Current through Vol. 42, No. 1, September 16, 2024
(a)
Eligibility for payment. Per
Section
164 of
Title 56 of the Oklahoma Statutes (O.S. 56 § 164), an individual is
eligible for a SSP when he or she is, or would be, eligible for Supplemental
Security Income (SSI) because of age or disability, is not ineligible per (b)
of this Section, and meets all other eligibility conditions.
(1) Required eligibility conditions include:
(A) having countable income, including SSI,
that is less than the SSP need standard, per Oklahoma Human Services (OKDHS)
Appendix C-1, Maximum Income, Resource, and Payment Standards, Schedule
VIII.A;
(B) meeting resource
standards, per OKDHS Appendix C-1, Schedule D; and
(C) taking all appropriate steps to obtain
other benefits within 30-calendar days after he or she is notified of his or
her potential eligibility.
(2) The individual may:
(A) be ineligible for SSI based on income;
but have income less than the SSP maximum, per OKDHS Appendix C-1, Schedule
VIII.A;
(B) remain approved for
care in a licensed Title XIX nursing care facility since December, 1973, and
retain eligibility for a mandatory SSP. Refer to Appendix C-1, Schedule
VIII.B., for the mandatory supplement standard; or
(C) be a resident in the Oklahoma School for
the Blind or the Oklahoma School for the Deaf.
(b)
Ineligible for payment. An
individual is not eligible for SSP when he or she:
(1) is a resident of a public facility
operated by a government entity, such as a correctional, mental health, nursing
care, or juvenile facility;
(2) is
a patient in a psychiatric facility or a psychiatric unit of an acute care
hospital for more than 30-calendar days;
(3) has countable income in excess of the SSP
need standard, per OKDHS Appendix C-1, Schedule VIII.A;
(4) has countable resources in excess of the
SSP resource standard, per OKDHS Appendix C-1, Schedule VIII.D;
(5) does not receive SSI because the
applicant or the spouse disposed of resources for less than fair market value
within 36 months of the application date, per Section 1382b(c) of Title 42 of
the United States Code;
(6) is not
an Oklahoma resident;
(7) does not
meet citizenship or alien status requirements, per Oklahoma Administrative Code
(OAC)
317:35-5-25
and 56 O.S. §71;
(8) does not
take all appropriate steps to obtain other benefits with 30-calendar days after
being notified of his or her potential eligibility; or
(9) is a child in OKDHS custody placed in
out-of-home care paid for by OKDHS.
(c)
SSP payment amount. The SSP
payment amount varies depending on the amount of other income the individual(s)
receives. The maximum payment must not exceed the maximum payment shown on
OKDHS Appendix C-1, Schedule VIII.A. for an individual. Payment may be
authorized retroactively based on an appeal decision or to correct an
administrative error. Payment may not be authorized retroactively when the
client fails to report information affecting eligibility within 10-calendar
days of the date the change occurs. Refer to OAC
340:65-3-6
for payment methods and issuance dates.
(1)
Eligible couple. Income eligibility is determined by comparing the
couple's total countable income with the SSP standard for an eligible couple.
When the couple's income is:
(A) equal to or
greater than the standard, the worker denies the application or closes the SSP
benefit; or
(B) less than the
standard, the worker deducts the couple's income from the standard to compute
the payment amount. The SSP for each member of the couple is one-half of the
remainder. When the SSP cannot be divided equally, one member of the couple
receives a higher SSP, subject to the maximum payment, per OKDHS Appendix C-1,
Schedule VIII.A.
(2)
Eligible individual. The worker determines an individual's income
eligibility by comparing his or her total countable income with the SSP
standard for an eligible individual. When the individual's countable income is:
(A) equal to or greater than the SSP
standard, the worker denies the application or closes the SSP benefit;
or
(B) less than the SSP standard,
the worker deducts the individual's total countable income from the standard to
compute the payment amount, subject to the maximum payment, per OKDHS Appendix
C-1, Schedule VIII.A.
(3)
Eligible individual with essential spouse. The worker determines
the income eligibility for an individual with an essential spouse by comparing
the total countable income of the couple with the SSP standard for the eligible
individual with an essential or ineligible spouse. When the couple's countable
income is:
(A) equal to or greater than the
standard, the worker denies the application or closes the SSP benefit;
or
(B) less than the standard, the
worker deducts the couple's total countable income from the standard to compute
the payment amount, subject to the maximum payment, per OKDHS Appendix C-1,
Schedule VIII.A.
(4)
Eligible individual with ineligible spouse. The worker determines
income eligibility for an individual with an ineligible spouse by comparing the
total countable income of the individual with the SSP standard for the eligible
individual. When the individual's countable income is:
(A) equal to or greater than the SSP standard
for the eligible individual, the worker denies the application or closes the
SSP benefit; or
(B) less than the
SSP standard for the individual, the worker compares the total countable income
of the couple with the SSP standard for an eligible individual with an
essential or ineligible spouse. When the couple's total countable income is:
(i) equal to or greater than the standard,
the worker denies the application or closes the SSP benefit; or
(ii) less than the standard, the worker
deducts the total countable income of the couple from the SSP standard for an
eligible individual with an essential or ineligible spouse to compute the
payment amount, subject to the maximum payment, per OKDHS Appendix C-1,
Schedule VIII.A. Exception: When the ineligible spouse is included in a
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefit, the worker deducts the
individual's countable income from the SSP standard for the eligible individual
and does not consider the spouse's income.
(5)
Eligible individual with ineligible
spouse and dependent child(ren). The worker determines income
eligibility for an individual with an ineligible spouse and dependent
child(ren) by comparing the individual's total countable income with the SSP
standard for an eligible individual.
(A) When
the individual's countable income is equal to or greater than the standard, the
worker denies the application or closes the SSP benefit.
(B) When the individual's countable income is
less than the SSP standard for an eligible individual, the worker determines
the spouse's countable income by following (i) through (v) of this paragraph.
(i) When the spouse and dependent child(ren)
are included in a TANF benefit, their income is considered for the TANF benefit
and none is deemed to the eligible individual. The worker deducts the
individual's total countable income from the SSP standard to compute the SSP
benefit amount, subject to the maximum payment, per OKDHS Appendix C-1,
Schedule VIII.A.
(ii) When the
spouse's needs are not included in the TANF benefit with the child(ren), the
portion of the spouse's income considered in determining the child(ren)'s TANF
benefit is not considered for the SSP benefit.
(iii) When the dependent child(ren) does not
receive TANF, the worker deducts the child(ren)'s allocation, minus the
child(ren)'s income, from the spouse's income before determining the amount of
the spouse's income to consider for the SSP benefit. Refer to OKDHS Appendix
C-1, Schedule VIII.C for the child(ren)'s allocation amount.
(iv) The individual's total countable income
and the spouse's countable income after subtracting the amount considered for
the dependent child(ren), is compared with the SSP standard for an eligible
individual with an essential or ineligible spouse, per OKDHS Appendix C-1,
Schedule VIII.A. When the countable income is:
(I) equal to or greater than the SSP
standard, the worker denies the application or closes the SSP benefit; or
(II) less than the SSP standard,
the worker deducts the countable income from the standard to compute the
payment amount, subject to the maximum payment, per (OKDHS) Appendix C-1,
Schedule VIII.A.
(v) The
dependent child(ren)'s income is never deemed to the adult.
(6)
Minor who is
blind or disabled. The worker determines a minor's income eligibility by
adding the child's income to the amount deemed from the child's parents and
compares the total to the SSP standard for an eligible individual. When the
countable income is:
(A) equal to or greater
than the standard, the worker denies the application or closes the SSP benefit;
or
(B) less than the standard, the
worker deducts the total countable income from the SSP standard to compute the
payment amount, subject to the maximum payment, per OKDHS Appendix C-1,
Schedule VIII.A.
(d)
Concurrent receipt of more than one
cash assistance payment. An individual must not be included in more than
one SSP or TANF benefit for the same time period.
(1) An individual meeting SSP eligibility
requirements may receive SSP and be the payee for a TANF benefit when his or
her needs are not included in the TANF cash assistance.
(2) When a TANF recipient is transferred from
TANF to SSP or an SSP recipient is transferred from Aid to the Disabled to Aid
to the Aged or Blind, the effective date must be the same for the removal from
one category and the beginning of payment from the other category.
(e)
Non-conditioning of
payment. OKDHS does not restrict in any way how the client uses the
assistance payment.
(f)
Application and renewal processing. Refer to OAC
340:65-3-1
for application processing rules and OAC
340:65-3-8
for renewal processing rules.
Amended at 9 Ok Reg
3247, eff 7-15-92 (emergency); Amended at 10 Ok Reg 2849, eff 6-25-93; Amended
at 13 Ok Reg 297, eff 5-18-95 (emergency); Amended at 13 Ok Reg 2617, eff
6-28-96; Amended at 21 Ok Reg 2370, eff
7-1-04