SR 01-28 Dated 10/01

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

INTER-DEPARTMENT COMMUNICATION

/Á*This SR releases the 2001 annual update 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 Telephone-Only Standard and a decrease in the Heat and Utilities, Utilities-Only, and Electric-Only Standards.

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 $340 to $354. 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 200 and 400. See the Unrelated Policy Clarifications and Unrelated Technical Correction sections 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.

/¡MRevised Food Stamp Manual Topics

PART 409 COMMON TYPES OF RESOURCES: EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT PLANS

PART 409 COMMON TYPES OF RESOURCES: INDIVIDUAL RETIREMENT ACCOUNT

PART 409 COMMON TYPES OF RESOURCES: KEOGH PLAN

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, 2001.

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 standard and deduction have increased as noted below:

·   the Telephone-Only Standard from $28 to $29; and

·   the Excess Shelter Expense Deduction from $340 to $354.

Due to new or increased fees, the Telephone-Only Standard increased 5.04%. The Excess Shelter Expense Deduction is a federally mandated figure.

The following deductions have remained the same as last year:

·   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.

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

The following standards decreased as noted below:

·   the Utilities-Only Standard from $203 to $183;

·   the Electric-Only Standard from $125 to $102; and

·   the Heat and Utility Standard from $366 to $357.

Due to restructuring and rate reductions, electric rates have decreased approximately 18.39% from last year, causing decreases in all the Food Stamp Utility Standards which contain a cost component for electricity.

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

If not already entered, enter the number of households sharing the utility. New HEIGHTS will automatically recalculate the household’s new prorated utility amount during the mass change based on the utility standard in the reference table.

If the shared amounts are not divided equally (e.g., one person pays 13% and the other person pays 87%), enter the amount the household pays on the "Actual Utility Cost" screen in the "Expense/Shelter/Utility" folder.

NEW HEIGHTS CHANGES

The maximum allotment amounts, gross and net income limits for all group sizes, and the updated Telephone-Only, Electric-Only, Utilities-Only 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, 2001.

·   Food stamp closings will be run September 28, 2001 to terminate all cases with a redetermination date of September 25, 2001.

·   The mass change for open cases will be run on September 29, 2001.

-   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, 2001.

POST MASS CHANGE REPORTS

The reports described below will be produced as a result of the Mass Change. These reports will be available on CADocView shortly after October 1, 2001.

NMC600RA: Status After MC

This report lists all cases that were selected for the Mass Change, including cases that were successfully confirmed as shown on NMC540RA and those that were not confirmed (exceptions shown on NMC550RA). This report is sorted by District Office and contains the following information: D.O., Worker Name, Client Name, Case Number, and household size.

NMC600RB: Status Before MC

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.

NMC540RA: AG’s Affected by MC

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

NMC550RA: MC Exception

This report lists cases that were selected for 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.

UNRELATED POLICY CLARIFICATIONS

Except for Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA) and Non-contractual Keogh plans, retirement plans are not counted when determining resource eligibility for the Food Stamp program. Retirement plans that are not counted include, but are not restricted to, such plans as 401K's, the Federal Employees' Retirement Thrift Savings Plan, and Section 403(b) plans. To clarify existing policy, new topic, EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT PLANS, has been created in FSM PART 409, COMMON TYPES OF RESOURCES, to combine treatment of retirement plans into one section, and topics INDIVIDUAL RETIREMENT ACCOUNT and KEOGH PLAN have been replaced with links to the new topic.

UNRELATED TECHNICAL CHANGE

FSM policy pages 211.09, Who May Be Members, and 213, REQUIRED VERIFICATION, were linked to incorrect SR 97-09. The policies are now correctly linked to SR 94-04, dated 4/94. No other changes were made to these pages.

IMPLEMENTATION

·   After the mass change is run, all benefits generated by New HEIGHTS on or after October 1, 2001, will be calculated using the new amounts.

·   Tables and Standards sections for benefits prior to October 1, 2001 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, 2001.

CLIENT NOTIFICATION

Households experiencing an increase in food stamp benefits due to the mass change will receive a standard New HEIGHTS notice of increase.

Households experiencing a decrease in food stamp benefits due to the mass change will receive a standard New HEIGHTS notice of decrease. In addition, the following reason message will appear on the Notice of Decision:

Every October 1st, the federal government updates the income limits and the maximum amount of food stamps you can receive. At the same time, the State updates the amounts of certain deductions we use to figure your food stamp benefit amount based on a statewide survey of utility costs. When we refigured your food stamp benefits using these updates, your monthly benefit changed. Food Stamp Manual Chapter 600.

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 and the revised manual topics released by this SR have been posted to the On-Line 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 1, 2001.

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