This is in reply to your July 21, 2005, memorandum with the above subject in which you ask for clarifications relating to the provision of the regulations at 7 CFR 273.1(b)(7)(vi). This provision provides, in part, that individuals must be considered residents of an institution when the institution provides them with the majority of their meals (over 50 percent of three meals daily) as part of the institution’s normal services.
This report is the latest in a series of publications presenting estimates of the percentage of eligible persons, by state, who participate in the Food Stamp Program. The participation rate – a ratio of the number of participants to the number of people eligible for benefits – is an important measure of program performance.
FNA and other researchers have used a variety of approaches to calculate food stamp participation rates. While different approaches can look similar in concept, the results – for particular states or for the nation as a whole – can often look quite different. These differences can be confusing for users who seek to describe the success of the Food Stamp Program without becoming experts in statistics and data analysis. This paper provides an overview and comparison of two sets of estimates produced by FNA as indicators of Food Stamp Program performance.
This memorandum provides guidance to state administrators in making household eligibility determinations in all nutrition assistance programs administered by FNA.
Attached are 18 Questions and Answers about the drug expenses of Food Stamp clients who also receive Medicare. The Questions and Answers concern the phasing out of the Drug Discount Card, Medicare’s implementation of the new Medicare Prescription Drug Program, and Food Stamp Quality Control. We have developed this guidance in consultation with our federal partners.
Memo regarding confusion about the proper way to handle a situation involving a Food Stamp Program participant who receives an increase in benefits after reporting an increase in a deductible expense but subsequently fails to verify that increase in deductible expense.
This memo is in response to requests for us to clarify what takes place when a confirmation review finds an error in the eligibility determination after a household has been initially notified of its status.
The School Breakfast Program regulations outlines criteria for schools to qualify for severe need reimbursement. Included in these criteria is the requirement that 40 percent or more of the lunches served to students at that school in the second preceding school year were served free or at a reduced price. This criterion is intended to ensure that the severe need reimbursement rate is provided to schools which have already demonstrated that a high percentage of meals, defined as 40 percent or more of lunches, are being served to needy students.
It has recently come to our attention that under PL 104-204 and 106-419, benefits paid by the Veterans Administration to the children of Vietnam veterans born with congenital spina bifida and certain other birth defects are excludable as income for food stamp purposes.
A summary of past research on program operations and outcomes related to the Food Stamp Program.