IM-151 11/17/03 REMOVING INDIVIDUALS FROM FOOD STAMP ELIGIBILITY UNITS
| SUBJECT: |
| REMOVING INDIVIDUALS FROM FOOD STAMP ELIGIBILITY UNITS |
| DISCUSSION: |
Effective immediately, when an individual
is end dated in a supercase, the individual, his/her income, and expense
information are removed from the budget for that supercase. This
is done so that if the person applies for food stamp benefits in another
supercase and has pending verification for the current month or later in
the second supercase, a notice of adverse action can still be sent to remove
the individual from the first supercase. There is no longer an authorization
restriction on the first supercase.
EXAMPLE: Kendra's EU consists of herself and Scott. Scott applies for benefits in a separate supercase on October 24. He states that he moved out of Kendra's home on October 8, and that he started a new job October 17. He does not have verification of his new income. The pending verification on Scott's supercase does not prevent him from being removed from Kendra's supercase.If the person applying for benefits in a second supercase has verification pending from a previous month on the first supercase, the pending action must be resolved before the individual can be removed from the first supercase. EXAMPLE: Linda's EU consists of herself and Bryan. She reported on September 22 that Bryan stopped working on September 5 and started receiving weekly private disability payments equal to 25% of his previous weekly earnings on September 12. Verification of the disability payments was not provided. Bryan applies for benefits in a separate supercase on October 4. He states that he moved out of Linda's home on October 1, and that he was still receiving the disability payments each week. He does not have verification of his income. The pending verification of Bryan's disability income on Linda's supercase prevents any action to remove him from Linda's supercase, even though her benefits would increase because of the reduction of income.Also, FAMIS is changed to no longer automatically increase food stamp benefits for the current month when the removal of an EU member and that member's income and/or expenses results in an increase in the food stamp allotment. FAMIS cannot determine the amount of income the person received in the month for that EU. The worker must determine the amount of income available to the EU, who is paying shelter expenses, and issue supplemental benefits via the Worker Initiated Budget Calculation Area (WIBCA) process if necessary. When an individual is end dated on the Supercase Resident Maintenance (FM0L) screen, or a death date is entered and verified on the Birth/Death Information (FMAQ) screen, FAMIS sets PAAI (Pending Adverse Action Individual) and PAAP (Pending Adverse Action Period) actions for the month the change is effective. If removing the person results in an increase in the EU's food stamp allotment, FAMIS sets the RAPR (Remove A Person) and INCR (Increase) actions for the following month. Staff must review the EU's circumstances to determine if the EU is entitled to an increase in benefits for the month of the PAAI/PAAP action. Determine the amount of income that was available to the EU for the month of the change in EU composition. If an individual still in the EU is responsible for shelter expenses that were paid by the individual who is no longer in the EU, be sure to update the expense information. Enter the information on the Worker Initiated Budget Calculation Area - WIBCA (FMXH) screen to determine if the EU is entitled to an increase and to issue supplemental benefits if necessary. Refer to the user guide WIBCA - CALCULATING A FS CLAIM, FS RESTORED OR SUPPLEMENTAL BENEFITS, PRE-STRIKE ELIGIBILITY, OR TRIAL BUDGETS. EXAMPLE: Tabitha's EU consists of herself and Aaron. Aaron is paid every Friday, and is responsible for paying the rent and utilities. Tabitha reports on October 22 that Aaron moved out of the home on October 15. The worker end-dates Aaron on FM0L and updates the shelter expenses to show Tabitha as the person responsible for paying them. When the eligibility determination is run, FAMIS indicates that the EU is eligible for more benefits for October, November, and December. FAMIS sets PAAI and PAAP actions for October, INCR (increase) and RAPR (remove a person) actions for November, and a NOCH (no change) action for December. The worker determines that the EU had the use of Aaron's first two paychecks for October, so only those are used on WIBCA. WIBCA indicates that with the loss of the EU member and the inclusion of the two paychecks, the EU is entitled to an increase for October, and the worker issues supplemental benefits. The worker records comments regarding the EU changes at the Eligibility Unit Member Role screen (FM3Z). |
| NECESSARY ACTION: |
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| IM-150 |
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