SR 21-02 Dated 6/21

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES – DIVISION OF ECONOMIC AND HOUSING STABILITY

BUREAU OF FAMILY ASSISTANCE (BFA)

INTER-DEPARTMENT COMMUNICATION

SUMMARY

This SR releases Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) updates to the Heat and Utilities standards and Utilities-Only standard allowances.

BACKGROUND

BFA currently has a waiver that allows a $115.00 Standard Medical Deduction (SMD). The waiver requires that the policy be cost neutral. The most recent data submission regarding cost neutrality was issued to the Food & Nutrition Services (FNS) in January 2021. After review, FNS determined that in order to continue to be cost neutral, and continue to have the $115.00 SMD, BFA will have to increase the Heat & Utilities and Heat-Only standards. This means that in order to comply with the cost neutrality requirement, the SNAP utility standards for Heat & Utilities and Utilities-Only will need to be increased by $1.00.

POLICY

Effective June 1, 2021, the Standard Utility Allowances are as follows:

NEW HEIGHTS & NH EASY SYSTEMS PROCEDURES AND IMPLEMENTATION

New HEIGHTS has been programmed to calculate SNAP eligibility and benefits using the new figures for the June 1, 2020 issuance. Per the May 3, 2021 System Alert, the 2021 June SNAP Mass Change ran from Thursday, May 6, through Tuesday, May 11, excluding Saturday and Sunday. The total number of cases run through the Mass Change was approximately 16,700 cases.

DESCRIPTION OF REVISIONS MADE TO FORMS

No revisions were made to any forms.

POLICY MANUAL REVISIONS

Revised Food Stamp Manual Topics

PART 601, TABLE I SNAP DEDUCTIONS

IMPLEMENTATION

Policy released in this SR is retroactively effective June 1, 2021. The June 2021 SNAP Mass Change schedule ran from Thursday, May 6, through Tuesday, May 11, excluding Saturday and Sunday.

CLIENT NOTIFICATION

No special client notification is planned or needed.

TRAINING

No special training is planned or needed.

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 BFA 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 August 1, 2021.

DES/jlr:s