SR 23-34 Dated 09/23

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES - Bureau of family assistance (bfa)

INTER-DEPARTMENT COMMUNICATION

SUMMARY

This Supervisory Release (SR) releases updates to the ABAWD age limits and new ABAWD exemptions.

BACKGROUND

The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 was signed into law on June 3, 2023. The FRA includes three new exemptions from the ABAWD time limit along with staggered updates to the age limit for ABAWDs. For fiscal year 2023, the age limit increases from 49 to 50 years of age. This will take effect September 1, 2023. For fiscal year 2024, which begins October 1, 2023, the age limit increases again to 52 years of age. For fiscal year 2025, which begins October 1, 2024, the age limit increases to 54 years of age.

POLICY

Effective September 1, 2023:

·         New exemptions to the ABAWD time limit:

o   Veteran

o   Homeless

o   Age 24 or younger and in foster care at age 18, or higher if the State offers extended foster care

·         Age limit increases to 50 years old

Effective October 1, 2023:

·         Age limit increases to 52 years old

Effective October 1, 2024:

·        Age limit increases to 54 years old (a separate SR will be released in 2024 when forms and manual pages are updated for this change)

NEW HEIGHTS & NH EASY SYSTEMS PROCEDURES

The following changes will be effective in New HEIGHTS September 1, 2023:

·       The ABAWD age limit will be increased to 50 years old. ABAWD clocks will build for any individual age 50 and clocks will begin ticking for any non-exempt ABAWD. New HEIGHTS will pull a report each month starting in the month of September and remove the countable month for any 50-year-old who has not yet had a recertification, as FNS has advised the tracking of countable months should not begin until the month following the individual’s first recertification after September 1, 2023. New applications and recertification applications will be subject to the time limit starting September 1, 2023.

·       New HEIGHTS will remove the month of September 2023 as a countable month for all ABAWDs, as the State has elected to use discretionary exemptions allotted by FNS for the month of September 2023, due to the short turnaround for implementing these changes resulting in a short notice for individuals who may meet one of the new exemptions.

·     On the Living Arrangement screen, the question “Client was assessed due to homelessness and meets the ABAWD definition for Food Stamps” will be removed. An ABAWD exemption will build if the living arrangement type is ‘Homeless’ or ‘Homeless-Temporary Shelter’, or if the question ‘Do you meet the McKinney-Vento definition for homelessness?’ is answered Yes, regardless of the living arrangement type selected.

·     On the Additional Demographics screen, Details tab: An ABAWD exemption will build if ‘Yes’ is selected and verified for veteran status.

·     On the Additional Demographics screen, Details tab: An ABAWD exemption will build for someone age 24 or younger if the Foster Care in-state or out-of-state eligibility dates align with the individual’s 18^th birthday.

 The following changes will be effective in New HEIGHTS October 1, 2023:

·       The ABAWD age limit will be increased to 52 years old. ABAWD clocks will build for all 51 and 52 year olds. New HEIGHTS will pull a report each month starting in the month of October and remove the countable month for any individuals ages 50-52 who have not yet had a recertification, as FNS has advised the tracking of countable months should not begin until the month following the individual’s first recertification after September 1, 2023. New applications and recertification applications will be subject to the time limit starting October 1, 2023.

 A banner (pop-up) and Announcement have been added to the NH EASY homepage and will be available  September 1, 2023. Both will have a link to BFA Form 216, Are You an ABAWD?.

·         The banner will say:

IMPORTANT CHANGES TO ABAWD AGE LIMIT AND EXEMPTIONS

Effective September 1, 2023 there are changes to the age limit and exemptions for Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs). Please refer to BFA Form 216, Are You an ABAWD?, for more information on how this may affect you and your eligibility for SNAP.

·         The Announcement will say:

IMPORTANT CHANGES TO ABAWD AGE LIMIT AND EXEMPTIONS

Effective September 1, 2023 there are changes to the age limit and exemptions for Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs). An ABAWD is an individual who is fit for work and does not have a child under age 18 in their SNAP household. ABAWDs are limited to 3 months of SNAP benefits in a 3-year period, unless they are meeting work requirements or exempt.

Beginning September 1, 2023 the age range for ABAWDs is 18 through 50 years old. New exemptions to the time limit for ABAWDs are also effective this date.

Beginning October 1, 2023 the age range for ABAWDs changes to 18 through 52 years old.

Please refer to BFA Form 216, Are You an ABAWD?, for more information on the time limit, work requirements, and exemptions.

DESCRIPTION OF REVISIONS MADE TO FORMS

BFA Form 216, Are You an ABAWD?, has been updated to include the three new exemptions and update the age limit. This form is updated effective 9/1/2023 and again 10/1/2023 when the age limit increases to 52 years.

BFA Form 77d, SNAP Information Sheet, was updated with SR 23-29 and that update included the new age limit of 50 years old effective September 1, 2023. BFA Form 77d will also have an update effective October 1, 2023 when the age limit increases to 52 years.

The new versions of BFA Forms 77d and 216, as well the Spanish translated versions, will be available electronically on the DHHS website at http://www.dhhs.nh.gov/forms-documents and NH EASY Gateway to Services at https://nheasy.nh.gov/#/forms.

BFA Forms 77d and 216 and the associated instructions will also be available internally, for Department staff only, on the N:\ drive upon release of this SR.

POLICY MANUAL REVISIONS

Food Stamp Manual (FSM)

The following FSM pages will be updated for September 1, 2023 and again for October 1, 2023:

PART 245                                ABLE-BODIED ADULTS WITHOUT DEPENDENTS

Section 245.03                        Criteria for Exemption from ABAWD Work Requirements

Section 245.15                        Verification Requirements

The following FSM page will be updated effective September 1, 2023:

Section 303.05                        How to Verify Residency

IMPLEMENTATION

This policy is effective September 1, 2023 with the second update to the age limit effective October 1, 2023.  

For current ABAWD recipients, the new exemptions will apply effective September 1, 2023 and the age limit increases will be applied at each individual’s next recertification.

For new SNAP applications, new exemptions and age limits are in effect at application.

The prior paper versions of BFA Form 77d, SNAP Information Sheet, and BFA Form 216, Are You an ABAWD?, must be recycled and the new versions used immediately. A Certificate of Destruction has been included with this SR.

CLIENT NOTIFICATION

·        At the end of August 2023, New HEIGHTS will be sending a one-time letter to 2379 SNAP recipients and 728 alternate payees informing them of the updated age limits and new exemptions. The letter was sent to all individuals who will be ABAWD as of September 1, 2023 (ages 18-50) and as of October 1, 2023 (ages 18-52), except those who are exempt due to receipt of SSI, SSA or VA disability, and those who have a minor child in their household. A copy of this letter is attached for reference.

·        All Notice of Decision text with ABAWD information will be updated with the new ages.

·        A banner has been added to the NH EASY website, along with information under the Announcements section, to notify SNAP applicants and recipients of the new ABAWD exemptions and updates to the age limit.

·        The SNAP page of the DHHS website has been updated to include the updated information and link to BFA Form 216, Are You an ABAWD?.

No further client notification is planned or needed.

TRAINING

The Training Unit has created a training for field staff that will be available in Moodle.

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 Online Manuals.

DISTRIBUTION

This SR will be distributed according to the electronic distribution list for BFA policy releases. This SR and revised Online Manuals will be available for agency staff in the Online Manual Library, and for public access on the Internet at https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/sr_htm/sr.htm, effective September 1, 2023.

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