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Chapter: 0200 General Program Information Program: FS 1 0210.0000 Food Stamps This chapter presents general program information about the Food Stamp Program. 0210.0001 Caseload Distribution (FS) Caseload assignments are frequently made according to the characteristics of a given assistance group and the type of assistance received. These breakdowns are called Temporary Cash Assistance cases, Family-Related Medicaid cases or SSI-Related Medicaid cases. Each type may include food stamps.

A Temporary Cash Assistance case or Family-Related Medicaid case may contain one or more of the following types of assistance: Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA), Refugee Assistance Program (RAP), food stamps, Family-Related Medicaid, MEDS or Medically Needy.

An SSI-Related Medicaid case may contain one or more of the following types of assistance: Institutional Care Program (ICP), MEDS-AD, Protected Medicaid (PM), Medically Needy, Emergency Medicaid for Aliens (EMA), Hospice, Home and Community Based Services (HCBS), Refugee Assistance Program (RAP), Qualified Medicare Beneficiaries (QMB), Working Disabled (WD), Special Low Income Medicare Beneficiary (SLMB), Optional State Supplementation (OSS), Part B Medicare Only (PBMO), Home Care for Disabled Adults (HCDA), or food stamps. All programs are Medicaid Programs except OSS, HCDA and food stamps. The Department of Elder Affairs currently handles Home Care for the Elderly (HCE).

A mixed caseload contains one or more Temporary Cash Assistance or Family-Related Medicaid and SSI-Related types of assistance, with or without food stamps.

Child in Care cases are frequently specialized due to the special confidentiality requirements and unique policy. Therefore, they are not considered part of the Temporary Cash Assistance or Family-Related Medicaid caseload and the information about the case is limited to eligibility specialists with special confidential security profiles. 0210.0100 FOOD STAMP PROGRAM (FS) The purpose of the Food Stamp Program is to help eligible assistance groups obtain a more nutritious diet by increasing food purchasing power through regular market channels. 0210.0101 Legal Basis (FS) The Legal Basis for the Food Stamp Program is the Food Stamp Act of 1977, the Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1981, and the Food Security Act of 1965. Benefits are funded 100 percent by the federal government, and administrative costs are shared by the state and federal government on a 50-50 basis. 0210.0102 Program Overview (FS) Assistance groups are authorized benefits electronically through Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT), which they use to purchase food at retail stores authorized by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Food stamps are intended to supplement other assistance group income. The amount of benefits received is based on the assistance group's size and financial circumstances.