Over the past several months, the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) in partnership with the Department of Mental Retardation (DMR) has tested a simplified application process for residents of licensed group homes. Given the success of this initiative, DTA is now expanding this streamlined process to FS applications from residents of group homes licensed by any state agency in the Commonwealth. DTA is currently working with DMR and DMH licensed group homes.

On June 12th, 2006, USDA issued policy guidance clarifying that a disabled person may be considered a food stamp household separate from a person who resides with him or her and purchases and prepares food separately on the disabled person's behalf. The issue arose in litigation in Alabama. Attached is a copy of the recently issued USDA Guidance.

FNS Central letter of clarification to NE Region FNS office, explaining which assisted living situations result in FS eligibility and which do not.

Food Stamps for college students:  household determination when students age 23 or over are living with parent; Food Stamp eligibility for student at college with meal plan for some meals;  students as paremts om two parent families and Food Stamp work requirement.

Food Stamps: Verfiying shared shelter costs; no verifications needed for claim of purchasing and preparing food separately;

Learnfare; teen parent AU compositionm for TAFDC and FS.

Food Stamp program: treatment of child support payments for obligor's Food Stamp case;  verification of obligor's child support obligations; Food Stamp clients only need to verify household composition if questionable.

FS: recertification of NPA AU's associated with TAFDC AU's; UI compensation is counted gross for all programs; procedures for placing pregnant homeless teens who do or do not receive TAFDC.

FS: amount of income to count, and length of time to count  it,  when recipient is sanctioned on TAFDC gran -- addresses many situations,  including teen parent issues; FS: treatment of irregular earned income; FS: Prorating SUA in households with two FS assistance units.

Where household could be split into two Food Stamp households due to disability of recipient's mother, and thereby get more Food Stamps, case worker has obligation to inform recipient. In such cases, shelter and utility deductions sometimes must be prorated. When a recipient's job ends, case worker must determine whether a supplemental Food Stamp payment should issue for the month in which the change is reported.

When one Food Stamp household is split into two assistance units, there must be a review of shelter expenses so that shelter and utility deductions are appropriately applied.

Newborns must be added to FS AU no later than the month following DTA's receipt of notification of the birth. Notification can be in the form of a Notice of Birth, Prism Alert, Recipient Notification, or other communication. If the newborn is added later for some reason, a supplemental payment must be issued.

Mass Health Notification of Birth goes to DTA and is sufficient notification to add a newborn to a Food Stamp AU. If it is too late to add the child for the next month, add the child for the month after and do a Supplemental Payment.

If recipient marks changes in shelter or household composition on Monthly Report, caseworker is obligated to enter into Food Stamps fields on Beacon.

Case workers can minimize underissuance of Food Stamp benefits due to household composition errors by issuing a Supplemental Payment for retroactive benefits in the month in which the error is noticed.

Food Stamp applications must not be denied for failure to provide an optional verification, such as one related to a deduction such as utility expenses.  Case workers must assist with getting verifications when needed. No Food Stamp application can be denied before the 30th day for lack of verifications or failure to complete the application.

Food Stamp recipients with self-employment income should not be on semi-annual reporting; situations in which one parent leaves the household and takes the EBT card right after benefits were issued for the children.

Discusses common but improper exclusions of adults, dependent children, and family cap children from Food Stamp assistance unit.