PROPOSED RULES
SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES
(Economic Services Administration)
Original Notice.
Preproposal statement of inquiry was filed as WSR 10-06-061.
Title of Rule and Other Identifying Information: The community services division is proposing to amend WAC 388-489-0010 How is my transitional food assistance benefit calculated?
Hearing Location(s): Office Building 2, Auditorium, DSHS Headquarters, 1115 Washington Street S.E., Olympia, WA 98504 (public parking at 11th and Jefferson. A map is available at http://www.dshs.wa.gov/msa/rpau/RPAU-OB-2directions.html or by calling (360) 664-6094), on October 26, 2010, at 10:00 a.m.
Date of Intended Adoption: Not earlier than October 27, 2010.
Submit Written Comments to: DSHS Rules Coordinator, P.O. Box 45850, Olympia, WA 98504-5850, delivery 1115 Washington Street S.E., Olympia, WA 98504, e-mail DSHSRPAURulesCoordinator@dshs.wa.gov, fax (360) 664-6185, by 5 p.m. on October 26, 2010.
Assistance for Persons with Disabilities: Contact Jennisha Johnson, DSHS rules consultant, by October 5, 2010, TTY (360) 664-6178 or (360) 664-6094 or by e-mail at johnsjl4@dshs.wa.gov.
Purpose of the Proposal and Its Anticipated Effects, Including Any Changes in Existing Rules: The proposed amendment informs households that transitional food benefits are adjusted based on a change in household size and that the income and expenses of the person who left the assistance unit is removed from the benefit calculation.
Reasons Supporting Proposal: This amendment is necessary to comply with federal regulations at 7 C.F.R. 273.30, published on January 29, 2010, related to the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.057, 74.04.500, 74.04.510, 74.04.515, 74.08.090, 74.08A.010, 74.08A.903.
Statute Being Implemented: RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.057, 74.04.500, 74.04.510, 74.04.515, 74.08.090, 74.08A.010, 74.08A.903.
Rule is necessary because of federal law, 7 C.F.R. 273.30.
Name of Proponent: Department of social and health services, governmental.
Name of Agency Personnel Responsible for Drafting, Implementation and Enforcement: Kim Chea, 712 Pear Street S.E., Olympia, WA 98503, (360) 725-4653.
No small business economic impact statement has been prepared under chapter 19.85 RCW. The proposed rules do not have an economic impact on small businesses. The proposed amendments affect DSHS clients by clarifying how benefits are adjusted when someone is removed from a transitional food assistance household.
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."
September 16, 2010
Katherine I. Vasquez
Rules Coordinator
4228.2(a) If your Basic Food assistance unit's only income was temporary assistance for needy families, the transitional food assistance benefit will be the amount your household would have received if you had no income.
(b) If your Basic Food benefit was calculated using temporary assistance for needy families plus income from another source, we will count only the income from the other source when calculating the transitional food assistance amount.
(2) We will adjust your transitional food assistance benefits if:
(a) Someone who gets transitional food assistance with
you leaves your assistance unit and is found eligible to
receive Basic Food in another assistance unit. We will
((reduce)) adjust your benefits by:
(i) Reducing your ((transitional food)) assistance
((based on)) unit size by the number of persons who left your
assistance unit; and ((become eligible in another Basic Food
assistance unit))
(ii) Removing the income and expenses clearly belonging to the persons who left your assistance unit.
(b) A change to the maximum allotment for Basic Food under WAC 388-478-0060 results in an increase in benefits for Basic Food assistance units.
(c) You got an overpayment of Basic Food benefits and we need to adjust the amount we deduct from your monthly benefits to repay the overpayment as required in WAC 388-410-0033. This includes:
(i) Starting a new monthly deduction;
(ii) Changing the amount of the monthly deduction; and
(iii) Ending the monthly deduction when the amount you owe has been paid off.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.057, 74.04.510, 74.08.090, and 74.08A.010. 05-19-060, § 388-489-0010, filed 9/16/05, effective 11/1/05.]