Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 18, September 24, 2024
A.
Institutions: An individual shall be considered a resident of an institution if
the institution provides two or more meals daily, and the institution has not
been authorized to accept food stamp benefits.
B. Eligibility: Residents of institutions
shall not be eligible to participate in the food stamp program, with the
following exceptions:
(1) Federally
subsidized housing: Residents of federally subsidized housing for the elderly,
built under Section 202 of the Housing Act of 1959 (even if residents are not
elderly), provided that they otherwise qualify for participation.
(2) Drug/alcoholic treatment centers: Drug
addicts or alcoholics who, for the purpose of regular participation in a drug
or alcohol treatment and rehabilitation program, live in a public or private
nonprofit facility or treatment center.
(3) Disabled/blind group living arrangement:
Disabled or blind individuals as defined in (i) through (x) of Subparagraph (b)
of Paragraph (23) of Subsection A of
8.139.100.7 NMAC who are residents
in a group living arrangement.
(4)
Battered women/children: Women, or women with their children, temporarily
residing in a shelter for battered women and children. Such persons temporarily
residing in shelters for battered women and children shall be considered
individual households for the purposes of applying for and participating in the
food stamp program.
(5) Homeless:
Residents of public or private nonprofit shelters for the homeless.
C. Residents of drug/alcohol
treatment centers: A drug addict or alcoholic who regularly participates in a
drug or alcoholic treatment or rehabilitation program as a resident of the
center may voluntarily apply for food stamp benefits. Children living with
their eligible parent(s) in a drug or alcohol treatment center shall be
considered household members when determining eligibility and benefit amount. A
caseworker shall certify residents of addict/alcoholic treatment centers, and
their children, by using the same provisions applied to all other applicant
households, except that certification must be accomplished through an
authorized representative employed by the institution. (For further
information, Subsection D of
8.139.110.9 NMAC)
(1) Processing:
(a) Expedited services: Residents of
treatment centers or rehabilitation centers for drug addiction or alcohol
treatment, and their children, may qualify for expedited service in the same
way as any other household. Food stamp benefits shall be received no later than
the seventh calendar day following the date of application, and verification
may be postponed. Verification requirements shall be completed before the
second month's benefits are issued. (See
8.139.110.16 NMAC for more
information on expedited service and continuation of benefits).
(b) Normal processing: If normal processing
standards apply, the caseworker shall complete the verification and
documentation requirements before making an eligibility determination for the
initial application (see
8.139.110.12 NMAC and
8.139.110.13 NMAC).
(c) Changes and recertifications: Changes and
recertifications shall be processed for resident households using the same
standards outlined at
8.139.120.10 NMAC. Households shall
be extended the same rights to notices of adverse actions, to fair hearings,
and to entitlement to lost benefits as are all other food stamp households (see
8.139.120.8 NMAC and
8.139.120.10 NMAC).
(2) Treatment centers eligibility
status:
(a) Food and nutrition service
authorization: Before certifying any resident for food stamp benefits, a
caseworker shall verify that the treatment center is authorized by FNS as a
retailer if the center wishes to accept food stamp benefits. If the center is
not authorized by FNS, the treatment center's status under Part B of Title XIX
of the Public Health Service Act (42 USC, 300 et seq.)
shall be verified.
(b) List of
residents: Each treatment and rehabilitation center must provide the
appropriate county office a list of currently participating residents. The list
must include a statement signed by a responsible center official attesting to
the list's validity. The list is required on a monthly basis.
(c) On-site visits: The county director or
designee shall conduct periodic, random, on-site visits to the center to ensure
the accuracy of the list and that the appropriate county office records are
consistent and up-to-date.
(d)
Change notification: The treatment center must notify the caseworker of changes
in a household's income or other circumstances and when an addict or alcoholic
leaves the treatment center. The treatment center must return the household's
food stamp benefits to the county office if the household has left the center
without its share.
(3)
When household leaves center: When a household leaves the center, the center
must give the resident household its ID card and any unused food stamp
benefits. The household, not the center, shall be allowed to participate during
any months remaining in the certification period.
(a) A household shall receive the full food
stamp benefit amount if no benefits were spent on its behalf. This is
applicable at any time during the month.
(b) If food stamp benefits have already been
issued and any amount has been spent on behalf of a household, and the
household leaves the program before the 16th day of the month, the treatment
center must return to the household one-half of the monthly food stamp benefit
amount. If a household leaves after the 16th of the month, and the food stamp
benefits have already been issued and used, no food stamp benefits shall be
returned to the household.
(c) The
treatment center must, if possible, give the household a change report form to
report the household's new address and other circumstances after leaving the
center, and must advise the household to return the form to the appropriate
county office within ten days.
(d)
When the household leaves the treatment center, the center is no longer allowed
to act as the household's authorized representative.
(4) Organization/institution
responsibilities:
(a) The organization or
institution is responsible for:
(i) Program
rules: An organization or institution is legally responsible for any
misrepresentation or intentional program violation which it knowingly commits
in the certification of center residents.
(ii) Awareness of household circumstances: As
an authorized representative, the organization or institution must be aware of
the household's circumstances and should carefully review those circumstances
with any resident before applying on their own behalf.
(iii) Proper use of food stamp benefits: The
organization or institution shall be strictly liable for any loss or misuse of
food stamp benefits held on behalf of resident households, and for all over
issuances that occur while the households are residents of the treatment
center. The organization or institution may be penalized or disqualified if it
is determined administratively or judicially that food stamp benefits were
misappropriated or used for purchases that did not contribute to a certified
household's meals.
(b)
The county office shall notify the food assistance bureau when it has reason to
believe that an organization or institution is misusing food stamp benefits in
its possession. The food assistance bureau shall notify FNS. HCA shall take no
action before FNS action against the organization or institution.
(c) HCA shall establish a claim for over
issuance of food stamp benefits held on behalf of resident clients if any over
issuance is discovered during an investigation or hearing procedure for
redemption violations.
(d) If FNS
disqualifies an organization or institution for any period of time, HCA shall
suspend its authorized representative status for the same period.
D. Residents in group
living arrangements: A disabled or blind resident of a public or private
non-profit group living arrangement may choose to apply for food stamp benefits
on their own, or through an authorized representative of the resident's own
choosing, or through the facility's authorized representative. The group living
arrangement facility must determine if the resident may apply on the resident's
own behalf based on the resident's physical and mental ability to handle their
own affairs. If a resident applies through the facility's authorized
representative, eligibility shall be determined as a one-person household. If a
household applies on its own behalf, the household size shall be determined
according to the rules at Subsection C of
8.139.400.8 NMAC. Such residents
shall be certified using the same provisions applied to all other households.
HCA shall determine that the group living arrangement facility is a non-profit
organization as established by its articles of incorporation with the New
Mexico public regulation commission, and the group living arrangement facility
must provide verification that it is authorized by FNS or certified by the New
Mexico department of health as a group living arrangement, before any of the
residents are certified for food stamps.
(1)
Resident's rights/responsibilities:
(a) The
rights and responsibilities listed in Paragraph (1) of Subsection C of
8.139.400.13 NMAC, for residents of
treatment centers also apply to blind or disabled residents of group living
arrangements when the facility acts as the resident's authorized
representative.
(b) If a household
has made application on its own behalf, the household is responsible for
reporting changes to the county office within 10 days of the date the change
becomes known to the household.
(c)
If a resident, or a group of residents, receives food stamp benefits on the
resident's or group's own behalf and retain use of the resident's or group's
food stamp benefits, the resident or group is entitled to keep the food stamp
benefits when the resident or group leaves. If a group of residents has
received food stamp benefits as one household, a pro rata share of the
remaining food stamp benefits shall be provided to any departing
member.
(d) Residents of group
living arrangements receiving food stamp benefits on their own behalf are
responsible for over issuances, as would any other household (see Subparagraph
(d) of Paragraph (2) of Subsection C of
8.139.400.13 NMAC).
(2) Group home responsibilities:
(a) The same responsibilities apply to
authorized representatives of a group living arrangement as to treatment
centers (Paragraph (4) of Subsection C of
8.139.400.13 NMAC). These
provisions are not applicable if a resident has applied on the resident's own
behalf. (For further information see Subsection B of
8.139.110.9 NMAC, authorized
representatives).
(b) A group
living facility shall give the appropriate county office a list of currently
participating residents. This list shall include a statement by a responsible
center official attesting to the validity of the list. The list is required on
a monthly basis.
(c) The county
director or designee shall conduct periodic, random on-site visits to ensure
the accuracy of the list and make sure that the appropriate county office
records are consistent and up-to-date.
(d) If a group living facility acts in the
capacity of authorized representative, it must notify the caseworker of changes
in a household's income or other household circumstances, and when an
individual leaves the group living arrangement.
(e) When a household leaves a group living
facility, the facility, if it either acted as authorized representative or
retained use of food stamp benefits on behalf of residents, gives the departing
household its ID card and any unused benefits. The household, not the group
living facility, shall be allowed to sign for and receive any remaining food
stamp benefits.
(f) A departing
household must receive the full food stamp benefit amount, if issued, and if no
food stamp benefits have been spent on behalf of that household. These
procedures are applicable at any time during the month.
(g) If the food stamp benefits have been
issued and any portion spent on behalf of the household, and the household
leaves the group living arrangement before the 16th day of the month, the group
living facility must return the ID card and one-half of the monthly food stamp
benefit amount to the departing household. If the household leaves on or after
the 16th of the month and the food stamp benefits have already been issued and
used, the household shall not receive any food stamp benefits.
(h) If a group of residents is certified as
one household and gives the food stamp benefits to the group living facility to
use, departing residents must be given a pro rata share of one-half of the
household's monthly food stamp benefit amount if the group leaves prior to the
16th day of the month. When a household leaves, the group living facility may
no longer act as the household's authorized representative.
(i) The group living facility shall, if
possible, give the household a change report form to report the household's new
address and other circumstances after leaving the facility, and shall instruct
the household to return the form to the appropriate county office within ten
days.
(3) Use of
benefits:
(a) A group living facility may
purchase and prepare food for eligible residents on a group basis if residents
normally get their meals at a central location as part of the group living
arrangement services, or if meals are prepared at a central location for
delivery to the individual residents.
(b) If residents purchase or prepare food for
home consumption, as opposed to communal dining, the group living facility must
make sure that each resident's food stamps are used for meals intended for that
resident.
(c) If residents retain
use of their own food stamp benefits, they may either use the food stamp
benefits to purchase meals prepared for them by the facility or to purchase
food to prepare meals for their own consumption.
E. Battered women's shelters:
(1) Before certifying residents of a battered
women's shelter, a caseworker shall make sure that the shelter is a public or
private nonprofit residential facility serving battered women and their
children.
(2) If a facility serves
other individuals as well as battered women and their children, a caseworker
shall make sure that a part of the facility is set aside on a long term basis
to serve only battered women and their children.
(3) Shelters with FNS authorization to redeem
food stamps at wholesalers shall be considered to be meeting the definition and
the caseworker is not required to make any further determination. The
caseworker shall document the basis of this determination.
(4) Local ISD offices are required to
maintain and update a current list of shelters meeting the battered women's
shelter definition to facilitate prompt certification of eligible
residents.
(5) Special
certification procedures:
(a) Many shelter
residents have recently left a household containing the person who abused them.
The former household may be certified for participation in the food stamp
program, and its certification may be based on a household size that includes
the woman and children who have just left. Shelter residents included in such a
certified household may nevertheless apply for and (if otherwise eligible)
participate in the program as a separate household, and concurrently, if the
household that included them is the household containing the person who abused
them. Shelter residents included in such a household may receive additional
food stamp benefits as a separate household only once in a month.
(b) Shelter residents who apply as separate
households shall be certified solely on the basis of their own income and
resources and the expenses for which they are responsible. They shall be
certified without regard to the income, resources, and expenses of their former
household. Jointly held resources shall be considered inaccessible.
(c) Room payments from the residents to the
shelter shall be counted as shelter expenses. Any shelter residents eligible
for expedited service shall be handled in accordance with the provisions in
8.139.110.16 NMAC.
(6) Handling the former household:
The caseworker shall take prompt action to make sure that the former
household's eligibility or food stamp benefit amount reflects the change in
household size and composition.