TO:	Commissioners; TA & FS Directors; WMS Coordinators; CAP Coordinators

FROM:  Richard McElroy, Acting Deputy Commissioner, Division of Temporary Assistance/Richard McElroy

SUBJECT:	Updated - Food Stamp Standards for October 1, 2004

EFFECTIVE DATE:	October 1, 2004

C CONTACT PERSON:	FS Questions - Eastern Regional Team (518) 473-1469
	MRB/A Upstate Questions-James Dormond (518) 474-9286
	MRB/A NYC Questions - Stephen Cohen (212) 383-1652	

As of October 1, 2004, the Food Stamp standards are as follows:

The former, fixed standard deduction has been replaced with a deduction that varies according to household size and is adjusted annually for cost-of-living increases.  Following are the standard deduction amounts.  These amounts will be used in the annual FS mass rebudgeting for October 1, 2004:
Household Size	Standard Deduction	
1	$134	
2	134	
3	134	
4	134	
5	153	
6+	175	

	Maximum Excess Shelter Deduction:		$388
	Homeless Shelter Deduction:			$143 (unchanged)
	Boarder/Lodger Exclusion:			$149 for one or $274 for two
	Personal Care Shelter Amount			reduced by $8.00

Household Size	Monthly Income Elderly/Disabled Separate/Household 165% of Poverty	Maximum Gross Monthly Income 130% of Poverty	Maximum Net Monthly Income 100% of Poverty	Maximum Allotment	
1	$1,281	$1009	$776	$149	
2	1,718	1,354	1,041	274	
3	2,155	1,698	1,306	393	
4	2,592	2,043	1,571	499	
5	3,030	2,387	1,836	592	
6	3,467	2,732	2,101	711	
7	3,904	3,076	2,366	786	
8	4, 341	3,421	2,631	898	
Each Add'l Member	
+  438	
+  345	
+  265	
+  112	
New York State has re-evaluated the Standard Utility Allowances (SUA standards) and determined there will be no change to the amounts of the HT/AC SUA (Combined Heat/Utility/Phone SUA in NYC), Non-Heating SUA and Phone SUA:

	Geographic Area	HT/AC SUA		UTIL SUA		PHONE SUA

	NYC			$546			$248			$33
	Nassau & Suffolk	$509			$227			$33
	Rest of State		$451			$220			$33

Districts are reminded that the standard SUA amounts, without pro-ration, are mandated for all households with qualifying utility costs rather than allowing use of the actual expenses when they exceed the standards. Also, residents of public or subsidized housing with shared meters who incur only an expense for excess utility usage are entitled to the applicable level of SUA.  For example, a public housing tenant with heat included in the rent and who has a shared utility meter but pays a monthly excess charge fee for air conditioning is entitled to the HT/AC SUA.  Additionally, in recognition that virtually all households incur phone expenses, the phone SUA must be granted for all cases (except homeless/undomiciled) that don't already have the phone SUA budgeted either alone or as part of a higher SUA.  For NYC, this MRB/A will also extend the phone SUA to such households currently without it.  For Upstate ABEL, this extension of the phone SUA was already introduced in ABEL Transmittal 04-1, “Information # 1:  Food Stamps Telephone SUA Eligibility”.

The standardized benefit amounts for NYSNIP (New York State Nutrition Improvement Program) are also being updated as part of this Mass Rebudget for October 1, 2004.  The new amounts are shown in the table below.

2004 NYSNIP Benefit Matrix by Shelter Types
HOUSEHOLD	MONTHLY FOOD STAMP BENEFIT AMOUNT	
	New York City	Nassau/Suffolk	Upstate	
Shelter Type 94 (High Shelter/SUA)	SSI Only
Other Income	$149
$149	$149
$149	$149
$140	
Shelter Type 95 (Low Shelter/SUA)	SSI Only
Other Income	$110
$102	$101
$94	$86
$79	
Shelter Type 96 (High Shelter/ No SUA)	SSI Only
Other Income	$30
$26	$30
$26	$30
$26	
Shelter Type 97 (Low Shelter/ No SUA)	SSI Only
Other Income	$20
$16	$20
$16	$20
$16	
Shelter Type 98 
(No Shelter or SUA Data)	SSI Only
Other Income	$20
$16	$20
$16	$20
$16	

The new Food Stamp standards were migrated to production Upstate on August 14, 2004 and are used for budgets with a "from date" of October 1, 2004 or later.  As detailed in ABEL Transmittal 04-3 Action #1 "Explanation of the FS Maximum Allotment Increase MRB/A (ALL)", the final phases of a Mass Rebudget/Authorization for these changes are being run for upstate districts on the weekends of August 21 & 28, 2004.

In New York City, the new amounts for budgets effective October 1, 2004 will be migrated to production and used in a MRB/A for active cases on the weekend of September 18-19, 2004.

A copy of the mass notice sent to recipients is attached.  If the notice does not print properly and a hard copy is needed, please request a faxed copy via the contacts listed above.  Please note that the attached mass notice is also being used to introduce the updated gross monthly income standards (130% of poverty level) to those households subject to six-month reporting rules.