SR 23-25 Dated 10/23

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

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

INTER-DEPARTMENT COMMUNICATION

SUMMARY

This SR releases the 2023 annual Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) updates to:

·         the minimum and maximum benefit allotments;

·         the gross and net income limits;

·         the standard utility allowances (SUAs);

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

·         certain income deductions;

·         reporting threshold for substantial lottery or gambling winnings; and

·         reporting threshold for change reporters

·         BFA Form 215 and 215(Sp) Reporting Requirements Handout; and

·         the SNAP 130% Reporting Requirements Poster.

POLICY

Minimum & Maximum Benefit Allotments and Gross and Net Income Limits

The SNAP gross and net income limits and maximum and minimum benefit allotments for all group sizes have been updated as noted below, effective October 1, 2023.

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

The minimum SNAP allotment for household sizes of 1-2 remains unchanged at $23.

Target and Non-Target Population Resource Limit

The resource limit for SNAP households with a disabled member or household member age 60 or older (target population) remains unchanged at $4,250.

The resource limit for non-target SNAP households remains unchanged at $2,750.

Standard Utility Allowances

Effective October 1, 2023, the Standard Utility Allowances are as follows:

Income Deductions

Effective October 1, 2023, the Standard Deduction is as follows:

·         the Excess Shelter Expense Deduction increased from $624 to $672;

·         the Homeless Shelter Allowance has increased from $167 to $180; and

·         the Medical Deduction increased from $115 to $135.

Extended Food Stamp Benefits

Extended Food Stamps (EFS) benefit allotments will be updated to reflect the current SNAP federal deductions effective 10/1/22. Refer to Food Stamp Manual PART 249, EXTENDED FOOD STAMPS (EFS), for more information about EFS benefits.

Substantial Lottery or Gambling Winnings

The threshold for reporting substantial lottery or gambling winnings remains $4,250. The threshold is the same as the resource limit for elderly or disabled households.

Required Reporting for Changes in Household Income

The threshold for required reporting for change reporters who have a change in household income remains $125.

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 October 1, 2023 issuance. The 2023 October SNAP Mass Change schedule will run from Tuesday, September 5, through Thursday, September 14, excluding Saturdays and Sundays. The total number of cases being run through the Mass Change will be approximately 40,709 cases. New HEIGHTS will continue to run the mass change by case number instead of by District Office because the SNAP 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

BFA Form 215, Reporting Requirements Handout, and its associated Spanish translation, as well as the SNAP 130% Reporting Requirements Poster, have been updated to incorporate the current figures that are effective October 1^st as provided by FNS.

New Hampshire Bureau of Family Assistance Fact Sheet and BFA Program Net* Monthly Income Limits have been updated to incorporate the current figures that are effective October 1, 2023.  New Hampshire Bureau of Family Assistance Fact Sheet is available internally on the N:\ drive; while both forms are available on the DHHS website at https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/forms-documents-0.

POLICY MANUAL REVISIONS

Revised Food Stamp Manual Topics

PART 601, TABLE E           SNAP Maximum Monthly Income Limits

PART 601, Table F           Maximum SNAP Allotments

PART 601, TABLE I            SNAP Deductions

Section 603.09                    Medical Deduction

IMPLEMENTATION

Policy released in this SR is effective October 1, 2023. The 2023 October SNAP Mass Change schedule will run from Tuesday, September 5, through Thursday, September 14, excluding Saturdays and Sundays.

District Offices will be able to retrieve the new BFA Forms 215 & 215(Sp), dated 10/23, by the end of September, through the N:\Drive underDFA, under Forms when needed. Advance supplies of the form will not be ordered through the warehouse at this time, as the form is being revised in the near future.

District Offices will be provided with an advance supply of the SNAP 130% Reporting Requirement poster, dated 10/23, at the end of September. Old versions of BFA Form 215, BFA Form 215(Sp), and the SNAP 130% Reporting Requirement poster must be recycled. A Certificate of Destruction is included in this SR. BFA Form 215 and 215(Sp) are also available electronically on the DHHS website at https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/forms-documents-0 and NHEASY Gateway to Services at https://nheasy.nh.gov/#/forms/.

CLIENT NOTIFICATION

DHHS has posted to the department website a mass change notification indicating the following:

On October 1, 2023 Federal and State laws changed the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).  These included changes to income limits, the maximum amount of SNAP benefits you can receive, and the amount of deductions you can claim.

In addition, households experiencing a change in SNAP benefits during the mass change stated above have received a standard New HEIGHTS Notice of Decision (NOD). The following message appeared in the “Explanations” section of the NOD:

On October 1, Federal and State laws changed the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).  These included changes to income limits, the maximum amount of SNAP benefits you can receive, and the amount of deductions you can claim.

TRAINING

No special training is planned or needed.

FORMS 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 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 October 2, 2023.

BFA/PDU:es