Do I have to meet all eligibility requirements for Basic Food?
WAC 388-414-0001
WAC 388-414-0001
Effective January 1, 2006
WAC 388-414-0001 Do I have to meet all eligibility requirements for Basic Food?
What is "categorically eligible" (CE)?
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.
If your assistance unit (AU) is CE, you automatically meet the following requirements for Basic Food:
Being CE does not mean that your AU is guaranteed to get Basic Food benefits. If your AU is CE:
You must still meet the other Basic Food program requirements under 388-400-0040; and
If you meet the other program requirements, we must budget your AU's income to determine the amount of benefits your AU will receive.
Who is categorically eligible for Basic Food?
Your Basic Food AU is CE when:
Every member of your AU gets either general assistance (GA), Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment Support Act (ADATSA), or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) cash benefits on their own behalf;
Any member of your AU gets or is authorized to get payments from the following programs because we have determined that the entire AU benefits from someone receiving the assistance:
Temporary assistance for needy families (TANF) cash assistance;
State family assistance (SFA); or
Diversion cash assistance (DCA). You are CE for the month you receive DCA and the three following months as long as you have one adult relative caretaker with a dependent child in the Basic Food AU
Your AU’s income that we don’t exclude under 388-450-0015 is not over the gross monthly income under WAC 388-478-0060. If your income is not over the gross monthly income limit, we provide your AU information about department programs and referral to resources in the community.
Who is not CE even if my AU meets the above criteria?
Even if your AU is CE, members of your AU are not eligible for Basic Food if they:
Are not eligible because of their alien or student status;
Were disqualified from Basic Food under 388-444-0055 for failing work requirements;
Are not eligible for failing to provide or apply for a Social Security number;
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
Live in an institution not eligible for Basic Food under 388-408-0040.
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.
Your AU is not CE if:
Your AU is not eligible because of striker requirements under 388-480-0001;
Your AU is ineligible for knowingly transferring resources in order to qualify for benefits under 388-488-0010;
Your AU refused to cooperate in providing information that is needed to determine your eligibility;
The head of household for your AU failed to meet work requirements; or
Anyone in your AU is disqualified because of an intentional program violation under 388-446-0015;
CE does not meet all eligibility requirements for Basic Food:
An AU that is CE doesn’t automatically receive Basic Food benefits. If the AU is ineligible for a reason other than income or resources, CE status does not make them eligible for benefits. Examples of eligibility requirements not met by CE include:
AUs ineligible based on Striker requirements under WAC 388-480-0001; and
AUs disqualified for transferring countable resources based on Transfer of Property requirements under WAC 388-488-0010.
CE based on GA, ADATSA, or SSI:
If all Basic Food AU members receive GA, ADATSA, SSI or a combination of the three, the members are all CE.
If a client is eligible to receive SSI or public assistance benefits but gets a zero benefit due to a suspension, overpayment, or having an initial month’s benefit below the minimum issuance, we still consider the client to receive the benefit for purposes of determining categorical eligibility.
EXAMPLE
A Basic Food AU includes a GA-U single adult and a non-assistance friend. The GA-U single adult and the non-assistance friend are not CE based on one AU member receives GA-U.
NOTE:
The AU in the previous Example is CE if their gross countable income is at or under the gross income limit.
EXAMPLE
A Basic Food AU includes 2 single adults. One person receives GA-U while the other receives SSI. The entire AU is CE.
CE based on TANF or SFA:
The entire AU is CE for Basic Food if any member of the AU receives or is authorized to receive TANF/SFA cash assistance. This is because everyone in the Basic Food AU benefits from the cash assistance.
EXAMPLE
A TANF/SFA cash assistance unit includes mom and three children. Mom's boyfriend (not the father of any of the children) lives in the household and receives Basic Food with mom and the children. The entire AU (including the boyfriend)) is CE because some members receive TANF/SFA cash assistance.
EXAMPLE
A TANF/SFA cash assistance unit includes dad with two children. Also living in the home is a roommate. They all declare to buy and fix food together. The entire Basic Food AU (including the roommate) is CE because some AU members receive TANF/SFA cash assistance. A month later, roommate moves out and applies for Basic Food on her own. She is no longer CE based on someone in the AU receiving TANF because:
She doesn't receive TANF/SFA and isn't authorized to receive the benefits; and
She is not in a Basic Food AU with members that receive or are authorized to receive TANF/SFA.
EXAMPLE
Same scenario as the previous example with household consisting of dad, two children and roommate. Dad and children receive TANF/SFA. However, the dad and children state they buy and fix food separately from the roommate. The roommate receives Basic Food by herself. Dad and children are CE based on receiving TANF/SFA while the roommate is not. The TANF/SFA doesn't make the roommate CE because:
She doesn't receive TANF/SFA and isn't authorized to receive the benefits; and
She is not in a Basic Food AU with members that receive or are authorized to receive TANF/SFA.
NOTE:
The roommate’s AU in the previous two Examples may still be CE if their gross countable income is at or under the gross income limit.
Tribal TANF: An AU that contains a member who receives Tribal TANF benefits is CE just like an AU with a member who receives TANF from the department.
Child-Only TANF/SFA: If the TANF/SFA AU is a child-only case, the Basic Food AU is CE as long as the child continues to receive TANF/SFA.
EXAMPLE
The Basic Food AU includes a non-needy grandmother and grandson that are receiving TANF/SFA for just the child. The entire AU is CE because a member of the AU receives TANF/SFA.
EXAMPLE
The Basic Food AU includes a non-needy aunt and niece that receive TANF/SFA for the niece only. The child leaves the aunt to live with the child's mother. Child and mother begin receiving TANF/SFA and Basic Food as one AU. The mother and child's AU is CE. The aunt is no longer CE because she doesn't receive TANF/SFA and does not have a dependent in the Basic Food AU.
DCA (Diversion Cash Assistance): If the AU receives DCA, the entire AU is CE for the month they receive DCA and the 3 following months. During the 4-month period, the AU will continue to be CE as long as the AU has at least one adult relative caretaker with a dependent child that were previous DCA recipients.
EXAMPLE
A Basic Food AU who received DCA includes a two-parent family with two children. The AU is CE for the month they receive DCA and the 3 following months. In month two, mom and dad separate and move to different residences. They become two Basic Food AUs. One child lives with mom and one child lives with dad. Both AUs continue to be CE for the remaining 2 months because both AUs have a recipient of DCA and at least one dependent.
EXAMPLE
Same scenario as above but both children live with dad. Mom is her own Basic Food AU while dad and the 2 children are in another AU. Mom is no longer CE based on DCA because her AU does not include a dependent child. However, dad’s AU remains CE for the remaining two months because his AU includes at least one dependent child.
EXAMPLE
The Mom in the previous Example may still be CE if her gross countable income is at or under the gross income limit.
This web-based information and referral service partly funded with TANF and TANF Maintenance Of Effort funds. Because of this funding, we use this service to make AUs categorically eligible for Basic Food if they have countable income at or under the gross income standard.
Clients are notified and authorized to receive this service when they apply for Basic Food. We provide this information on the following department forms:
This eliminates resource requirements and the net income test for AUs with countable income at or under the gross income standard.
If an AU has income up to this limit, we do not need to look atresources unless the AU can’t be CE because:
A member of the AU is disqualified from Basic Food for an Intentional Program Violation (IPV); or
The Head of Household is disqualified for not meeting Food Stamp Employment & Training requirements.
Residency:
Households that are CE have the residency requirements deemed. This does not mean that if a household moves out of the state that it will continue to be eligible for Washington Basic Food benefits.
Social Security Numbers and Sponsored AlienInformation:
CE households are not generally required to provide Social Security Numbers (SSN) or sponsored alien information. However, we must verify information necessary for the benefit determination if it is not captured in another program.
If the household is CE based on gross income only, and:
The information is not otherwise available; we will need to obtain the SSN.
We have not previously verified the information; we must obtain the sponsored alien information if required under WAC 388-450-0155.
SSI recipient in cash-out state:
A cash-out state is a state where the SSI payments are specially increased to include the value of the food stamp allotment. California is an example of a cash-out state. No one who receives SSI benefits and / or State supplementary payments as a resident of California is eligible to receive Basic Food benefits.
If a client stops receiving SSI benefits from a cash-out state, they may receive Basic Food benefits and be categorically eligible.
How to treat the Resources of an ineligible member of a CE Assistance Unit:
If an AU is CE for Basic Food, but a member is ineligible for benefits, the resources of the ineligible member does not impact the AU’s eligibility for Basic Food.
EXAMPLE
Basic Food AU consists of three eligible members and one member who is ineligible based on their undocumented status. The AU is CE based on two of the members receiving TANF benefits. The ineligible member has $3,000 in resources. Because the AU is CE, the resources of the ineligible person do not impact the AU’s eligibility for benefits.
EXAMPLE
How to treat the income of an ineligible member of a CE Assistance Unit:
To determine if the AU is CE based on having income at or under 130% of the gross income limit, we count a portion of the ineligible member’s income to the AU as required under WAC 388-450-0140. We then compare the AU’s gross income to the 130% standard based on the number of eligible AU members to determine if the AU is categorically eligible based on income.
EXAMPLE
Basic Food AU consists of three eligible members and one member who is ineligible based on their undocumented status. The AU is not CE based on receipt of TANF/SFA, DCA, SSI, or GA benefits. The three eligible members of the AU have $600 monthly earnings. The ineligible member has $400 countable monthly income.
Determine if the AU is CE as follows:
$300 Prorated share of countable income from ineligible member under 388-450-0140 (¾ of $400)
+$600 Gross countable income of eligible AU members
$900 Income used to determine if AU meets gross countable income test.
Because the gross countable income of $900 isn’t over the gross income limit for the three eligibleAU members, the AU is CE for Basic Food.
Modification Date: October 28, 2007
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