possible action:

1. The individual was arrested and the period of incarceration must be verified. Use the information provided in the record to identify the warrant issuing agency or the institution/jail to contact to verify/resolve incarceration questions.

2. The SSR RMKS segment is full and the automated process is unable to add the required remark. The FO must add warrant information to the RMKS segment.

3. The period of N25 spans two or more records. The FO must post the period of N25 to prior records.

3. Which cases will be excluded from the new system?

• A pending claim on the SSR.

• The SSR is a couple’s record.

• The SSR is in M01/M02,T33 payment status.

• The payment status on the record cannot be overlaid by N25. (See POMS SM 01305.001H. for restrictions regarding overlaying payment status codes.

4. How do we notify OIG about the action taken on partially processed or excluded cases?

Complete the OI-5E on the FFAP system. Click on the “View OI-5D” button then select the “Complete the OI-5E” option on the screen. The screen will be partially pre-filled with information propagated from the OI-5D. Fill in the blocks in the same manner as on the e-mail or paper version of the OI-5E.

When you are finished completing the OI-5E, carefully review the entries before clicking on “Clear the OI-5E”. After clicking on the clearance button, you will receive a confirmation screen. Once the “Clearance Date” is posted to FFAP the case will drop from the FO FFMI pending list the following week. You will not need to send the RFFC or OIG anything via fax or email.

Once you click on the “Clear the OI-5E” button and you discover that you have made a data entry error, you will need to notify the RFFC on the error and the item(s) to be corrected. If you need information from OIG, please contact your RFFC via email or phone. DO NOT CONTACT OIG. All warrant information is available on the FFAP website.

D. Procedure – field office action needed

OIG will submit fugitive felon case referrals through FFAP to the SSA office servicing the SSI recipient’s address on record at the time the referral is made.

SSA field office personnel are to handle these incoming receipts as a priority workload. Processing of this workload must occur within 30 days of receipt from OIG. The date that the FO receives the referral should approximate the “SSA Referred To” date entered into the National Investigative Case Management System (NICMS) for that case. The FO fugitive felon pending lists track the age of the case in the FO based on the NICMS “SSA Referred” date.

1. Data missing

If any of the data is missing, send an email to OIG’s ^Fugitive Felon mailbox to request the missing information. In the Subject Line of the email, include your District Office (DO) code.

Otherwise, review the Form OI-5D and the SSR and make an adjudicative decision regarding the proper period of ineligibility, considering the rules of administrative finality, if appropriate.

2. Manual notice

Suppress the automated notice (used for first party reports) and prepare a manual notice (available on DPS) in all OIG referral cases, i.e., third party reports. The DPS notice tells the recipient that SSA cannot resume SSI payments until the warrant is satisfied with the law enforcement agency. It provides the recipient with the warrant issuing agency's name, address, and phone number, as well as information about the warrant.

Refer to SI 00530.017 to prepare the Notice of Planned Action.

E. Procedure -- completing the OI-5E

When processing fugitive felon cases, field office personnel are required to complete an electronic OI-5E feedback form to advise OIG of the results of the fugitive felon referral so that clearance data is transmitted by OIG to FFMI.

If payments are suspended, complete the OI-5E with the following information:

• payments were suspended on (mm/dd/yy) – insert date that OI-5E was completed;

• monthly payment at time of suspension;

• total overpayment; and

• name, title and telephone number of person completing form.

If payments are not suspended, the OI-5E should be completed and submitted to explain why no action is required. (Refer to SI 00530.015C.7.). Otherwise, the case will remain pending on the FO FFMI listing.

Refer to SI 00530.025 “Deferral of Overpayment Recovery”