Section 821 - Disqualification of Fleeing Felons

Q. Is the State required to use a database to identify fleeing felons?

A. No. If the State becomes aware of a fleeing felon from any source, it must act on the information. Any further requirements may be addressed by regulation.

Q. What is expected of States in terms of tracking fleeing felons?

A. States should either ask the household during the interview or on the application if a member is a fleeing felon or develop some matching system with a law enforcement agency. There will be no FNS national database on these people. The DRS system will not be used. States may, but are not required to, check with other States.

Q. If a law enforcement officer asks for information on a fleeing felon who is a recipient, does the State agency have to take action to make the person ineligible for food stamps? This could interfere with the police investigation.

A. While the State agency must take action on known information that could affect a household's food stamp benefits, it may delay taking such action if the police ask the State to delay the action because it could interfere with their investigation or apprehension of the fleeing felon.

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