Previous Policy: Pursuant to provisions of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, the United States Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) provides States with values for homeless shelter deductions for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).  Households considered to be homeless can choose the homeless shelter deduction if the household does not claim actual shelter cost for the month.  The current homeless shelter deduction is $143.00.

New policy: The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 amends section 5(e)(6)(D) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to state this amount will be adjusted beginning in Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 and each subsequent fiscal year to reflect changes for the preceding 12-month period in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor.  States received notice on February 8, 2019, from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) of the increase from $143.00 to $147.55 for FY 2019.   FNS issued a subsequent memo on March 12, 2019 addressing that cents would be treated according to 7 CRF 273.10(e)(1)(ii); therefore, cents are dropped prior to the deduction being applied.

Implementation: A reference table will be updated in the Ohio Benefits Worker Portal to increase the standard homeless deduction to $147.00 effective July 1, 2019.   This change will impact a household eligible to receive and choosing the homeless shelter deduction that is certified on or after July 1, 2019 or saved and accepted case changes after July 1, 2019.