SR 12-09 Dated 03/12

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

INTER-DEPARTMENT COMMUNICATION

SUMMARY

This SR releases the following changes in the treatment of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and State Supplement Program (SSP) benefits when determining eligibility and benefit allotment amount for Financial Assistance to Needy Families (FANF) cash assistance only:

·   If the FANF household has a member receiving SSI, the SSI benefit and all other income and resources of the SSI recipient are now counted in the household’s eligibility and benefit allotment determination process for FANF financial assistance. The SSI household member is now also included in the FANF financial assistance group (AG); and

·   If the FANF household has a member receiving SSP cash assistance, which includes Old Age Assistance, Aid to the Permanently and Totally Disabled, and Aid to the Needy Blind, current policy on excluding the SSP grant when determining the household’s eligibility and benefit allotment amount for FANF financial assistance remains unchanged. However, all other income and resources of the SSP cash assistance recipient is now counted in the household’s eligibility and benefit allotment determination process for FANF financial assistance. The SSP cash assistance recipient is also now included in the FANF financial assistance AG.

These changes align the treatment of SSI and SSP with the treatment of Veterans Affairs (VA), Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), and other Social Security Administration (SSA)-related benefits when determining FANF eligibility and benefit allotment amount, and are the result of budget reductions imposed by Senate Bill 198-FN, which amends RSA 167:79,II. The eligibility determination process for FANF medical assistance is not impacted by these changes due to the maintenance of effort (MOE) requirements of the Affordable Care Act (PL 111-148), signed into law on March 23, 2010.

POLICY

Individuals receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or a State Supplement Program (SSP) grant, which includes the Old Age Assistance, Aid to the Permanently and Totally Disabled, and Aid to the Needy Blind programs, are no longer excluded from the budgetary unit when determining eligibility and benefit allotment amount for Financial Assistance to Needy Families (FANF) cash assistance. Include the SSI/SSP recipient in the FANF financial assistance group (AG), and:

·   Count the SSI benefit and all other income and resources of the SSI recipient towards the FANF financial assistance AG.

·   Count all income and resources of the SSP recipient, except for the SSP cash benefit, towards the FANF financial assistance AG.

The SSI or SSP person is considered to be "counted" in the FANF financial assistance AG as opposed to "eligible" for FANF, as follows: Counted Adult (CA) or Counted Child (CC). This means that the SSI/SSP individual is now included in the FANF cash assistance group size and the individual's income and resources are counted towards the FANF cash AG, but the individual will not be considered a "recipient" of FANF cash. The following are examples of how this policy change may impact common FANF households:

Example 1:

A household, one child and one parent who is receiving a $188/month SSP grant and who has earnings of $500/month, was receiving FANF cash assistance in the amount of $539/month. Previously, the parent in this scenario was considered an "Excluded Adult" in the FANF cash AG with the reason of "Failed due to Receipt of SSP." The child was considered an "Eligible Child." Only the child’s income and resources were counted and the AG size was 1. As of March 1, the parent is now considered a "Counted Adult" in the FANF cash AG. There are no changes to the child’s status (the child is still considered an "Eligible Child"). The income and resources of both the parent and child now count, and the AG size is now 2, as follows:

Example 2:

A household, one child and one parent who is receiving $200 in SSI, was receiving FANF cash in the amount of $539 a month. Previously, the parent in this scenario was considered an "Excluded Adult," in the cash AG with the reason of "Failed due to Receipt of SSI." The child was considered an "Eligible Child." Only the child’s income and resources were counted and the AG size was 1. As of March 1, the parent is now considered a "Counted Adult" in the FANF cash AG. There are no changes to the child’s status (the child is still considered an "Eligible Child"). The income and resources of both the parent and child now count, and the AG size is now 2, as follows:

Example 3:

A household, one child and one parent who is receiving $674/month in SSI, was receiving FANF cash in the amount of $539/month. Previously, the parent in this scenario was considered an "Excluded Adult," in the cash AG with the reason of "Failed due to Receipt of SSI." The child was considered an "Eligible Child." Only the child’s income and resources were counted and the AG size was 1. As of March 1, the parent is now considered a "Counted Adult" in the FANF cash AG and there are no changes to the child’s status (the child is still an "Eligible Child"). The income and resources of both the parent and child now count, and the AG size is now 2, as follows:

*ELIGIBILITY FOR FANF MEDICAL ASSISTANCE REMAINS UNCHANGED.

Example 4:

A household, one child who is receiving $200/month in SSI and one parent who is earning $500/month, was receiving FANF cash in the amount of $289 a month. Previously, the child in this scenario was considered an "Excluded Child," in the cash AG with the reason of "Failed due to Receipt of SSI." The parent was considered an "Eligible Adult." Only the adult’s income and resources were counted and the AG size was 1. As of March 1, the child is now considered a "Counted Child" in the FANF cash AG. There are no changes to the parent’s status (the parent is still considered an "Eligible Adult"). The income and resources of both the parent and child now count, and the AG size is now 2, as follows:

Example 5:

A household, one child and one non-parent caretaker relative who is receiving SSI, was receiving payee relative not-included (PRNI) Family Assistance Program (FAP) cash and medical assistance. As of March 1, if the caretaker relative now requests cash assistance, then the caretaker relative will be considered a "counted adult" under the new policy and all income, resources, and SSI benefits will count towards the cash AG. However, if the caretaker relative does not request cash, the new policy will not impact this FAP AG at all, and the benefit amount will remain the same.

New Hampshire Employment Program (NHEP) Work Program Status for the newly included SSI/SSP FANF AG Member

SSI/SSP recipients in the FANF AG are considered permanently exempt from NHEP work requirements per current policy located in Family Assistance Manual (FAM) 808.05, Exemptions from Participation in NHEP.

NEW HEIGHTS SYSTEMS PROCEDURES AND IMPLEMENTATION

All the policies released in this SR have been incorporated into New Heights for the March 1, 2012 effective date.

The evening of February 27, 2012, New HEIGHTS will run all open and pending FANF cash cases through a mass change to apply the new policy effective March 1, 2012. Any FANF cases whose cash changes or terminates due to applying this new policy will receive the following special message in the "Explanations" section of the Notice of Decision (NOD) generated:

A state law has recently been passed that caused changes in your FANF cash grant. Those state law changes are effective March 1, 2012. This is why your cash grant is smaller or you no longer get cash. We sent a letter to people who might be impacted by this law change in January. This letter explained the changes that might happen. If you did not get the letter, this is what the change is: We must now: 1) Count Supplemental Security Income (SSI) in FANF. If someone in your household gets SSI benefits, we must now count it. We must also now count this person in your FANF financial assistance group (AG). Any additional income this person may have, and any resources that may belong to them, must also be counted. 2) Count the income and resources of the person who gets Old Age Assistance (OAA), Aid to the Permanently and Totally Disabled (APTD), or Aid to the Needy Blind (ANB) in your FANF financial AG. If someone in your household gets these benefits, your FANF cash benefit changed. We don't count their benefit but we must now count their other income and resources. We must also now count this person in your FANF financial AG. Please see your New and Old Budget below for more information.

UNRELATED TECHNICAL CORRECTION TO FAM 703.15

Family Assistance Manual (FAM) 703.15, Authorization Period for Emergency Assistance, has been edited to better explain the exceptions to the policy allowing authorization of emergency assistance only once in a 12-month period. Additionally, text related to home heating fuel deliveries in the same topic was enhanced to better clarify the $700 annual cap, as released in SR 08-29, dated October, 2008.

POLICY MANUAL REVISIONS

Revised Family Assistance Manual Topics

Section 211.01  Who Must Be Members

Section 211.11  Who Is Not a Member

Section 217.01  When Separate Medical Assistance Groups Are Required

PART 511  COMMON TYPES OF INCOME: DEEMED INCOME

PART 511  COMMON TYPES OF INCOME: SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME (SSI) BENEFITS

Section 603.09  Other Allowable Deductions: Income Allocated to Dependents

Section 611.03  Deeming Principles

Section 703.15  Authorization Period for Emergency Assistance

IMPLEMENTATION

The policy in released in this SR is effective March 1, 2012.

CLIENT NOTIFICATION

On January 23, 2012, a one-time mailing was generated to the approximately 1,624 open and pending FANF cash cases with a family member who had been coded as an "ineligible family member" due to receipt of SSI/SSP. The letter has been attached for reference. Additionally, recipients whose FANF cash assistance allotment changes during the Mass Change will receive the following special message in the "Explanations" section of the NOD generated:

A state law has recently been passed that caused changes in your FANF cash grant. Those state law changes are effective March 1, 2012. This is why your cash grant is smaller or you no longer get cash. We sent a letter to people who might be impacted by this law change in January. This letter explained the changes that might happen. If you did not get the letter, this is what the change is: We must now: 1) Count Supplemental Security Income (SSI) in FANF. If someone in your household gets SSI benefits, we must now count it. We must also now count this person in your FANF financial assistance group (AG). Any additional income this person may have, and any resources that may belong to them, must also be counted. 2) Count the income and resources of the person who gets Old Age Assistance (OAA), Aid to the Permanently and Totally Disabled (APTD), or Aid to the Needy Blind (ANB) in your FANF financial AG. If someone in your household gets these benefits, your FANF cash benefit changed. We don't count their benefit but we must now count their other income and resources. We must also now count this person in your FANF financial AG. Please see your New and Old Budget below for more information.

TRAINING

This policy change was discussed at the June 9, 2011 and the February 3, 2012 Supervisors Meetings in Concord, NH. Supervisors will provide onsite training for the Family Services Specialists during the month of February. No other special training is planned.

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 February 27, 2012. Additionally, this SR, and printed pages with posting instructions, will be distributed under separate cover to all internal hard copy holders of the Family Assistance Manual.

DFA/JBV:s