SR 00-37 Dated 10/00

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

INTER-DEPARTMENT COMMUNICATION

?3This SR releases the 2000 increases to the maximum food stamp allotments and the gross and net income limits in the Food Stamp Program. The annual review of the standard utility allowances resulted in an increase in the Heat and Utilities Standard and a decrease in the Utilities Only Standard. The Telephone Standard remained the same as 1999.

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act requires that the standard deduction and the homeless shelter allowance remain unchanged from last year, while the excess shelter expense deduction increased from $275 to $300. The dependent care deduction also remained unchanged.

FSM 600, Tables E, F, G, and I, were revised to incorporate the updated allotment, income, and standard utility allowance figures. In addition, this SR releases policy clarifications and technical corrections to FSM 500. See the Unrelated Technical Corrections section of this SR for further information.

For reference purposes District Offices will be sent a hard copy of the Basis of Issuance Tables provided by the Food and Nutrition Service.

POLICY

Revised Food Stamp Manual Topics

PART 511  COMMON TYPES OF INCOME: BOARDER INCOME

PART 511  COMMON TYPES OF INCOME: JOB TRAINING EARNINGS

PART 601, TABLE E FOOD STAMP MAXIMUM MONTHLY INCOME LIMITS

PART 601, TABLE F MAXIMUM FOOD STAMP ALLOTMENTS

PART 601, TABLE G DETERMINING FOOD STAMP ALLOTMENTS

PART 601, TABLE I  FOOD STAMP DEDUCTIONS

Increased Allotment Amounts and Gross and Net Income Limits

Allotment amounts and gross and net income limits for all group sizes are part of the mass change and will increase as noted below, effective October 1, 2000.

1 Gross and net income limits do not apply to categorically eligible households (all members receive or are eligible for PA and/or SSI).

Utility and Deduction Amounts

The following standards have increased as noted below:

 the Heat and Utility Standard from $339 to $366; and

 the excess shelter expense deduction from $275 to $300.

The heat and utility standard increased due to the sharp rate increase that affected heating fuels in New England beginning the winter of 1999-2000. Rates have remained high throughout the summer and it is anticipated that the rates will increase even more during the winter months, unless we have an unseasonably warm winter. The 1999-2000 rate increase was caused by several factors including a sudden cold snap, lower than usual reserves due to several warm winters, fuel transportation difficulties, and lowered OPEC production.

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) section 809(e) mandates the increase in the excess shelter expense deduction.

The following standards have remained the same as last year:

 the Telephone Standard at $28.

 the standard deduction at $134;

 the homeless shelter allowance at $143; and

 the dependent care deduction at $200 for a child under two and $175 for a child two or over.

Although the Non-Carrier Fee was eliminated this year, the End-user Fee increased, subsequently causing the telephone standard to remain the same as last year.

PRWORA section 809(e) mandates that the standard deduction, homeless shelter allowance, and dependent care deduction remain the same.

The following standard decreased as noted below:

 the Utilities Only Standard from $219 to $203;

The methodology to obtain the Utilities Only Standard was reviewed and altered to more accurately reflect actual utility costs. The revised methodology subsequently resulted in a slight decrease. FNS approved the change in methodology on September 8, 2000.

PROCEDURES

Food Stamp Households Sharing a Utility Expense

Certain food stamp households have a prorated utility standard either because they share utility costs or are subject to a prorated utility standard due to an excluded member. Each type of prorated standard and required District Office action is addressed below.

Cases Whose Utility Standard is Prorated Due to An Excluded Member

No District Office pre-mass change action is required for cases whose utility standard is prorated due to an excluded member. New HEIGHTS will automatically recalculate the household’s new prorated utility amount during the mass change based on the utility standard to which the household is entitled.

Cases Whose Utility Standard is Prorated Due to Shared Utilities

Before the mass change is run, New HEIGHTS will generate a report of open food stamp cases with a prorated utility standard due to shared utility expenses. The report will specifically identify cases with potential errors in utility amounts based on information provided on the Standard Utility Screen. This report will be sent to District Offices prior to the mass change.

Examples of cases listed on the report will be as follows:

 households whose utility amount is other than 1/2 or 1/3 of the Telephone, Utilities Only, or Heat and Utilities Standard;

 households that are shown as having no utility type on the Standard Utility Screen, but who have a utility amount entered; and

 households that have the wrong utility amount entered for the specific utility type, such as a household that is listed as having only the Telephone Standard, but which has an amount for a prorated Utilities Only Standard.

Because many of the prorated utility cases are exactly 1/2 or 1/3 of the appropriate standards, New HEIGHTS has been programmed to convert any food stamp cases from 1/2 or 1/3 of the old standard to the new standard. District Offices must identify cases that are incorrectly coded, coded as having a prorated standard when the full standard should be allowed, or coded as having prorated utility amounts other than 1/2 or 1/3 of the appropriate standard, in order to make any corrections before the mass change. Any overissuance or underissuance resulting from an incorrect utility total must be corrected according to policy.

NEW HEIGHTS CHANGES

 The maximum allotment amounts, gross and net income limits for all group sizes, and the updated telephone, utilities and heat and utility standards will be programmed into New HEIGHTS in September, but will not be used to calculate food stamp eligibility and benefits until October 1, 2000.

 The mass change for open cases will be run after the close of business on September 29, 2000.

 Cases in an advance notice period for closing will not be selected for the mass change.

 Cases in advance notice for a decrease will be recomputed as part of the mass change.

 The major run for October will follow the mass change on September 30, 2000.

 Following the mass change, food stamp closings will be run September 30, 2000 to terminate all cases with a redetermination date of September 25, 2000.

POST MASS CHANGE REPORTS

The reports described below will be produced as a result of the Mass Change.

PNCMC600A-MC: All Cases Selected for Mass Change

This report lists all cases that were selected for the Mass Change, including cases that were successfully confirmed as shown on PNMC540-MC and those that were not confirmed (exceptions shown on PNMC550-MC). This report is sorted by District Office and contains the following information: D.O., Worker Name, Client Name, Case Number, and household size.

PNMC600B-MC: Cases Prior to Mass Change

This report shows the pre-mass mass change status of cases that were selected for the Mass Change. It contains the following information: D.O., Worker Name, Client Name, Case Number, and Household Size.

PNMC540-MC: Mass Change Successes

This report lists all cases which the Mass Change ran successfully through confirmation. It contains the following information: D.O., Worker Name, Client Name, and Case Number.

PNMC550-MC: Mass Change Exception Report

This report shows cases that were selected for computation during the Mass Change, but were not confirmed due to some discrepancy in data. These cases require further District Office action. It contains the following information: D.O., Worker Name, Client Name, Case Number, Reason for Exception, and Mass Change Type.

The latter two reports described above, PNMC540-MC and PNMC550-MC, are produced on a daily basis. These reports will be available on CADocView October 2, 2000.

UNRELATED TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS

 FSM 511, BOARDER INCOME, was revised to remove the example as policy is clear without it.

 FSM 511, JOB TRAINING EARNINGS, was reorganized for clarity. The reference to the Job Partnership Training Act (JTPA) was replaced with the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998. As of July 1, 2000, the WIA replaced JTPA providing services to individuals under the same programs that JTPA funded.

/t After the mass change is run, all benefits generated by New HEIGHTS on or after October 1, 2000, will be calculated using the new amounts.

 Tables and Standards sections for benefits prior to October 1, 2000 need not be retained for reference for retroactive benefits because New HEIGHTS will hold them internally and automatically use them for calculating benefits for eligibility periods prior to October 1, 2000.

CLIENT NOTIFICATION

The following NOD reason message is generated for cases having an increase as a result of the mass change:

ON OCTOBER 1, FEDERAL AND STATE CHANGES INCREASED INCOME LIMITS, THE AMOUNTS OF CERTAIN DEDUCTIONS, AND THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF FOOD STAMPS YOU CAN RECEIVE. YOUR FOOD STAMP BENEFITS HAVE BEEN ADJUSTED TO REFLECT THESE CHANGES. POLICY ITEM: FOOD STAMP MANUAL CHAPTER 600.

Although no closings or decreases related to this mass change are anticipated, negative actions that occur will use a standard message already on New HEIGHTS. No additional client notification is planned.

TRAINING

No training is required or planned for this routine change.

DISPOSITION

This SR may be deleted or destroyed once its contents have been noted, its posting instructions carried out, and the revised manual topics released by this SR have been posted to the On-Line Food Stamp Manual.

DISTRIBUTION

This SR will be distributed according to the electronic distribution list for Division of Family Assistance policy releases. This SR, and revised On-Line Manuals, will be available for agency staff in the On-Line Manual Library, and for public access on the Internet at http://www.dhhs.state.nh.us/PMIndex.htm, effective October 2, 2000.

This SR, and printed pages with posting instructions, will be distributed under separate cover to all hard copy holders of the Food Stamp Manual.

DFA/JBV:s