EFFECTIVE October 1, 2009
Previous Policy: Each year the United States Department of Agriculture - Food and Nutrition Service issues the cost-of-living adjustments for the food assistance income eligibility standards and deductions. Previously these adjustments were issued by Ohio Administrative Code rule; however, the rules are being revised and the adjustments will be issued annually through a Food Assistance Change Transmittal.
New policy: The cost-of-living adjustments for the four utility allowances, the adjusted gross and net monthly income eligibility standards, the standard deduction, and the excess shelter expense deduction are effective on October 1, 2009 for all assistance groups. The maximum and minimum allotments and homeless shelter deduction will not change. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 raised the maximum allotments by 13.6 percent in April 2009.
Effective October 1, 2009 the following changes are applicable:
Utility Allowances
| Type | Deduction Amount | Description |
|---|
| Standard Utility Allowance | $588 | deduction for the households that incur heating and/or cooling costs. |
| Limited Utility Allowance | $352 | deduction for the households that incur two or more utility expenses, none of which is a heating or cooling expense, but may include a telephone expense. |
| Single Telephone Allowance | $36 | deduction for households that only incur a telephone expense. |
| Single Standard Utility Allowance | $79 | deduction for households that incur one utility expense that is not a heating, cooling or telephone expense. |
Standard Deduction
| AG Size | Deduction Amount |
|---|
| 1 - 3 | $141 |
| 4 | 153 |
| 5 | 179 |
| 6 or more persons | 205 |
Maximum Shelter Costs
$459
Net Income Standards (100% of poverty)
| AG Size | Maximum Income |
|---|
| 1 | $903 |
| 2 | 1215 |
| 3 | 1526 |
| 4 | 1838 |
| 5 | 2150 |
| 6 | 2461 |
| 7 | 2773 |
| 8 | 3085 |
| each additional | +312 |
Gross Income Standards (130% of poverty)
| AG Size | Maximum Income |
|---|
| 1 | $1174 |
| 2 | 1579 |
| 3 | 1984 |
| 4 | 2389 |
| 5 | 2794 |
| 6 | 3200 |
| 7 | 3605 |
| 8 | 4010 |
| each additional | +406 |
Separate AG Income Standards -- Elderly and Disabled AGs Only (165% of poverty)
| AG Size | Maximum Income |
|---|
| 1 | $1490 |
| 2 | 2004 |
| 3 | 2518 |
| 4 | 3032 |
| 5 | 3547 |
| 6 | 4061 |
| 7 | 4575 |
| 8 | 5089 |
| each additional | +515 |
Implementation: The cost-of-living adjustments for the utility allowances and the eligibility standards will be implemented via a mass change on Labor Day weekend. Alerts will be generated for all cases in pending status which CRIS-E cannot update automatically. The eligibility worker will be required to run ED/BC for those cases to implement these changes. Each assistance group affected by this change will also receive a notice providing their new benefit amount and their right to a fair hearing.