The provisions of this code relative to public social services for which state grants-in-aid are made to the counties shall be administered fairly to the end that all persons who are eligible and apply for those public social services shall receive the assistance to which they are entitled promptly, with due consideration for the needs of applicants and the safeguarding of public funds. (a) Any applicant for, or recipient or payee of, those public social services shall be informed as to the provisions of eligibility and the responsibility to report facts material to a correct determination of eligibility and grant. (b) Any applicant for, or recipient or payee of, those public social services shall be responsible for reporting accurately and completely within the applicantâs, recipientâs, or payeeâs competence those facts required pursuant to subdivision (a) and to promptly report any changes in those facts. (c) Current and future grants payable to an assistance unit may be reduced because of prior overpayments. In cases in which the overpayment was caused by agency error, grant payments shall be reduced by 5 percent of the maximum aid payment of the assistance unit. Grant payments to be adjusted because of prior overpayments because of any other reason shall be reduced by 10 percent of the maximum aid payments for the assistance unit. A recipient may have an overpayment adjustment in excess of the amounts allowable under this section if the recipient requests it. (d) A determination of ineligibility shall not be made retrospectively so as to result in an assessment of an overpayment when there is a failure on the part of an applicant or recipient to perform an act constituting a condition of eligibility, if the failure is caused by an error made by a state agency or a county welfare department, and if the amount of the grant received by the applicant or recipient would not have been different had the act been performed. (e) Prior to effectuating any reduction of current grants to recover past overpayments, the recipient shall be advised of the proposed reduction and of the recipientâs entitlement to a hearing on the propriety of the reduction. (f) If the department determines after a hearing that an overpayment has occurred, the county providing the public social services shall seek to recover the overpayment in accordance with subdivision (c), including any amount paid while the hearing process was pending. That adjustment shall be permitted concurrently with any suit for restitution, and recovery of overpayment by adjustment shall reduce by the amount of such recovery the extent of liability for restitution. (g) (1) If the individual responsible for an overpayment is no longer receiving aid under Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11200), recovery of overpayments received under that chapter shall not be attempted when the outstanding overpayments are less than two hundred fifty dollars ($250). When an overpayment collection is attempted, reasonable cost-effective efforts at collection shall be implemented. Reasonable efforts shall include notification of the amount of the overpayment and that repayment is required. The department shall define reasonable cost-effective collection methods. In cases involving fraud, every effort shall be made to collect the overpayments regardless of the amount. (2) The department may establish a threshold higher than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) if it determines that a higher threshold is more cost effective, but the department shall not set a lower threshold than that amount. (3) Notwithstanding subdivision (c), a county shall discharge an overpayment if the county determines that the overpayment has been caused by a major systemic error or negligence, as those terms are defined by the department. (h) If the individual responsible for the overpayment to the assistance unit becomes a member of another assistance unit, recovery of overpayments shall be made against the individual or
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