WSR 15-01-049

PROPOSED RULES

DEPARTMENT OF

SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES

(Economic Services Administration)

[Filed December 9, 2014, 2:39 p.m.]

Original Notice.

Preproposal statement of inquiry was filed as WSR 14-21-113.

Title of Rule and Other Identifying Information: The department is proposing to amend WAC 388-414-0001 Do I have to meet all eligibility requirements for Basic Food? and 388-468-0005 Residency.

Hearing Location(s): Office Building 2, DSHS Headquarters, 1115 Washington, Olympia, WA 98504, (public parking at 11th and Jefferson. A map is available at http://www1.dshs.wa.gov/msa/rpau/RPAU-OB-2directions.html), on January 27, 2015, at 10:00 a.m.

Date of Intended Adoption: Not earlier than January 28, 2015.

Submit Written Comments to: DSHS Rules Coordinator, P.O. Box 45850, Olympia, WA 98504, e-mail DSHSRPAURulesCoordinator@dshs.wa.gov, fax (360) 664-6185, by 5:00 p.m., January 27, 2015.

Assistance for Persons with Disabilities: Contact Jeff Kildahl, DSHS rules consultant by January 13, 2015, TTY (360) 664-6178 or (360) 664-6092, e-mail Kildaja@dshs.wa.gov.

Purpose of the Proposal and Its Anticipated Effects, Including Any Changes in Existing Rules: This department is proposing to amend WAC 388-414-0001 to fully incorporate requirements under Title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) §273.2(j) related to categorically eligible (CE) for the federal supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) and the requirement to verify residency if questionable at application and recertification for certain households.

The department is also proposing to amend WAC 388-468-0005 to clarify that households that are considered CE based on the receipt of noncash public assistance benefits (broad-based CE) have the same state residency verification requirements as non-CE households. Proposed amendments also clarify that both household types can be out-of-state for more than one month and still be considered a resident.

Reasons Supporting Proposal: Current rules in WAC are not fully aligned with federal regulations.

Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.057, 74.04.510, and 74.08.090.

Statute Being Implemented: RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.057, 74.04.510, and 74.08.090.

Rule is necessary because of federal law, 7 C.F.R. 273.2 and 273.3.

Name of Proponent: Department of social and health services, governmental.

Name of Agency Personnel Responsible for Drafting, Implementation, and Enforcement: Robert Thibodeau, 712 Pear Street S.E., Olympia, WA 98504, (360) 725-4634.

No small business economic impact statement has been prepared under chapter 19.85 RCW. These proposed rules do not have an economic impact on small businesses. The proposed amendment only affects certain households served by DSHS who receive food assistance under Basic Food and travel out-of-state with the intention of returning making their residency questionable or the household moves out-of-state permanently.

A cost-benefit analysis is not required under RCW 34.05.328. These amendments are exempt as allowed under RCW 34.05.328 (5)(b)(vii) which states in part, "[t]his section does not apply to … rules of the department of social and health services relating only to client medical or financial eligibility and rules concerning liability for care of dependents."

December 8, 2014

Katherine I. Vasquez

Rules Coordinator

AMENDATORY SECTION (Amending WSR 14-15-070, filed 7/15/14, effective 8/15/14)

WAC 388-414-0001 Do I have to meet all eligibility requirements for Basic Food?

(1) What is "categorically eligible" (CE)?

(a) Being categorically eligible (CE) means that you have already met requirements for the program. If you are CE, you do not have to meet every program requirement to be eligible for Basic Food.

(b) If your assistance unit (AU) is CE, you automatically meet the following requirements for Basic Food:

(i) ((Residency under WAC 388-468-0005;

(ii))) Countable resource limit under WAC 388-470-0005;

(((iii))) (ii) Maximum gross monthly income under WAC 388-478-0060; and

(((iv))) (iii) Maximum net monthly income under WAC 388-478-0060.

(c) If your AU is CE and the information is available from another program, you do not need to provide the following for Basic Food:

(i) Social Security number information under WAC 388-476-0005; ((and))

(ii) Sponsored alien information under WAC 388-450-0155; and

(iii) Residency under WAC 388-468-0005.

(d) Being CE does not mean that your AU is guaranteed to get Basic Food benefits. If your AU is CE:

(i) You must still meet the other Basic Food program requirements under WAC 388-400-0040; and

(ii) If you meet the other program requirements, we must budget your AU's income to determine the amount of benefits your AU will receive.

(2) Who is categorically eligible for Basic Food? Your Basic Food AU is CE when your household meets the conditions in subsection (2)(a) or (2)(b) below:

(a) Your AU's income that we do not exclude under WAC 388-450-0015 is at or under two hundred percent of the federal poverty guidelines we use for department programs.

(i) The federal government publishes the federal poverty guidelines on the health and human services web site. These are currently posted at http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/index.shtml.

(ii) The department uses the monthly value of the income guidelines for the current year beginning the first of April every year.

(iii) If your income is not over two hundred percent of the federal poverty guidelines, we provide your AU information about the department programs and resources in the community.

(b) Everyone in your AU receives one of the following cash assistance programs:

(i) Temporary assistance for needy families (TANF)/state family assistance (SFA) or Tribal TANF under WAC 388-400-0005 and WAC 388-400-0010;

(ii) Aged, blind, or disabled (ABD) cash assistance under WAC 388-400-0060;

(iii) Supplemental security income (SSI) under Title XVI of the Social Security Act; or

(iv) Diversion cash assistance (DCA) under WAC 388-432-0005. DCA makes the Basic Food AU CE for the month it receives DCA and the following three months.

(3) Who is not CE even if my AU meets the above criteria?

(a) Even if your AU is CE, members of your AU are not eligible for Basic Food if they:

(i) Are not eligible because of their alien or student status;

(ii) Were disqualified from Basic Food under WAC 388-444-0055 for failing work requirements;

(iii) Are not eligible for failing to provide or apply for a Social Security number;

(iv) Receive SSI in a cash-out state (state where SSI payments are increased to include the value of the client's food stamp allotment); or

(v) Live in an institution not eligible for Basic Food under WAC 388-408-0040.

(b) If a person in your AU is not eligible for Basic Food, we do not include them as an eligible member of your CE AU.

(i) Your AU is not eligible because of striker requirements under WAC 388-480-0001;

(ii) Your AU is ineligible for knowingly transferring countable resources in order to qualify for benefits under WAC 388-488-0010;

(iii) Your AU refused to cooperate in providing information that is needed to determine your eligibility;

(iv) The head of household for your AU failed to meet work requirements; or

(v) Anyone in your AU is disqualified because of an intentional program violation under WAC 388-446-0015.

AMENDATORY SECTION (Amending WSR 12-10-042, filed 4/27/12, effective 6/1/12)

WAC 388-468-0005 Residency.

Subsections (1) through (4) applies to cash, the Basic Food program, and medical programs.

(1) A resident is a person who:

(a) Currently lives in Washington and intends to continue living here permanently or for an indefinite period of time; or

(b) Entered the state looking for a job; or

(2) A person does not need to live in the state for a specific period of time to be considered a resident.

(3) A child under age eighteen is a resident of the state where the child's primary custodian lives.

(4) ((With the exception of subsection (5) of this section, a)) A client can temporarily be out of the state for more than one month. If so, the client must supply the department with adequate information to demonstrate the intent to continue to reside in the state of Washington.

(5) ((Basic Food program assistance units who are not categorically eligible do not meet residency requirements if they stay out of the state more than one calendar month.

(6))) A client may not receive comparable benefits from another state for the cash and Basic Food programs.

(((7))) (6) A former resident of the state can apply for the ABD cash program while living in another state if:

(a) The person:

(i) Plans to return to this state;

(ii) Intends to maintain a residence in this state; and

(iii) Lives in the United States at the time of the application.

(b) In addition to the conditions in subsection (((7))) (6)(a)(i), (ii), and (iii) being met, the absence must be:

(i) Enforced and beyond the person's control; or

(ii) Essential to the person's welfare and is due to physical or social needs.

(((8))) (7) Residency is not a requirement for detoxification services.

(((9))) (8) A person is not a resident when the person enters Washington state only for medical care. This person is not eligible for any medical program. The only exception is described in subsection (((10))) (9) of this section.

(((10))) (9) It is not necessary for a person moving from another state directly to a nursing facility in Washington state to establish residency before entering the facility. The person is considered a resident if they intend to remain permanently or for an indefinite period unless placed in the nursing facility by another state.

(((11))) (10) For purposes of medical programs, a client's residence is the state:

(a) Paying a state supplemental security income (SSI) payment; or

(b) Paying federal payments for foster or adoption assistance; or

(d) Where the parent or legal guardian, if appointed, for an institutionalized:

(i) Minor child; or

(ii) Client twenty-one years of age or older, who became incapable of determining residential intent before reaching age twenty-one.

(e) Where a client is residing if the person becomes incapable of determining residential intent after reaching twenty-one years of age; or

(f) Making a placement in an out-of-state institution; or

(g) For any other institutionalized individual, the state of residence is the state where the individual is living with the intent to remain there permanently or for an indefinite period.

(((12))) (11) In a dispute between states as to which is a person's state of residence, the state of residence is the state in which the person is physically located.

Reviser's note: The typographical error in the above section occurred in the copy filed by the agency and appears in the Register pursuant to the requirements of RCW 34.08.040.