STATE OF ALASKA
Department of Health and Social Services
Division of Public Assistance
TRANSMITTAL NUMBER: 2020-01
MANUAL: Alaska Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
DATE: April 1, 2020
We revised the self-employment annualization table based on changes in the Federal Poverty Guidelines effective April 1, 2020. Other changes are either technical in nature or clarifications that are the results of policy questions or suggestions from the field.
Highlights of these and other policy revisions are described below. If you have any questions, please contact the Policy & Program Development team at dpapolicy@alaska.gov.
OVERVIEW OF CHANGES
MS 600-2 Definitions
Clarified that volunteering at a community service site is considered work
MS 601-2(A) What Is an Acceptable Application Form?
Added that Senior Benefits will accept the GEN 72 to determine continued eligibility. This change is effective with the April 2020 form revision
MS 601-4(A) Verification Requirements for Initial Applications
Clarified eDRS only needs to be checked at the time of application or when there is a newly added household member.
MS 602-1(A) Households
Clarified that individuals must meet one of the qualifying conditions for each felony conviction, or they are ineligible for SNAP
Clarified what convictions fall in the category of "sexual exploitation and abuse of children"
MS 602-1(E) Social Security Numbers
Clarified that if a newborn's SSN is not provided at the time of application, the SSN or proof of application for a SSN is required at recertification or six months following the newborn's birth, whichever is later.
MS 602-1(F) Work Requirements
Revised policy to allow anyone 16 and older to volunteer for E&T
Added a list of current E&T providers in Alaska
MS 602-1(G) Determining Work Requirements and Exemptions
Clarified that individuals must be participating in the subsistence hunting and fishing purchase provisions and be engaged in subsistence hunting and/or fishing an average of at least 30 hours weekly during the certification period to be eligible for the subsistence hunting and fishing work exemption.
Clarified that individuals who reside in Anchorage may participate in E&T. Kenai and Fairbanks DPA offices ceased providing E&T services on October 1, 2019.
Changed title of MS 602-1G(2) from "Individuals Exempt from Work Requirements" to "Individuals Exempt from Basic Work Requirements" for clarity
MS 602-1(H) Caseworker Responsibilities - Work Requirements
Removed item # 3 as there is no longer an active referral process for E&T as of February 2020
Renumbered section
MS 602-1(I) Work Requirement Disqualification Procedures
Clarified a job quit disqualification can only be deleted if the penalty hasn't started yet. Once started, it will only end early if the person becomes exempt from work requirements.
Changed title from "Work Requirement Disqualification Procedures" to "Restoring Benefits" for clarity
MS 602-1(L) Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs)
Rewrote section for clarity
Clarified when non-reportable change occurs and is not reported that causes an ABAWD required individual to lose ABAWD exemption, we must retroactively re-calculate ABAWD months
Clarified what is required for Native and Tribal Corporation programs to be considered an approved work program
Clarified ABAWD months are considered countable until we can verify the individual is meeting ABAWD work requirements or is exempt
Clarified a SNAP household that contains a child under the age of 18 would be considered exempt from ABAWD work requirements regardless of caretaker responsibility
Clarified when overpayment are processed and when they are not
Added volunteering at a community service site as an acceptable way to meet ABAWD work requirements
MS 602-3(B) Unearned Income
Clarified payee fee policy applies to SSI and other SSA benefits, as long as the payee was approved by the Social Security Administration
MS 602-4(E) Shelter Deduction
Updated homeless shelter deduction from $147 to $152
MS 605-2(D) Income From Self-Employment
Updated Self-Employment Annualization Standard due to FPL change effective 4/1/20
MS 607-1 Calculating the Correct Benefit
Clarified when correcting benefits, actuals would only be used to determine the corrected benefit if the household did not report income as required, or a caseworker did not include reported income
Changed title of 607-1A from "Correcting Income Errors" to "Income Errors" for clarity
MS 607-2 Restored Benefits
Clarified calculations for lost benefits are determined up to the date the error was corrected or the end of the certification period, whichever occurs first
Changed title from "Restored Benefits" to "Correcting Errors That Result in an Underpayment (Restored Benefits)" for clarity
MS 607-3 Claims
Added a link directing to SNAP MS 604-3(G) that explains how to count TA and APA overpayments when processing SNAP overpayments