Ohio Administrative Code|Rule 5101:4-7-03 | Food assistance: Mass change during the certification period.

                                                
 What is a mass change?
 A mass change is initiated by the state or federal
		government that may affect the entire caseload or significant portions of the
		caseload. These changes include, but are not limited to, adjustments to the
		income eligibility standards, the shelter and dependent care deduction, the
		maximum supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) allotment, and the
		standard deduction; annual and seasonal adjustments to the state's utility
		standards; periodic cost-of-living adjustments to retirement, survivors, and
		disability insurance (RSDI), supplemental security income (SSI), and other
		federal benefits; periodic adjustments to Ohio works first (OWF) ; and other
		changes in the eligibility and benefit criteria based on legislative or
		regulatory changes. Federal adjustments to the eligibility standards,
		allotments and deductions, and state adjustments to utility standard shall go
		into effect for all assistance groups at a specific point in time. State annual
		adjustments of the utility standards shall go into effect for all affected
		assistance groups at the same time.
(A)  What are the notice requirements for
		  a mass change?
County agencies shall publicize these mass
		  changes through the news media, through posters in certification offices,
		  issuance locations, or other sites frequented by certified assistance groups,
		  or through general notices mailed to assistance groups. The county agency shall
		  notify adversely affected assistance groups of these mass changes in accordance
		  with Chapter 5101:6-2 of the Administrative Code. In addition, any assistance
		  group whose certification period overlaps an annual adjustment in the utility
		  standard shall be advised at the time of initial certification of when the
		  adjustment will occur and what the variation in the benefit level will be, if
		  known.
(B)  What are the requirements for mass
		  changes on public assistance cases?
When the state agency makes an overall adjustment
		  to public assistance payments, corresponding adjustments in the assistance
		  group's SNAP benefits shall be handled as a mass change.
(1) More than thirty days
			 advance knowledge
When the county agency has at least thirty days
			 advance knowledge of the amount of the public assistance adjustment, the county
			 agency shall recompute SNAP benefits to be effective in the same month as the
			 public assistance change.
(2) Less than thirty days
			 advance knowledge
When the county agency does not have sufficient
			 notice, the change in SNAP benefits shall be effective no later than the month
			 following the month in which the public assistance change was made.
(C)  What are the mass change
		  requirements for federal benefits?
The county agency shall establish procedures for
		  making mass changes to reflect cost-of-living adjustments in benefits and any
		  other mass changes under RSDI, SSI, and other programs such as veterans'
		  assistance under Title 38 of the United States Code, (3/2011) and the black
		  lung program, where information on cost-of-living adjustments is readily
		  available and is applicable to all or a majority of those programs'
		  beneficiaries.
(D)  What is an assistance group's
		  responsibility for reporting a change made in accordance with this
		  rule?
 Assistance groups shall not be responsible for
		  reporting these changes. The county agency shall be responsible for
		  automatically adjusting an assistance group's SNAP benefit level. These
		  changes shall be reflected no later than the second allotment issued after the
		  month in which the change becomes effective.