This memorandum provides the FY 2022 Cost-of-Living Adjustments to SNAP, income eligibility standards, and deductions for the 48 contiguous states and D.C., Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. COLAs are effective as of Oct. 1, 2021.
This memorandum clarifies how additional funding for the John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood may impact benefit calculations for SNAP.
FNS expects virtual Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program operations may be needed through the remainder of FY 2021 and 2022. FNS will continue to review requests to use virtual operations on a case-by-case basis when a state submits a D-SNAP waiver request. States are encouraged to use the attached best practices for any future virtual D-SNAPs.
FNS has received additional questions from state agencies and other stakeholders, and has responded with a second Question and Answer memorandum.
FNS is targeting the areas of program operation listed, for state SNAP Agency Management Evaluations for the upcoming fiscal year. State SNAP agencies are required to conduct MEs for the target areas in the upcoming fiscal year.
Program informational activities, or SNAP outreach activities, are a critical tool to ensure vulnerable populations are aware of the availability, eligibility requirements, application procedures, and benefits of the SNAP program. In line with administration priorities and to ensure that all eligible households have the opportunity to access SNAP benefits, FNS has developed outreach priority areas to encourage states to target certain underrepresented or particularly vulnerable populations
In response to the President’s Executive Order on Economic Relief Related to the COVID-19 Pandemic issued on Jan. 22, 2021, which directed all federal agencies to consider administrative actions to better address the current economic crisis resulting from the pandemic, USDA reviewed and updated the SNAP EA guidance.
FNS is allowing states flexibility regarding fair hearing timeframes. As needed, state agencies may extend the fair hearings process up to 120 days from receipt of the request for fair hearings that were already in process or for which requests are received from March 1 through May 31, 2020.
This memorandum adjusts the total number of exemptions available to each state for FY 2021, as shown in the table on the next page. This includes increases in the number of exemptions available to states in which caseloads increased by more than 10 percent, as described in section 6(o)(6)(F) of the Act.
This memo provides information on how states can request certain SNAP COVID-19 administrative flexibilities beginning May 2021, including information pertaining to certain options allowed under the Continuing Appropriations Act 2021.