Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 6, March 26, 2024
A. Migrant or seasonal farmworker households
are entitled to special handling of their application as described below. Only
migrant or seasonal farmworker households will be classified as destitute and
receive the special income considerations outlined in this section. For migrant
or seasonal farmworker households only, the initial month is defined as the
first month for which the household will be certified for participation in the
food stamp program following any period of more than 30 days during which the
household was not certified for participation. More than 30 days must pass
before the application month is considered an initial month and benefits are
prorated from the date of application. If 30 days have not passed, the
household is entitled to a full month's benefits.
B.
Destitute households:
Migrant or seasonal farmworker households may have little or no income at the
time of application and may be in need of immediate food assistance, even
though a household may have received income at some time during the month of
application. The following procedures will be used to determine whether migrant
or seasonal farmworker households may be considered destitute and therefore
entitled to expedited service and special income calculation procedures, except
that migrant or seasonal farmworker households with resources of $100.00 or
more will not be entitled to expedited service.
(1)
Terminated income source:
(a)
Expedited service: Migrant
or seasonal farmworkers whose only income for the month of application was
received before the date of application, and was from a terminated source, will
be considered destitute and entitled to expedited service.
(b)
Monthly or more frequent
income: If income is received on a monthly or more frequent basis, it
will be considered as coming from a terminated source if it will not be
received again from the same source during the balance of the month of
application or during the following month.
(c)
Less often than monthly
income: If income is normally received less often than monthly, the
nonreceipt of income from the same source in the balance of the month of
application or in the following month is inappropriate to determine whether or
not the income is terminated. Therefore, for households normally receiving
income less often than monthly, the income will be considered as coming from a
terminated source if it will not be received in the month in which the next
payment would normally be received.
(2)
New income source:
(a) Households whose only income for the
month of application is from a new source will be considered destitute and
entitled to expedited service if income of more than $25 from the new source
will not be received by the 10th calendar day after the date of
application.
(b) Income normally
received on a monthly or more frequent basis will be considered to be from a
new source if income of more than $25.00 has not been received from that source
within 30 days before the date the application was filed.
(c) If income is normally received less often
than monthly, it will be considered to be from a new source if income of more
than $25 was not received within the last normal interval between
payments.
(3)
Income from terminated and new source:
(a) Households may receive income from both a
terminated source before the date of application and from a new source after
the date of application, and still be considered destitute if they receive no
other income in the month of application and if income of more than $25 from
the new source will not be received by the 10th day after the date of
application.
(b) A household member
who changes jobs but continues to work for the same employer will be considered
as still receiving income from the same source. A migrant farmworker's source
of income is considered to be the grower/employer for whom the migrant is
working at a particular point in time, and not the crew chief. A migrant who
travels with the same crew chief but moves from one grower/employer to another
will be considered to have moved from a terminated income source to a new
source.
(4)
Travel advances: Some employers provide travel advances to cover the
costs of new employees who must travel to the location of their new employment.
To the extent that these payments are excluded as a reimbursement, receipt of
travel advances will not affect the determination of when a household is
destitute. If a travel advance is, by written contract, an advance of wages to
be subtracted from wages later earned by the employee rather than a
reimbursement, the wage advance will be counted as income. Receipt of a wage
advance for travel costs of a new employee will not affect the determination of
whether subsequent payments from the employer are from a new source of income,
or whether a household will be considered destitute.
C.
Special income calculation:
The eligibility and food stamp benefit amount of destitute households will be
calculated for the month of application by considering only income which is
received between the first of the month and the date of application. Any income
from a new source that the household anticipates receiving after the date of
application will be disregarded. Destitute household eligibility will be
determined using the special income calculations in Subsection B of
8.139.400.14 NMAC, and by comparing as appropriate the household's gross and/or
net income to the income eligibility standards in Subsection E of 8.139.500.8
NMAC. The procedures described in Subsection B of 8.139.400.14 NMAC above apply
at initial application and at recertification, but only for the first month of
each certification period. At recertification, income from a new source will be
disregarded in the first month of the new certification period if income of
more than $25.00 will not be received from the new source by the 10th calendar
day after the date of the household's normal issuance cycle.
D.
Prospective budgeting:
Migrant or seasonal households will be entitled to a prospective determination
of eligibility and food stamp benefit amount during the time they are in the
migrant stream.
(1)
Anticipating
income:(a) Income received during the
past 30 days will be used as an indicator of the income that is and will be
available to the household during the certification period.
(b) An ISS will not use past income as an
indicator of income anticipated for the certification period if changes in
income have occurred or can be anticipated.
(c) If income fluctuates to the extent that a
30-day period alone cannot provide an accurate indication of anticipated
income, the ISS and the household may use a longer period of past time if it
will provide a more accurate indication of anticipated fluctuations in future
income. Similarly, if income fluctuates seasonally, it may be appropriate to
use the most recent season comparable to the certification period, rather than
the last 30 days, as one indicator of anticipated income.
(2)
Handling anticipated
income:(a) Income anticipated during
the certification period will be counted as income only in the month it is
expected to be received, unless the household chooses to have its income
averaged.
(b) At recertification,
income from a new source will be disregarded in the first month of the new
certification period, if more than $25 income will not be received from this
new source by the 10th calendar day after the date of the household's normal
issuance cycle.
(3)
Continuous employment:(a) In
cases where the head of a migrant or seasonal household is steadily employed,
income from the previous month is usually a good indicator of the amount of
income that can be anticipated in the month of application and following
months.
(b) If the information
supplied by a household or a collateral contact (8.139.650.7 NMAC) indicates
that future income will differ from the previous month's income, the ISS will
use such information to make a reasonable estimate of anticipated
income.
(c) The method used to
determine income must be fully documented in the case record.
(4)
Hourly and piecework
wages:(a) When income is received on
an hourly or piecework basis, it may fluctuate if a wage earner works less than
eight hours some days or is required to work overtime on others. The ISS will
discuss with the household to determine the "normal" amount of the income to be
expected as a result of one week's work and whether the income can be
reasonably expected to be available during the certification period. The amount
which is reasonably expected will be used to determine monthly
income.
(b) The option of averaging
income should be discussed with the household.
(5)
Withheld wages:
(a) Wages held at the request of an employee
will be counted as income to the household in the month the wages would
otherwise have been paid by the employer.
(b) Wages held by the employer as a regular
practice, even if in violation of law, will not be counted as income, unless
the household anticipated asking for and receiving an advance, or receiving
income from wages that were previously held by the employer as a regular
practice, and that were, therefore, not previously counted as income.
(c) Wage advances will count as income in the
month received only if reasonably anticipated.
(6)
Varied eligibility: Because
of anticipated changes, a household may be eligible for the month of
application but ineligible in a later month. The household will be entitled to
food stamp benefits for the month of application even if the processing of its
application results in the food stamp benefits being issued in a subsequent
month. Similarly, a household may be ineligible for the month of application,
but eligible in the subsequent month because of anticipated changes in
circumstances. Even though benefits are denied for the month of application,
the household does not need to reapply in the following month. The same
application will be used for the denial of the month of application and the
determination of eligibility for subsequent months.
(7)
Varied benefit amount: As a
result of anticipating changes, a migrant or seasonal household's food stamp
benefit amount for the month of application may differ from its food stamp
benefit amount for subsequent months. The ISS must establish a certification
period for the longest possible period over which changes in circumstances can
be reasonably anticipated. The food stamp benefit amount will vary from month
to month within the certification period, unless the household chooses to have
its income averaged.
E.
Income averaging: Destitute migrant or seasonal farmworker
households may choose to have income averaged. Income will not be averaged for
destitute households, unless the household so chooses, because averaging would
result in assigning to the month of application income from future periods
which is not available to the destitute household for its current needs. If the
income averaging option is chosen, it cannot be changed during the
certification period.
F.
Deductible expenses: For migrant or seasonal households in the job
stream, deductible expenses are determined prospectively in accordance with the
following procedures (see 8.139.500.11 NMAC for more information).
(1)
Anticipating expenses: A
household's expenses will be calculated based on the expenses for which the
household expects to be billed during the certification period. Anticipation of
these expenses will be based on the most recent month's bills, unless it is
reasonably certain a change will occur. The ISS will not average past expenses,
such as utility bills, for the last several months, as a method of anticipating
utility costs for the certification period. When the household's actual costs
for utilities, including a heating or cooling cost, are anticipated to be less
than the state's standard utility allowance (SUA), the SUA is applied.
Similarly, when more than one household shares utility expenses, and a
household's share of the billing for heating or cooling costs is less than its
prorated share of the SUA, the household will be given its prorated share of
the SUA.
(2)
Averaging
expenses: Migrant households may choose to average anticipated expenses
as follows.
(a) Households may choose to have
fluctuating expenses averaged.
(b)
Households may choose to have one-time only expenses averaged over the
certification period in which they are billed.
(c) Households may choose to have expenses
that are billed less often than monthly averaged forward over the interval
between scheduled billings, or, if there is no scheduled interval, averaged
forward over the period the expense is intended to cover.
G.
Certification
periods:
(1) A household will be
assigned the longest certification period possible based on the predictability
of the household's circumstances. Because of the uncertainty of income and the
likelihood of frequent and significant change in income or household
circumstances, migrant or seasonal households usually are certified for one
month. A two- or three- month certification period may be assigned if income
and circumstances are stable and the household chooses to average income and
expenses.
(2)
Expedited
migrant households: A migrant or seasonal household eligible for
expedited service and assigned a certification period of longer than one month,
will receive the first month's benefits. If verification is postponed, the
household will be notified in writing that postponed verification from sources
within and out-of-state must be provided before food stamp benefits for the
second month are issued. Migrants will be entitled to postpone out-of-state
verification only once each season. If a migrant or seasonal household
requesting expedited service has already received this consideration during the
current season, the ISS will grant a postponement of out-of-state verification
only for the initial month's issuance and not for the second month's issuance.
The notice to the household will state that if the verification results in a
change in the household's eligibility or food stamp benefit amount, the ISS
will act on the change without advance notice of adverse action.
