WSR 24-22-058
PERMANENT RULES
DEPARTMENT OF
SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES
(Economic Services Administration)
[Filed October 28, 2024, 2:47 p.m., effective November 28, 2024]
Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.
Purpose: The department of social and health services is adopting amendments to WAC 388-492-0070 How are my WASHCAP food benefits calculated?
These amendments maintain alignment between Washington combined application project (WASHCAP) rules and federal requirements. As a means of maintaining cost neutrality, the United States Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service periodically adjusts WASHCAP program standards.
Citation of Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 388-492-0070.
Adopted under notice filed as WSR 24-18-090 on August 30, 2024.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at the Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's own Initiative: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.
Date Adopted: October 28, 2024.
Katherine I. Vasquez
Rules Coordinator
SHS-5046.1
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 19-03-023, filed 1/4/19, effective 2/4/19)
WAC 388-492-0070How are my WASHCAP food benefits calculated?
We calculate your Washington state combined application project (WASHCAP) food benefits as follows:
(1) We begin with your gross income.
(2) We subtract the current standard deduction for one person under WAC 388-450-0185 from your gross income to get your countable income.
(3) We figure your shelter cost based on information we receive from the Social Security Administration (SSA) unless you report a change as described under WAC 388-492-0080.
(a) If you pay more than ((three hundred twenty dollars))$320 a month for shelter, we use ((four hundred twenty-five dollars))$460 as your shelter cost.
(b) If you pay ((three hundred twenty dollars))$320 or less a month for shelter, we use ((two hundred ten dollars))$210 as your shelter cost.
(c) We add the current standard utility allowance under WAC 388-450-0195 to the shelter cost we use under either (a) or (b) of this subsection to determine your total shelter cost.
(4) We figure your shelter deduction by subtracting one half of your countable income from your total shelter cost under subsection (3)(c) of this section.
(5) We figure your net income by subtracting your shelter deduction from your countable income and rounding the resulting figure up from ((fifty))50 cents and down from ((forty-nine))49 cents to the nearest whole dollar.
(6) We figure your WASHCAP food benefits (allotment) by:
(a) Multiplying your net income by ((thirty))30 percent and rounding up to the next whole dollar; and
(b) Subtracting the result from the maximum allotment under WAC 388-478-0060.
(7) If you are eligible for WASHCAP, you will get at least the minimum monthly benefit for basic food under WAC 388-412-0015.