What If I Am Providing Adult Foster Care
Adult Foster Care is a special MassHealth program for frail elders and adults with disabilities who cannot live alone. 130 C.M.R §408.410-438. MassHealth pays qualified AFC caregivers to provide in-home care to elder and disabled MassHealth recipients who would otherwise be in a long-term care facility. Sometimes, AFC caregivers may still be low income and qualify for SNAP benefits.
If you are responsible to care for a disabled adult under the Adult Foster Care program, you have the choice to include or exclude the adult fostered person from your SNAP household even if he or she shares all meals with your family. 106 C.M.R.§361.240.
If the fostered adult is not included as a SNAP household member, none of the AFC payments paid to the caregiver or the income of the disabled adult counts for your SNAP benefits. In addition, none of the income of the disabled adult is counted . In most cases, care-givers qualify for higher SNAP benefits. However, if excluded, an AFC adult cannot get SNAP benefits as a separate SNAP household.
Some caregivers recieve an additional payment for rroom and board when the fostered adult is living in the home of the caregiver. If the fostered adult is excluded from the SNAP household, DTA may still consider payments made to the caregiver for room and board to be countable income for SNAP.
Meeting The Income Requirements
Like anyone else, teens with part-time jobs must submit pay stubs from employers as part of their application. Food stamp recipients must show they have a gross and net income that is below the federal poverty line. Your net income is the amount you make after taxes. Gross income is the amount you make before taxes. Review your pay stubs to determine whether you income falls within the federal food stamp guidelines. In 2018, a single person will qualify if she earns less than $1,316 and $1,012 per month.
How Does Dta Count My Income If I Live With Other People And I Am An Ineligible Abawd
If you are a member of a SNAP household and but are not meeting the ABAWD work rules, DTA will take you off the SNAP grant. If you have any income, DTA should only count a portion of your income against the rest of your household. 7 C.F.R. § 273.11.
Example: Mary is 21 and lives with her mother. She is an ABAWD who has a very part time job earning $150 per week. Her employer wont give her 20 hours per week, so DTA stops her portion of her SNAP benefits in April. DTA should also count only one half of Marys income against her mom.
At the time this Guide was printed DTA does not correctly handle the income of ABAWDs who are terminated and were part of a larger household. Please call MLRI if you are an ABAWD and you think this happened to you. DTA may owe you back SNAP benefits.
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Does Receiving Snap Affect Financial Aid
SNAP benefits are not treated as income when calculating an expected family contribution for financial aid. Any payment or reimbursements related to a students participation in an education component under SNAP E& T is also not counted as income.
When students complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and report that they or their families have received SNAP or other benefits in the past 24 months, they are eligible for a simplified needs analysis that does not require them to answer questions about family assets. If students receive SNAP and have family income under $26,000, they qualify for an automatic zero EFC and can receive more financial aid.
If Someone Else Shops Or Cooks For You
It is common for people with chronic illness or disabilities to have a family member, caregiver, friend or aide shop and cook for them. This will not affect your food stamps.
If you have not already done so, you can contact your caseworker, and tell her the name of the person who is shopping for you. They can add this person as an authorized shopper for you, so this person will have official permission to use your Food Stamps card.
Food Stamps does not care who shops or prepares your meals. They only care if the food is purchased and prepared separately. If the food is intermingled, they will not consider you a separate household, and you would apply together.
According to the regulations, if your food is kept separately when shopping, and paid for as a separate transaction and usually prepared as a separate meal from others who are eating, then Food Stamps would consider you a separate household.
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What Education And Training Programs Count For Exemptions From The Student Restrictions
Students who are enrolled in college as part of SNAP Employment and Training , Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act programs, and Trade Adjustment Assistance programs are specifically exempted from the student restrictions.
In addition, the federal statute exempts students who are enrolled in another program for the purpose of employment and training operated by a State or local government. SNAP agencies have the power to decide what programs to count for this purpose. Many programs in community colleges could reasonably count as a state or local program for the purpose of employment and training. Some states look at whether a program meets vocational components and goals similar to those identified under the Carl A. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act grants as an indicator, so SNAP offices are not required to individually assess programs. Career pathways programs, high-need credentials, and programs approved as training under Unemployment Insurance could also count.
Are Parenting Or Caregiving Students Exempt From The Student Rule
In many cases, yes. The following parents or caregivers are exempt from the student rule:
- Parents caring for and living with a child under 6.
- Single parent with a child under 12 enrolled full-time .
- Parents responsible for a child between 6 and 12 years old and who cannot obtain adequate child care.
- Parents who receive TANF cash assistance.
- Parent exemptions are not limited to birth parentsgrandparents and other caregivers may qualify as well.
- If a student lacks access to adequate child care to attend classes AND work 20 hours per week, the student is exempt from the student exclusion. This exemption can apply even if the student isnt actually employed if child care is not available during the hours needed for classes and if the only child care available is substandard, or not appropriate for the child.
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What Is The Abawd 3
Many childless adults ages 18 through 49 years can only recieve three months of SNAP in a 36 month period unless the individual is exempt or meeting certain work rules. This federal SNAP rule affects individuals determined to be able-bodied adults without dependents or ABAWDs. 106 C.M.R. § 362.320. If you are ages 18-49, you may be exempt from this rule if you are disabled, homeless or meeting other rules. See Question 61.
If you are not exempt, you may only get 3 months of SNAP in a 3 year period unless you are:
- Working at least 20 hours a week on average. This includes paid or unpaid work .
- Participating in a DTA approved training or education activity for at least 20 hours a week on average. See more about the SNAP Path to Work in Question 65.
- Doing a combination of training or education and job search activities for 20 hours/week , or
- Doing volunteer work, called community service at an approved non-profit organization that agrees to track your volunteer hours. The number of hours you need to do community service is determined by the amount of your SNAP grant divided by the states minimum wage
Example: James receives the max $194/month SNAP. He needs to do 15 hours a month of volunteer or community service work. If his SNAP benefit was $110/ month, he would need to do 8 hours of community service per month.
Finding a job or community service program
DTA notices about the ABAWD work rules
What Information Needs To Be Submitted With My Application And/or During My Interview
Your SNAP application should include as much information related to your households monthly expenses and income as possible and should include information for all members of your SNAP household. Your SNAP application is considered valid as long as it contains the applicants name, address, and the signature of a responsible household member or the households authorized representative. The Agency will attempt to verify all information during your SNAP interview. The Agency may request additional information from the household in the event that the information you provided cannot be verified during the interview.
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What If I Am Homeless Or Live In A Shelter
You do not need a permanent address, cooking facilities or a regular place to live to get SNAP. 106 C.M.R.§362.100. You can get benefits if you live on the street, are staying at a homeless shelter or a shelter for victims of domestic violence. 106 C.M.R.§361.240. You can also get SNAP even if you get free meals at the shelter or soup kitchen/meals program.
If you do not have an address where you can regularly pick up mail, you can have mail from DTA sent to a local organization such as a shelter that accepts mail for clients, or to a U.S. Post Office Box. If needed, you can also pick up your DTA mail at your local DTA local office if you sign a DTA Using TAO for Mailing Address form.
When you apply, DTA will ask for proof of your identity. 106 C.M.R.§361.610. If you do not have any ID, there are many ways you can prove who you are. This includes a written statement from a staff person at a soup kitchen, detox program or shelter. 106 C.M.R.§361.640. DTA will also ask for and verify your SSN. Once verified, your SSN serves at proof of identity.
If you are placed in Emergency Assistance shelter or are transferred while in EA, the Department of Housing and Community Development should update your address with DTA directly. However, you should still confirm DTA has your correct address. See Question 19.
You may also qualify for emergency or expedited SNAP. See Question 3. And the $152 homeless deduction should be used to calculate your countable income. See Question 86.
Who Is Considered A United States Citizen
You are a United States citizen if you were born anywhere in the United States or its territories, including Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. And if you were born in another country and then naturalized, you are also a U.S. citizen. 106 C.M.R.§ 362.200.
If you were born abroad and at least one of your biological parents was a U.S. born citizen at the time of your birth and lived in the U.S. at any time prior to your birth you may have “derived citizenship.” If both your parents naturalized to U.S. citizenship before you turned age 18, you may also have derived citizenship. See 106 C.M.R.§ 362.210. Check with an immigration specialist if you think these rules apply to you.
Under the SNAP program, you are not required to verify U.S. citizenship. 106 C.M.R. § 362.210. The federal and state SNAP rules allow you to self-declare your U.S. citizenship, unless the information you provide is considered questionable. See Question 13.
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I Have Heard That Snap Is Available To Unaccompanied Youth Under The Age Of 18 However I Have Had No Success In Making That Happen In My State Also Does It Matter If A Child Has Been At A Certain Address For An Extended Period Of Time
Feb 2, 2017 | Q and A
Answer: You are exactly right that unaccompanied youth can access SNAP. There is no age limit and no requirement that youth live with their parents or apply with their parents. This memo from the USDA describes how unaccompanied homeless youth under the age of 18 are eligible for SNAP benefits.
Also, you can view a webinar about SNAP benefits for unaccompanied homeless youth, featuring our own Patricia Julianelle, Ty Jones of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and Courtney Smith of the Detroit Phoenix Center .
Additional Question: Also, does it matter if a child has been at a certain address for an extended period of time? For example, I have a student that has been with her boyfriends parents for almost two years. She is only 17. Mom lives in another state. Im concerned that SNAP would say with the stability of her home address that she wouldnt qualify.
Bottom line, this student should qualify for SNAP but if she is purchasing and preparing food with the boyfriends family, they might all be considered one household, and that would mean the entire familys income would count. That might bump them out of eligibility.
When Are My Snap Benefits Available
If you have filed a new SNAP application, your SNAP benefits will be available the day following your case approval. If you have an ongoing SNAP case, your SNAP benefits are deposited on the same day of the month, every month, between the 1st and 19th.
Your SNAP benefit availability is based on the last digit of your case number: 1=11th, 2=2nd, 3=13th, 4=4th, 5=15th, 6=6th, 7=17th, 8=8th, 9=19th, 0=10th. If you have been receiving SNAP benefits prior to September 01, 2012 without an interruption in your SNAP benefits, your SNAP benefits will be available in correspondence with the last digit of your case number. For example: If your case number ends in 1, your benefits will be available on the 1st day of each month. If your case number ends in 2, your benefits will be available on the 2nd of each month. If your case number ends in 0, your benefits will be available on the 10th day of each month. You may set up a text alert via www.connectebt.com to inform you when your benefits are available.
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How Does Employment Affect Snap Eligibility
- Students are exempt from the student exclusion if they are employed for pay at least 20 hours per week.
- States have the option to average hours of employment over a month and should do so to reduce the harm caused by variable hours of work.
- Schools may need to provide documentation of hours of work to students employed on campus even if they are not paid on an hourly basis.
- Students are exempt if they are participating in a federal or state work-study program even if they work fewer than 20 hours per week.
