Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, December 1, 2023
RELATES TO:
KRS
205.200(8), 7 C.F.R. Part
273, 7 U.S.C.
2014,
29 U.S.C.
3174,
38 U.S.C.
1833,
42 U.S.C.
601-619,
1382a(b)(4)(B)(iv),
4951-4960,
9902(2),
12501-12604
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY:
KRS
194A.010(2) requires the
Cabinet for Health and Family Services to administer income-supplement programs
that protect, develop, preserve, and maintain families and children in the
commonwealth. KRS
194A.050(1) requires the
secretary to promulgate administrative regulations necessary to implement
programs mandated by federal law or to qualify for the receipt of federal funds
and necessary to cooperate with other state and federal agencies for the proper
administration of the cabinet and its programs.
KRS
205.1783(1)(f) requires the
cabinet to promulgate administrative regulations necessary to administer a
standard medical deduction required by
KRS
205.1783(1)(b) 2.
7 U.S.C.
2011 to
2029 and
7 C.F.R.
271.4 authorize the cabinet to administer a
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) within the state and prescribe
the manner in which the program shall be implemented. This administrative
regulation establishes the financial eligibility requirements used by the
cabinet in the administration of SNAP. In addition,
7 U.S.C.
2014 allows states to exclude additional
types of income and resources if these specific types of income and resources
are not counted in the state's Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
or Medicaid programs.
Section 1.
Financial Eligibility Requirements.
(1) As
established in 7 C.F.R. Part 273 , national uniform standards of financial
eligibility for SNAP shall be composed of the following criteria:
(a) Income limitations; and
(b) Resource limitations.
(2) The income eligibility
standards shall be:
(a) Derived from the
federal income poverty guidelines as defined in
42 U.S.C.
9902(2) for the forty-eight
(48) contiguous states; and
(b)
Adjusted annually each October 1, as published in the Federal
Register.
Section
2. Countable Income. All income not excluded by Section 3 of this
administrative regulation shall be considered in determining eligibility,
including the following:
(1) Wages earned by
a household member, including wages received by a striker as established in
921 KAR 3:035, Section
5(10);
(2) The gross income of a
self-employment enterprise, including the total gain from the sale of capital
goods or equipment related to the business, excluding the cost of doing
business;
(3) Training allowance
from vocational and rehabilitative programs recognized by federal, state, or
local governments, to the extent that the allowances are not
reimbursements;
(4) Volunteers in
Service to America (VISTA) payments pursuant to
42 U.S.C.
4951 to
4960, unless specifically excluded
in accordance with 7 C.F.R.
273.9(c)(10)(iii);
(5) The earned or unearned income of an
ineligible household member or nonhousehold member as established in
921 KAR 3:035, Section 5(3) and
(4);
(6) Assistance payments from
federal or federally-aided public assistance including:
(a) Supplemental security income or
"SSI";
(b) Kentucky Transitional
Assistance Program or "KTAP" in accordance with
921 KAR 2:016;
(c) General assistance programs;
(d) Other assistance programs based on need;
or
(e) Kinship care in accordance
with 922 KAR 1:130;
(7) Annuities;
(8) Pensions;
(9) Retirement, veteran's, or disability
benefits;
(10) Worker's or
unemployment compensation;
(11)
Strike pay;
(12) Old-age survivors
or Social Security benefits;
(13)
Except as excluded in Section 3(16) of this administrative regulation, foster
care payments for a child or adult;
(14) Gross income derived from rental
property, minus the cost of doing business. This income shall be considered as
earned income if the household member is actively engaged in the management of
the property an average of twenty (20) hours or more per week;
(15) Wages earned by a household member that
are garnished or diverted by an employer and paid to a third party for a
household expense;
(16) Support or
alimony payments made directly to the household from a nonhousehold member.
This shall include any portion of a payment returned to the household by the
cabinet;
(17) Wages received from a
TANF funded work program in accordance with
42 U.S.C.
601-619;
(18) A payment from:
(a) A government sponsored program;
(b) A royalty; or
(c) Similar direct money payments from a
source that may be construed as a gain or benefit;
(19) Money withdrawn from a trust
fund;
(20) The amount of monthly
income deemed to a sponsored immigrant as established in
921 KAR 3:035, Section
5(11);
(21) The portion of means
tested assistance monies:
(a) From a:
1. Federal welfare program;
2. State welfare program; or
3. Local welfare program; and
(b) Withheld for the purpose of
recouping an overpayment resulting from the household's intentional failure to
comply with that program's requirements;
(22) Earnings of an individual who is
participating in an on-the-job training program pursuant to
29 U.S.C.
3174 unless the individual is under:
(a) Nineteen (19) years of age; and
(b) The parental control of another adult
member; and
(23) An
assistance payment for child care or attendant care:
(a) Received from an outside source;
and
(b) Paid to one (1) household
member:
1. From another household member;
or
2. On behalf of another
household member.
Section 3. Income Exclusions. The following
shall not be considered as income:
(1) Money:
(a) Withheld from:
1. An assistance payment;
2. Earned income; or
3. Another income source; and
(b) Voluntarily or involuntarily
returned to repay a prior overpayment received from the same income source,
except as established in Section 2(21) of this administrative
regulation;
(2)
(a) A child support payment if:
1. Received by a recipient of the KTAP or
kinship care program; and
2. It is
transferred to the Child Support Enforcement Program in the Department for
Income Support to maintain eligibility in KTAP or kinship care program;
and
(b) A portion of
child support money returned to the household receiving KTAP or kinship care
program benefits by the cabinet shall not be excluded from income;
(3) A gain or benefit that is not
in the form of money payable directly to the household;
(4) A monetary payment that is not legally
obligated and otherwise payable directly to a household, but is paid to a third
party for a household expense;
(5)
Income:
(a) Received:
1. In the certification period; and
2. Too infrequently or irregularly to be
reasonably anticipated; and
(b) Not in excess of thirty (30) dollars per
quarter;
(6) Educational
income including grants, loans, scholarships, work study income, or other type
of financial assistance for education pursuant to
KRS
205.200(8), except as
defined Section 2(17) of this administrative regulation;
(7) A loan from a:
(a) Private individual; or
(b) Commercial institution;
(8) A reimbursement for a past or
future expense, other than normal living expenses;
(9) Money received and used for the care and
maintenance of a third-party beneficiary who is not a household
member;
(10) The earned income of a
child who is:
(a) A member of the
household;
(b) An elementary or
secondary school student; and
(c)
Age seventeen (17) years or younger;
(11) Money received in the form of a
nonrecurring lump-sum payment;
(12)
The cost of producing self-employment income. If the cost of producing farm
self-employment income exceeds the income derived from self-employment farming,
the loss shall be offset against any other countable income in the
household;
(13) Income specifically
excluded by 7 U.S.C.
2014 from consideration as income for the
purpose of determining SNAP eligibility;
(14) An energy assistance payment or
allowance that is made:
(a) In accordance
with any federal law, except 42 U.S.C. 601 to
619, including a utility
reimbursement made by:
1. The Department of
Housing and Urban Development; or
2. Rural Housing Service; or
(b) For the purpose of a one (1)
time payment or allowance made as established in a federal or state law for the
costs of:
1. Weatherization;
2. Emergency repair; or
3. Replacement of:
a. An unsafe or inoperative furnace;
or
b. Other heating or cooling
device;
(15) A cash donation based on need received
from a nonprofit charitable organization, not to exceed $300 in a federal
fiscal year quarter;
(16) A foster
care payment for a foster child if the household requests that the child be
excluded from the household in determining eligibility;
(17) Dividend income, in accordance with
7 U.S.C.
2014;
(18) Additional wages received by a member of
the military while deployed to a designated combat zone, in accordance with
7 U.S.C.
2014;
(19) Veteran's benefits provided to children
with identified birth defects born to female Vietnam veterans, in accordance
with 38 U.S.C.
1833;
(20) Income from AmeriCorps programs, except
for Volunteers in Service to America, as specified in Section 2(4) of this
administrative regulation, in accordance with
42 U.S.C.
12501-12604;
(21) Income from a YouthBuild program, unless
the income is from on-the-job training, as established in Section 2 of this
administrative regulation, in accordance with
29 U.S.C.
3174; and
(22) Income associated with the fulfillment
of an approved Plan for Achieving Self-Support (PASS), in accordance with
42 U.S.C.
1382a(b)(4)(B)(iv).
Section 4. Income Eligibility
Standards. Participation in SNAP shall be limited to a household whose income
falls at or below the applicable standards, as established by the Food and
Nutrition Service in 7 C.F.R. Part 273 that are established in this section:
(1) A household that contains a member who is
elderly or has a disability as defined in
921 KAR 3:010, Section 1(9) or
(11), shall have the member's net income compared to 100 percent of the federal
income poverty guidelines.
(2) A
household in which a member receives or is authorized to receive cash, in-kind,
or other benefits funded under TANF pursuant to
42 U.S.C.
601-619, shall be considered
categorically eligible in accordance with
921 KAR 3:030, Section
6(4).
(3) A household in which all
members are recipients of SSI shall be considered categorically eligible in
accordance with
921 KAR 3:030, Section
6(3).
(4)
(a) Other households shall have a:
1. Gross income compared to 130 percent of
the federal income poverty guidelines; and
2. Net income compared to 100 percent of the
federal income poverty guidelines.
(b) A household's gross income as calculated
pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subsection shall be the household's total
income:
1. After excluded income has been
disregarded in accordance with Section 3 of this administrative regulation;
and
2. Before any deductions in
accordance with Section 5 of this administrative regulation have been
made.
Section
5. Income Deductions. The following shall be allowable income
deductions:
(1) A monthly standard deduction
per household, based on household size, as established in
7 U.S.C.
2014, that shall be periodically adjusted by
the Food and Nutrition Service to reflect a change in the cost of living for a
prior period of time as determined by the Food and Nutrition Service pursuant
to 7 C.F.R. Part 273 ;
(2) Twenty
(20) percent of gross earned income that is reported within ten (10) days of
the date that the change of income becomes known to the household;
(3) A payment:
(a) For the actual cost for the care of:
1. A child; or
2. Other dependent; and
(b) Necessary for a household member to:
1. Seek, accept, or continue
employment;
2. Attend training;
or
3. Pursue education preparatory
to employment;
(4) A homeless standard allowance of a
shelter expense for a household in which all members are homeless and are not
receiving free shelter throughout the calendar month, unless that household
verifies higher expenses;
(5) A
monthly standard medical deduction or verified actual medical expense incurred
by a household member who meets the definition of being elderly or having a
disability, as defined in
921 KAR 3:010, Section 1(9) or
(11), and who submits verification of medical expense in excess of thirty-five
(35) dollars per month:
(a) Including:
1. Medical and dental care;
2. Hospitalization or outpatient treatment
and nursing care;
3. Medication and
medical supplies;
4. A health
insurance premium;
5. A
hospitalization insurance premium;
6. Dentures, a hearing aid, eyeglasses,
prosthetics; or
7. Similar medical
expense; and
(b)
Excluding special diet cost;
(6) Actual child support payment made by a
household member shall be allowed as a deduction if:
(a) The household member is legally obligated
to pay child support; and
(b)
Verification is provided showing a payment is currently being made.
Section 6. Monthly
Shelter Cost Deduction.
(1) The monthly
shelter cost deduction shall be that amount in excess of fifty (50) percent of
the household's income after allowable deductions have been made.
(2) The shelter deduction shall not exceed
the current shelter maximum, except that a household shall not be subject to
the maximum if a member is:
(a) Elderly;
or
(b) Disabled.
(3) The excess shelter maximum
shall be adjusted periodically by the Food and Nutrition Service to reflect
change in the cost of living.
(4)
Allowable monthly shelter expense shall include the following:
(a) Continuing charge for the shelter
occupied by the household including:
1.
Rent;
2. Mortgage;
3. Payment on mobile home loan;
4. Condominium and association
fees;
5. Interest on a payment;
and
6. Similar charge leading to
ownership of the shelter;
(b) Property tax;
(c) State and local assessment;
(d) Insurance on the structure
itself;
(e) The cost of:
1. Heating and cooking fuel;
2. Cooling;
3. Electricity;
4. Water and sewage;
5. Garbage and trash collection
fee;
6. Telephone standard
deduction; and
7. A fee charged by
a utility provider for the initial installation of the utility;
(f) The shelter cost for the home
if:
1. Temporarily unoccupied by the household
because of:
a. Employment or training away
from home;
b. Illness; or
c. Abandonment caused by a natural disaster
or casualty loss;
2. The
current occupant is not claiming shelter cost for food stamp purposes;
and
3. The home is not leased or
rented during the absence of the household; and
(g) A charge for the repair of the home if
substantially damaged or destroyed by fire, flood, or other natural disaster,
except to the extent the cost is reimbursed by:
1. A private or public relief
agency;
2. Insurance; or
3. A similar source.
(5) The standard utility allowance
shall be used to calculate shelter cost for a household:
(a) Receiving Low Income Home Energy
Assistance Program benefits; or
(b)
Incurring cost, separate from its rent or mortgage payment, for:
1. Heating; or
2. Cooling (by air conditioning unit
only).
(6)
The standard utility allowance shall be adjusted periodically.
(7) If the household is not entitled to the
utility standard or homeless standard allowance, it shall be given the basic
utility allowance in accordance with
7 U.S.C.
2014, if the household is billed for two (2)
of the following:
(a) Electricity (nonheating
and noncooling);
(b) Water or
sewage;
(c) Garbage or
trash;
(d) Cooking fuel;
or
(e) Telephone service.
(8) The basic utility allowance
shall be adjusted annually.
(9) A
household whose only expense is for telephone service shall be given a
telephone standard.
(10) A
household not entitled to a standard specified in subsection (7) or (9) of this
section may use actual utility expense to calculate shelter
deduction.
Section 7.
Resources.
(1) Uniform national resource
standards of eligibility shall be utilized pursuant to
7 C.F.R.
273.8.
(2) Eligibility shall be denied or terminated
if the total value of a household's liquid and nonliquid resources, not exempt
pursuant to Section 8 of this administrative regulation, exceed:
(a) $3,500 for a household member:
1. With a disability as defined in
921 KAR 3:010, Section 1(9);
or
2. Sixty (60) years or older;
or
(b) $2,250 for any
other household.
(3)
Eligibility shall be denied or terminated for a household receiving one-time
lottery or gambling winnings of $3,500 or more.
(4) A household that is categorically
eligible in accordance with
921 KAR 3:030, Section 6, shall
meet the SNAP resource requirement.
Section 8. Exempt Resources. The following
resources shall not be considered in determining eligibility:
(1) All real estate, in accordance with
7 U.S.C.
2014;
(2) Household goods;
(3) Personal effects;
(4) A burial plot;
(5) The cash value of life insurance
policies;
(6) In accordance with
7 U.S.C.
2014:
(a) A
tax-preferred retirement account;
(b) A prepaid burial account;
(c) A licensed or unlicensed
vehicle;
(d) A recreational
vehicle;
(e) A resource deemed to
an alien from a sponsor or spouse of a sponsor;
(f) Principal and accrued interest of an
irrevocable trust during a period of unavailability;
(g) A tax-preferred educational account;
and
(h) Another resource that is
excluded for SNAP purposes;
(7) A governmental payment that is designated
for the restoration of a home damaged in a disaster, if the household is
subject to legal sanction and if funds are not used as intended;
(8) A resource, of which the cash value is
not accessible to the household;
(9) A resource that has been prorated as
income;
(10) Income that is
withheld by the employer to pay a certain expense directly to a third party as
a vendor payment, to the extent that the remainder of the withheld income is
not accessible to the household at the end of the year; and
(11) The earned income tax credit income
received by a member of the household for a period of twelve (12) months from
receipt if the member was participating in SNAP:
(a) At the time the credit was received;
and
(b) Continuously during the
twelve (12) month period of exclusion.
Section 9. Transfer of Resources. A household
that has transferred a resource knowingly for the purpose of qualifying or
attempting to qualify for SNAP shall be disqualified from participation in the
program for up to one (1) year from the date of the discovery of the
transfer.
Section 10. Failure to
Comply with Other Programs.
(1) Except as
provided in subsection (2) of this section, if the benefits of a household are
reduced under a federal, state, or local law relating to a means-tested public
assistance program for the failure of a member of the household to perform an
action required under the law or program, for the duration of the reduction,
the SNAP allotment of the household shall be reduced by twenty-five (25)
percent.
(2) If the benefits of a
household are reduced as defined in a federal, state, or local law relating to
a means-tested public assistance program for the failure of a household member
to perform a work requirement, the individual shall be subject to the
disqualification procedures established in
921 KAR 3:027, Section 6 or
7.
3 Ky.R. 677; eff.
5-4-1977; Am. 6 Ky.R. 156; eff. 10-3-1979; 7 Ky.R. 692; eff. 4-1-1981; 8 Ky.R.
80; eff. 9-2-1981; 537; eff. 2-1-1982; 9 Ky.R. 277; eff. 9-8-1982; 1063; eff.
4-6-1983; 1253; eff. 6-1-1983; 10 Ky.R. 360; eff. 10-5-1983; 846; eff.
1-4-1984; 11 Ky.R. 87; eff. 8-7-1984; 1337; eff. 4-9-1985; 12 Ky.R. 1946; eff.
7-2-1986; 13 Ky.R. 983; eff. 12-2-1986; 1494; eff. 3-6-1987; 1954; eff.
6-9-1987; 14 Ky.R. 652; eff. 11-6-1987; 15 Ky.R. 1705; eff. 3-15-1989; 16 Ky.R.
1507; 1948; eff. 3-8-1990; 2788; eff. 7-18-1990; 18 Ky.R. 202; eff. 8-21-1991;
19 Ky.R. 311; eff. 8-28-1992; 21 Ky.R. 643; eff. 9-21-1994; 22 Ky.R. 395; eff.
9-20-1995; 1901; eff. 6-6-1996; 24 Ky.R. 209; 594; eff. 8-20-1997; Recodified
from 904 KAR 3:020, 10-30-1998; 26 Ky.R. 2062; 27 Ky.R. 143; eff. 7-17-2000; 28
Ky.R. 1251; 1663; eff. 1-14-2002; 29 Ky.R. 2181; 2479; eff. 4-11-2003; TAm eff.
10-27-2004; 32 Ky.R. 164; eff. 11-16-2005; TAm eff. 1-27-2006;35 Ky.R. 1350;
1814; eff. 2-6-2009; 47 Ky.R. 1706; eff. 2-11-2021; 47 Ky.R. 1142, 1593; eff.
2-11-2021; TAm eff. 6-24-2021; 50
Ky.R. 226; eff. 10/25/2023.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY:
KRS
194A.010(2),
194A.050(1),
205.1783(1),
7 C.F.R.
271.4,
7 U.S.C.
2011-2029