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State Regulations
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Applicant household consisting of residents of a public institution who apply jointly for SSI and food assistance prior to their release from the public institution will have their eligibility determined for the month in which the applicant household is released from the institution.
Migrant and seasonal farm workers shall receive the full allotment for the month of application when the household has participated in the food assistance program within 30 days prior to the date of application. If the benefit amount for the prior month was $0 due to recoupment or other reasons, but the household was certified and eligible for the program, the household is considered to have participated.
Once a household moves from a project area in which it is currently certified, eligibility for the food assistance program terminates and must be reestablished by application in the new project area. A household currently certified in another state, who applies in Alabama and is entitled to expedited service, and for whom nonparticipation in the other state cannot be established within the expedited time frame, shall be allowed to sign a statement avowing that it did not and will not participate in the other state in the month of application.
The proration of benefits is automated. If proration results in an allotment of less than $10, no issuance shall be made for an initial or beginning month to any household, including one and two-person households and categorically eligible households.
If an application for recertification is submitted in the month after the household's certification period has expired, benefits for that month shall be prorated.
If a household submits an application for recertification prior to the end of its certification period but is found ineligible for the first month following the end of the certification period then the first month of any subsequent participation shall be considered an initial month. The same application shall be used in this situation (see C. below) and proration would not be applicable if the household were approved within the appropriate processing standard.
If a household submits an application for recertification prior to the end of its certification period and is found eligible for the first month following the end of the certification period, then that month shall not be an initial month.
Income received during the past 30 days should be used as an indicator of the income that is and will be available to the household during the certification period. However, this income should not be used if changes have occurred or can be anticipated. Under no circumstances should the worker automatically attribute to the household amounts of any past income without discussion with the household.
If the household states the income in the past 30 days is representative of the normal fluctuations in income and the total monthly income is relatively stable (although the income may vary within the month) then it is appropriate to use this income to anticipate the income for the certification period. Use of a month's income to anticipate the monthly income to show in the food assistance budget does not constitute averaging, even if it involves the determination of income received more often than monthly which is then converted to monthly income using the appropriate conversion factor.
If income fluctuates to the extent that a 30-day period alone cannot provide an accurate indication of anticipated income, the worker and household may determine that a longer period of past time will more accurately represent the anticipated fluctuations in future income. If income fluctuates from month to month over a period of time, income averaging may be a more accurate method to use to determine the monthly income to budget. See Section 1002C for the policies concerning income averaging.
Nonrecurring lump-sum payments shall be counted as a resource starting in the month received and shall not be counted as income.
Wages held at the request of the employee shall be considered income to the household in the month the wages would otherwise have been paid by the employer. However, wages held by the employer, as a general practice, even if in violation of law, shall not be counted as income to the household unless the household anticipates that it will ask for and receive an advance, or that it will receive income from wages that were previously held by the employer as a general practice and that were, therefore, not previously counted as income.
Advances on wages shall count as income in the month received only if reasonably anticipated.
Income received monthly or semi-monthly (twice a month, not every two weeks) is counted in the month it is intended to cover rather than the month in which it is received when an extra check is received in one month because of changes in pay dates or mailing cycles for reasons such as weekends or holidays.
It is the worker's decision to use income averaging when fluctuations in income make anticipation inappropriate. Income averaging may not be used for destitute households, as averaging would result in assigning to the month of application income from future periods not available to the destitute household for its current food needs.
A minimum of two months of income must be used to determine an average. If two months of income does not accurately reflect the fluctuations in income, a longer period of time may be used to arrive at an average.
Income which has been averaged must be recalculated at recertification or at a report of changes that cause an increase in the allotment. At certification the household must be advised of the averaged amount of income budgeted, as this becomes the basis upon which changes in income must be reported.
Households which by contract or self-employment derive their annual income in a period of time shorter than one year shall have that income averaged over a 12-month period provided the income from the contract is not received on an hourly or piecework basis.
Utility expenses which are reimbursed or paid by an excluded payment, including HUD and FHA utility payments shall not be deductible. Households are entitled to use either the SUA or BUA (as appropriate) or actual costs in excess of the excluded payments.
That portion of an allowable medical expense which is not reimbursable shall be included as part of the household's medical expenses. Households entitled to the medical deduction shall have the non-reimbursable portion considered at the time the amount of reimbursement is received or can otherwise be verified.
Expenses shall only be deductible if the service is provided by someone outside of the household and the household makes a money payment for the service.
In addition to meeting the net income eligibility standards, households which do not contain an elderly or disabled member shall have their gross income, as calculated in Section 1004 A above, compared to the gross monthly income standards defined for the appropriate household size to determine eligibility for the month.
Except for initial months in which proration is a factor, and the provision precluding issuances of less than $10 in an initial month, the household's monthly allotment shall be equal to the Thrifty Food Plan for the household's size reduced by 30% of the household's net monthly income.
Except during an initial month all eligible one and two-person households shall receive minimum monthly allotments equal to the minimum benefit.