Sec. 22.0252. TELEPHONE COLLECTION PROGRAM

(a) The department shall use the telephone to attempt to collect reimbursement from a person who receives a benefit granted in error under the food stamp program or the program of financial assistance under Chapter 31.

(b) The department shall submit to the governor, the Legislative Budget Board, and the Health and Human Services Commission a semiannual report on the operation and success of the telephone collection program. The report may be consolidated with any other report relating to the same subject that the department is required to submit under other law.

(c) The department shall ensure that the telephone collection program attempts to collect reimbursement for all identified delinquent payments for which 15 days or more have elapsed since the initial notice of delinquency was sent to the recipient.

(d) The department shall use an automated collections system to monitor the results of the telephone collection program. The system must:

(1) accept data from the accounts receivable tracking system used by the department;

(2) automate recording tasks performed by a collector, including providing access to department records regarding the recipient and recording notes and actions resulting from a call placed to the recipient;

(3) automatically generate a letter to a recipient following a telephone contact that confirms the action to be taken regarding the delinquency;

(4) monitor the receipt of scheduled payments from a recipient for repayment of a delinquency; and

(5) generate reports regarding the effectiveness of individual collectors and of the telephone collection program.

Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1153, Sec. 1.01(a), eff. Sept. 1, 1997. Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 206, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.