SR 15-25 Dated 10/15

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

INTER-DEPARTMENT COMMUNICATION

SUMMARY

This SR releases the 2015 annual Food Stamp (FS) Program updates to:

·      the minimum and maximum benefit allotments;

·      the gross and net income limits;

·      the standard utility allowances (SUAs);

·      the resource limit for FS households with a disabled member or household member age 60 or older (target population) and for the non-target population; and

·      certain income deductions.

DFA Form 215, Reporting Requirements Handout, it associated instructions, DFA Form 215(i), and its associated Spanish and Nepali translations, DFA Form 215(Sp) and DFA Form 215(Ne), as well as the Food Stamp 130% Reporting Requirements Poster, have been revised accordingly.

Additionally, this SR releases an unrelated technical correction to FSM PART 511, COMMON TYPES OF INCOME: RENTAL INCOME.

POLICY

Minimum & Maximum Benefit Allotments and Gross and Net Income Limits

The Food Stamp (FS) gross and net income limits for all group sizes have been updated as noted below, effective October 1, 2015. The maximum and minimum benefit allotments remain unchanged.

1Gross income limits do not apply to the elderly and disabled Target Population.

The minimum FS allotment for household sizes of 1-2 remains unchanged at $16.

Target and Non-Target Population Resource Limit

The resource limit for FS households with a disabled member or household member age 60 or older (target population) remains the same at $3,250.

The resource limit for non-target FS households remains the same at $2,250.

Standard Utility Allowances

Effective October 1, 2015, the Standard Utility Allowances are as follows:

Income Deductions

Effective October 1, 2015, the Standard Deduction is as follows:

·      the Excess Shelter Expense Deduction increased from $490 to $504;

·      the Homeless Shelter Allowance remains unchanged at $143; and

·      the Medical Deduction increased from $83 to $115.

Extended Food Stamp Benefits

Extended Food Stamp (EFS) benefit allotments will be updated to reflect the current Food Stamp federal deductions effective 10/1/15. Refer to Food Stamp Manual PART 249, EXTENDED FOOD STAMPS (EFS), for more information about EFS benefits.

NEW HEIGHTS SYSTEMS PROCEDURES AND IMPLEMENTATION

New HEIGHTS has been programmed to calculate FS eligibility and benefits using the new figures for the October 1, 2015 issuance. The 2015 October FS Mass Change schedule will run from Tuesday, September 8 through Friday, September 18, 2015, excluding Saturdays and Sundays. This year New HEIGHTS will be running the mass change by case number instead of by District Office because the Food Stamp cases are unevenly distributed throughout the state. Workers will need to monitor the following MC reports each day they are run.

POST MASS CHANGE REPORTS

The reports below are produced as a result of the October Mass Change. These reports are available in New HEIGHTS each subsequent working day after the mass change is run.

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 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. The report contains the following information: D.O., Worker Name, Client Name, Case Number, Reason for Exception, and Mass Change Type.

DESCRIPTION OF REVISIONS MADE TO FORMS

DFA Form 215, Reporting Requirements Handout, and its associated Spanish and Nepali translations, DFA Form 215(Sp) and DFA Form 215(Ne), as well as the Food Stamp 130% Reporting Requirements Poster, have been updated to incorporate the current figures that are effective October 1st as provided by FNS. Although the usage of DFA Form 215 has not changed, the instructions are being released in this SR to describe the legal basis for the form, translations of the form, and the workflow of the form.

District Offices will be provided with an advance supply of DFA Form 215 and the new version of the 130% poster, both dated 10/15, at the end of September. The Spanish and Nepali translations of DFA Form 215 can be ordered from the DFA Policy Unit on an as needed basis, or retrieved from the Family Services Database on Lotus Notes. Old versions of DFA Form 215, DFA Form 215(Sp), DFA Form 215(Ne), and the 130% posters must be recycled. A Certificate of Destruction is included in this SR. Place a reorder through the DHHS Warehouse/Logistics via the District Office’s Quarterly Forms Order (QFO) when the supply of the new version of DFA Form 215 is low. DFA Form 215, and its Nepali and Spanish translations, are also available externally on the DHHS website at http://www.dhhs.nh.gov/dfa/apply.htm, and internally, for Department staff only, on the Lotus Notes Family Services Database.

UNRELATED TECHNICAL CORRECTION

During the release of DFA SR 01-17, dated June 1, 2001, Food Stamp Program policy was updated due to finalization of federal regulations implementing the Child Citizenship Act of 2000, the Defense Authorization Act of 2001, and several provisions of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA). Policy in FSM PART 511, COMMON TYPES OF INCOME: SELF-EMPLOYMENT, and Section 603.09, Other Allowable Deductions: Self-Employment Expenses, was updated to read that the following was an example of an expense that was now an allowable cost of doing business: payments on the principal and interest of the purchase price of income-producing real estate and capital assets, equipment, machinery, and other durable goods. Although the changed policy was implemented accordingly at that time, it was recently discovered that text in an example provided in PART 511, COMMON TYPES OF INCOME: RENTAL INCOME, was inadvertently overlooked during the release of DFA SR 01-17 and still contained the old policy. With the release of this SR, the example text in that manual topic has been updated to accurately reflect current expenses that are allowable costs of doing business.

POLICY MANUAL REVISIONS

Revised Food Stamp Manual Topics

Section 119.01   When Eligibility Is Uncertain

PART 511   COMMON TYPES OF INCOME: RENTAL INCOME

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

Section 603.09   Other Allowable Deductions: Medical Deduction

Section 611.01   Computing Income Eligibility

Section 621.03   Rate and Method of Recoupment

Section 713.21   Methods of Collection

IMPLEMENTATION

Policy released in this SR is effective October 1, 2015. An advance supply of DFA Form 215 and the new Food Stamp 130% Reporting Requirements Poster, both dated 10/15, will be distributed to the District Offices at the end of September. The Spanish and Nepali translations of DFA Form 215 can be ordered from the DFA Policy Unit on an as needed basis or retrieved from the Family Services Database on Lotus Notes. Recycle all versions of DFA Form 215, DFA Form 215(Ne), DFA Form 215(Sp), and the Food Stamp 130% Reporting Requirements Posters, which are not dated 10/15. When the advance supply of DFA Form 215 is low, resume regular ordering procedures through the DHHS Warehouse/Logistics via the District Office’s QFO. DFA Form 215, and its Nepali and Spanish translations, are also available externally on the DHHS website at http://www.dhhs.nh.gov/dfa/apply.htm, and internally, for Department staff only, on the Lotus Notes Family Services Database.

CLIENT NOTIFICATION

Households experiencing a change in Food Stamp benefits due to the mass change will receive a standard New HEIGHTS Notice of Decision (NOD). The following message will also appear in the “Explanations” section of the NOD:

On October 1, federal and state laws changed the Food Stamp income limits and the amount of deductions you can claim. Your Food Stamp benefits, as shown in the old and new budgets above, were adjusted to reflect these changes.

TRAINING

No special training is planned or needed.

FORMS MANUAL POSTING INSTRUCTIONS

DISPOSITION

This SR may be destroyed or deleted after its contents have been noted and the revised manual topics released by this SR have been posted to the On-line manuals.

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 www.dhhs.nh.gov/DFA/publications.htm, effective September 28, 2015. Additionally, this SR, and printed pages with posting instructions, will be distributed under separate cover to all internal hard copy holders of the Food Stamp and Forms Manuals.

DFA/JBV:s