340:15-1-5 State Supplemental Payment (SSP)

(a) Eligibility for payment. Per Section 164 of Title 56 of the Oklahoma Statutes (O.S. 56 § 164), an individual is eligible for a SSP when he or she is, or would be, eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) because of age or disability, is not ineligible per (b) of this Section, and meets all other eligibility conditions. (1) Required eligibility conditions include: (A) having countable income, including SSI, that is less than the SSP need standard,per Oklahoma Human Services (OKDHS) Appendix C-1, Maximum Income, Resource, and Payment Standards, Schedule VIII.A; (B) meeting resource standards, per OKDHS Appendix C-1, Schedule D; and (C) taking all appropriate steps to obtain other benefits within 30-calendar days after he or she is notified of his or her potential eligibility. (2) The individual may: (A) be ineligible for SSI based on income; but have income less than the SSP maximum, per OKDHS Appendix C-1, Schedule VIII.A; (B) remain approved for care in a licensed Title XIX nursing care facility since December, 1973, and retain eligibility for a mandatory SSP. Refer to Appendix C-1, Schedule VIII.B., for the mandatory supplement standard; or (C) be a resident in the Oklahoma School for the Blind or the Oklahoma School for the Deaf. (b) Ineligible for payment. An individual is not eligible for SSP when he or she: (1) is a resident of a public facility operated by a government entity, such as a correctional, mental health, nursing care, or juvenile facility; (2) is a patient in a psychiatric facility or a psychiatric unit of an acute care hospital for more than 30-calendar days; (3) has countable income in excess of the SSP need standard, per OKDHS Appendix C-1, Schedule VIII.A; (4) has countable resources in excess of the SSP resource standard, per OKDHS Appendix C-1, Schedule VIII.D; (5) does not receive SSI because the applicant or the spouse disposed of resources for less than fair market value within 36 months of the application date, per Section 1382b(c) of Title 42 of the United States Code; (6) is not an Oklahoma resident; (7) does not meet citizenship or alien status requirements, per Oklahoma Administrative Code (OAC) 317:35-5-25 and 56 O.S. §71; (8) does not take all appropriate steps to obtain other benefits with 30-calendar days after being notified of his or her potential eligibility; or (9) is a child in OKDHS custody placed in out-of-home care paid for by OKDHS. (c) SSP payment amount. The SSP payment amount varies depending on the amount of other income the individual(s) receives. The maximum payment must not exceed the maximum payment shown on OKDHS Appendix C-1, Schedule VIII.A. for an individual. Payment may be authorized retroactively based on an appeal decision or to correct an administrative error. Payment may not be authorized retroactively when the client fails to report information affecting eligibility within 10-calendar days of the date the change occurs. Refer to OAC 340:65-3-6 for payment methods and issuance dates. (1) Eligible couple. Income eligibility is determined by comparing the couple's total countable income with the SSP standard for an eligible couple. When the couple's income is: (A) equal to or greater than the standard, the worker denies the application or closes the SSP benefit; or (B) less than the standard, the worker deducts the couple's income from the standard to compute the payment amount. The SSP for each member of the couple is one-half of the remainder. When the SSP cannot be divided equally, one member of the couple receives a higher SSP, subject to the maximum payment, per OKDHS Appendix C-1, Schedule VIII.A. (2) Eligible individual. The worker determines an individual's income eligibility by comparing his or her total countable income with the SSP standard for an eligible individual. When the individual's countable income is: (A) equal to or greater than the SSP standard, the worker denies the application or closes the SSP benefit; or (B) less than the SSP standard, the worker deducts the individual's total countable income from the standard to compute the payment amount, subject to the maximum payment, per OKDHS Appendix C-1, Schedule VIII.A. (3) Eligible individual with essential spouse. The worker determines the income eligibility for an individual with an essential spouse by comparing the total countable income of the couple with the SSP standard for the eligible individual with an essential or ineligible spouse. When the couple's countable income is: (A) equal to or greater than the standard, the worker denies the application or closes the SSP benefit; or (B) less than the standard, the worker deducts the couple's total countable income from the standard to compute the payment amount, subject to the maximum payment, per OKDHS Appendix C-1, Schedule VIII.A. (4) Eligible individual with ineligible spouse. The worker determines income eligibility for an individual with an ineligible spouse by comparing the total countable income of the individual with the SSP standard for the eligible individual. When the individual's countable income is: (A) equal to or greater than the SSP standard for the eligible individual, the worker denies the application or closes the SSP benefit; or (B) less than the SSP standard for the individual, the worker compares the total countable income of the couple with the SSP standard for an eligible individual with an essential or ineligible spouse. When the couple's total countable income is: (i) equal to or greater than the standard, the worker denies the application or closes the SSP benefit; or (ii) less than the standard, the worker deducts the total countable income of the couple from the SSP standard for an eligible individual with an essential or ineligible spouse to compute the payment amount, subject to the maximum payment, per OKDHS Appendix C-1, Schedule VIII.A. Exception: When the ineligible spouse is included in a Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefit, the worker deducts the individual's countable income from the SSP standard for the eligible individual and does not consider the spouse's income. (5) Eligible individual with ineligible spouse and dependent child(ren). The worker determines income eligibility for an individual with an ineligible spouse and dependent child(ren) by comparing the individual's total countable income with the SSP standard for an eligible individual. (A) When the individual's countable income is equal to or greater than the standard, the worker denies the application or closes the SSP benefit. (B) When the individual's countable income is less than the SSP standard for an eligible individual, the worker determines the spouse's countable income by following (i) through (v) of this paragraph. (i) When the spouse and dependent child(ren) are included in a TANF benefit, their income is considered for the TANF benefit and none is deemed to the eligible individual. The worker deducts the individual's total countable income from the SSP standard to compute the SSP benefit amount, subject to the maximum payment, per OKDHS Appendix C-1, Schedule VIII.A. (ii) When the spouse's needs are not included in the TANF benefit with the child(ren), the portion of the spouse's income considered in determining the child(ren)'s TANF benefit is not considered for the SSP benefit. (iii) When the dependent child(ren) does not receive TANF, the worker deducts the child(ren)'s allocation, minus the child(ren)'s income, from the spouse's income before determining the amount of the spouse's income to consider for the SSP benefit. Refer to OKDHS Appendix C-1, Schedule VIII.C for the child(ren)'s allocation amount. (iv) The individual's total countable income and the spouse's countable income after subtracting the amount considered for the dependent child(ren), is compared with the SSP standard for an eligible individual with an essential or ineligible spouse, per OKDHS Appendix C-1, Schedule VIII.A. When the countable income is: (I) equal to or greater than the SSP standard, the worker denies the application or closes the SSP benefit; or (II) less than the SSP standard, the worker deducts the countable income from the standard to compute the payment amount, subject to the maximum payment, per (OKDHS) Appendix C-1, Schedule VIII.A. (v) The dependent child(ren)'s income is never deemed to the adult. (6) Minor who is blind or disabled. The worker determines a minor's income eligibility by adding the child's income to the amount deemed from the child's parents and compares the total to the SSP standard for an eligible individual. When the countable income is: (A) equal to or greater than the standard, the worker denies the application or closes the SSP benefit; or (B) less than the standard, the worker deducts the total countable income from the SSP standard to compute the payment amount, subject to the maximum payment, per OKDHS Appendix C-1, Schedule VIII.A. (d) Concurrent receipt of more than one cash assistance payment. An individual must not be included in more than one SSP or TANF benefit for the same time period. (1) An individual meeting SSP eligibility requirements may receive SSP and be the payee for a TANF benefit when his or her needs are not included in the TANF cash assistance. (2) When a TANF recipient is transferred from TANF to SSP or an SSP recipient is transferred from Aid to the Disabled to Aid to the Aged or Blind, the effective date must be the same for the removal from one category and the beginning of payment from the other category. (e) Non-conditioning of payment. OKDHS does not restrict in any way how the client uses the assistance payment. (f) Application and renewal processing. Refer to OAC 340:65-3-1 for application processing rules and OAC 340:65-3-8 for renewal processing rules.