EFFECTIVE DATE: April 1, 2009
The recently passed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 had several provisions that will affect the food assistance program. Those provisions include:
Increased Maximum Allotments: The maximum food assistance allotments will increase 13.6% effective April 1, 2009. Below is the new maximum food assistance allotments by assistance group size. The allotment tables will be available on the Innerweb or may be calculated using the procedure found in paragraph (B) of Appendix A of OAC rule 5101:4-5-01.
| Maximum Food Assistance Allotments |
|---|
| AG Size | Maximum Allotment |
| 1 | $200 |
| 2 | 367 |
| 3 | 526 |
| 4 | 668 |
| 5 | 793 |
| 6 | 952 |
| 7 | 1052 |
| 8 | 1202 |
| each additional | +150 |
Increased Minimum Allotment: The minimum allotment for one and two person assistance groups will increase effective April 1, 2009. The current minimum allotment is $14. The new minimum allotment will be $16.
Implementation: Both of these changes have been implemented through an automated CRIS-E mass change and will take effect for April 2009 benefits. Alerts have been generated for all cases which CRIS-E cannot update automatically (i.e. pending, fiated and negatively affected cases) and the eligibility worker will be required to run ED/BC for these cases to implement these changes.
Overpayment Determinations:
The additional food assistance benefits received by recipients should not be considered when calculating overpayments. However, these additional funds will be included for recoupment purposes. This means when eligibility workers are computing overpayments they will have to use the current basis issuance tables; however, the recoupment process will still be correct through the CRIS-E system.
Other ARRA Provisions Affecting Food Assistance
Economic Recovery Payment:
The ARRA authorized a one time $250.00 payment to individuals receiving Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, Railroad Retirement Benefits, and Veterans Disability Compensation or pension benefits. This payment has been excluded for public assistance purposes for the cash and food assistance programs.
Increase in Unemployment Compensation Benefits:
The ARRA gave states the option to increase unemployment benefits by $25.00 per week. Ohio has elected to implement this option; however, a definite start date has not yet been set. These additional benefits will count as income, and will affect the cash and food assistance budgets. As information becomes available we will provide you with details on how to handle the increase.