SR 99-44 Dated 10/99

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

INTER-DEPARTMENT COMMUNICATION

SUMMARY

This SR releases increases to the maximum food stamp allotments and the gross and net income limits in the Food Stamp Program. The annual review of the standard utility allowances resulted in an increase in the Telephone Standard, Utilities Only Standard and the Heat and Utilities Standard.

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act requires that the deductions for excess shelter, the standard deduction and the homeless shelter deduction remain unchanged from last year. The dependent care deduction also remains unchanged.

Several reorganizational and formatting changes have been made to Chapter 600, as explained in the MANUAL PAGE CHANGES Section of this SR. The major change is removal of the columns from TABLE G, formerly known as Food Stamp Coupon Allotments by Household Size, and replacement of the columns with the methodology for determining allotments. For reference purposes District Offices will be sent a hard copy of the Basis of Issuance Tables provided by the Food and Nutrition Service.

POLICY

Revised Food Stamp Manual Topics

PART 511 BOARDER INCOME

PART 601 INCOME LIMITS, PAYMENT  STANDARDS AND ALLOTMENTS

PART 601 TABLE E: FOOD STAMP MAXIMUM MONTHLY INCOME LIMITS

PART 601 TABLE F: MAXIMUM FOOD STAMP COUPONS ALLOTMENTS

PART 601  TABLE G: DETERMINING FOOD STAMP ALLOTMENTS BY HOUSEHOLD SIZE

PART 601 TABLE I: FOOD STAMP DEDUCTIONS

Section 611.01 Computing Eligibility

PART 613 ROUNDING PROCEDURES

PART 615 BENEFITS: FREQUENCY AND ISSUANCE

Revised Family Assistance Manual Topics

Part 511  BOARDER INCOME

Revised Adult Assistance Manual Topics

Part 511  BOARDER INCOME

Increased Allotment Amounts and Gross and Net Income Limits

Allotment amounts and gross and net income limits for all group sizes are part of the mass change and will increase as noted below.

1 Gross and net income limits do not apply to categorically eligible households (all members receive or are eligible for PA and/or SSI).

Utility and Deduction Amounts

The following standards have increased as noted below:

 the Telephone Standard from $26 to $28;

 the Utilities Only Standard from $208 to $219; and

 the Heat and Utility Standard from $318 to $339;

The following federally mandated standards will remain the same as last year:

 the standard deduction at $134;

 the excess shelter at $275;

 the homeless shelter deduction at $143; and

 the dependent care deduction at $200 for a child under two and $175 for a child two or over.

PROCEDURES

Food Stamp Households Sharing a Utility Expense

Certain food stamp households have a prorated utility standard either because they share utility costs or are subject to a prorated utility standard due to an excluded member. Each type of prorated standard and required District Office action is addressed below.

Cases Whose Utility Standard is Prorated Due to An Excluded Member

No District Office pre-mass change action is required for cases whose utility standard is prorated due to an excluded member. New HEIGHTS will automatically recalculate the household’s new prorated utility amount during the mass change based on the utility standard to which the household is entitled.

Cases Whose Utility Standard is Prorated Due Shared Utilities

Before the mass change is run, New HEIGHTS will generate a report of open food stamp cases with a prorated utility standard due to shared utility expenses. The report will specifically identify cases with potential errors in utility amounts based on information provided on the Standard Utility Screen. This report will be sent to District Offices prior to the mass change.

Examples of cases listed on the report will be as follows:

 households whose utility amount is other than 1/2 or 1/3 of the Telephone, Utilities Only, or Heat and Utilities Standard;

 households that are shown as having no utility type on the Standard Utility Screen, but who have a utility amount entered; and

 households that have the wrong utility amount entered for the specific utility type, such as a household that is listed as having only the Telephone Standard, but which has an amount for a prorated Utilities Only Standard.

Because many of the prorated utility cases are exactly 1/2 or 1/3 of the appropriate standards, New HEIGHTS has been programmed to convert any food stamp cases from 1/2 or 1/3 of the old standard to the new standard. District Offices must identify cases that are incorrectly coded, coded as having a prorated standard when the full standard should be allowed, or coded as having prorated utility amounts other than 1/2 or 1/3 of the appropriate standard, in order to make any corrections before the mass change. Any overissuance or underissuance resulting from an incorrect utility total must be corrected according to policy.

NEW HEIGHTS CHANGES

 The maximum allotment amounts, gross and net income limits for all group sizes, and the increased telephone, utilities and heat and utility standards will be programmed into New HEIGHTS in September, but will not be used to calculate food stamp eligibility and benefits until October 1, 1999.

 The mass change for open cases will be run on September 25-26, 1999.

 Cases in an advance notice period for closing will not be selected for the mass change.

 Cases in advance notice for a decrease will be recomputed as part of the mass change.

 The major run for October follows the mass change at the normally scheduled time (last day of September).

 Following the mass change, food stamp closings will be run 9/30/99 to terminate all cases with a redetermination date of 9/25/99.

POST MASS CHANGE REPORTS

The reports described below will be produced as a result of the Mass Change.

PNCMC600A-MC: All Cases Selected for Mass Change

This report lists all cases that were selected for the Mass Change, including cases that were successfully confirmed as shown on PNMC540-MC and those that were not confirmed (exceptions shown on PNMC550-MC). This report is sorted by District Office and contains the following information: D.O., Worker ID, Worker Name, Client Name, Case Number, and household size.

PNMC600B-MC: Cases Prior to Mass Change

This report shows the pre-mass mass change status of cases that were selected for the Mass Change. It contains the following information: D.O., Worker ID, Worker Name, Client Name, Case Number, and Household Size .

PNMC540-MC: Mass Change Successes

This report lists all cases which the Mass Change ran successfully through confirmation. It contains the following information: D.O., Worker ID, Worker Name, Client Name, and Case Number.

PNMC550-MC: Mass Change Exception Report

This report shows cases that were selected for computation during the Mass Change, but were not confirmed due to some discrepancy in data. These cases require further District Office action. It contains the following information: D.O., Worker ID, Worker Name, Client Name, Case Number, Reason for Exception, and Mass Change Type.

/t After the mass change is run, all benefits generated by New HEIGHTS on or after October 1, 1999, will be calculated using the new amounts.

 Tables and Standards sections for benefits prior to October 1, 1999 need not be retained for reference for retroactive benefits because New HEIGHTS will hold them internally and automatically use them for calculating benefits for eligibility periods prior to October 1, 1999.

CLIENT NOTIFICATION

The following NOD reason message is generated for cases having an increase as a result of the mass change:

ON OCTOBER 1, FEDERAL AND STATE CHANGES INCREASED INCOME LIMITS, THE AMOUNTS OF CERTAIN DEDUCTIONS, AND THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF FOOD STAMPS YOU CAN RECEIVE. YOUR FOOD STAMP BENEFITS HAVE BEEN ADJUSTED TO REFLECT THESE CHANGES. POLICY ITEM: FOOD STAMP MANUAL CHAPTER 600.

Although no closings or decreases related to this mass change are anticipated, negative actions that occur will use a standard message already on New HEIGHTS. Because these changes are beneficial to food stamp recipients, no additional client notification is planned.

TRAINING

No training is required or planned.

MANUAL PAGE CHANGES

Table G, formerly known as Food Stamp Coupon Allotments by Household Size, has been renamed as Determining Food Stamp Allotments by Household Size. The columns in Table G have been removed from the Food Stamp Manual, because manual issuances are no longer required due to New HEIGHTS, and because of insurmountable difficulties in producing Table G compatible with on-line manual software. The multiple columns have been replaced with the methodology for determining allotments by group size. Although Table G no longer is in table format, it is still being referred to as Table G due to the hyperlinks in the On-Line Manual.

Text from Section 611.01, Computing Eligibility, PART 613, ROUNDING PROCEDURES, and PART 615, BENEFITS: FREQUENCY AND MAILING, has been removed and added to TABLE G so that the complete methodology for determining the allotment amount is all in one place. Technical corrections have been made to PART 601, Income limits, Payment Standards and Allotments. PART 615 has also been revised to reflect Electronic Benefit Procedures released by SR 98-51.

AAM 500, Boarder Income, and FAM 500, Boarder Income, have been revised to remove the examples, which are no longer needed as policy is clear without them.

DISPOSITION

This SR may be destroyed or deleted after its contents have been noted.

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 http://www.dhhs.state.nh.us/PMIndex.htm, effective October 4, 1999.

This SR, and printed pages with posting instructions, will be distributed under separate cover to all hard copy holders of the Food Stamp, Adult and Family Assistance Manuals.

DFA/SJC:s