Section 17-680-27 - Month of application(a) A household's eligibility shall be determined for the month of application by considering the household's circumstances for the entire month of application. Most households shall have the eligibility determination based on circumstances for the entire calendar month in which the household filed its application.(b) Applicant households consisting of residents of a public institution who apply jointly for SSI and food stamps prior to release from the public institution in accordance with section 17-655-30 shall have their eligibility determined from the month in which the applicant household is released from the institution. The household's benefit level for the initial month of certification shall be based on the date of the month the household is released from the institution to the end of the month.(c) A household's benefit level for the initial month of certification shall be based on the day of the month it applies for benefits and the household shall receive benefits prorated from the day of application to the end of the month unless the applicant household consists of residents of a public institution or seasonal farmworkers.(d) The department shall prorate a household's benefits by using a standard thirty day calendar or fiscal month. A household applying on the thirty-first of a month shall be treated as though it applied on the thirtieth of the month. The department shall determine the amount of the prorated allotment as follows: (1) Use either the appropriate food stamp allotment proration table provided by FNS or the following formula: the full month's benefits for the household times the difference between thirty-one days and the date of application, divided by thirty, equals the prorated allotment amount;(2) After using the appropriate formula to determine the allotment, the department shall round the product down if it ends in 1 to 99 cents; and(3) If the computation results in an allotment of less than $10, then no issuance shall be made for the initial month.(e) Households which are certified using the expedited service procedures under chapter 17-647, and which apply for benefits after the fifteenth of the month, shall receive the prorated allotment for the initial month and the allotment for the next subsequent month at the same time in accordance with subsection 17-647-44.(f) Eligibility and the level of benefits for recertifications shall be determined by prospectively determining eligibility and, if eligible, determining the level of benefits as specified in section 17-680-23.(g) When a household is eligible for the month of application but ineligible in the subsequent month due to anticipated changes, the household shall be entitled to benefits for the month of application even if the processing of its application results in issuing benefits in the subsequent month.(h) When a household is ineligible for the month of application but eligible for the subsequent month due to anticipated changes: (1) The same application form shall be used to act on both the denial for the month of application and the determination of eligibility for the subsequent month;(2) Benefits shall not be issued for the month prior to the start of the household's certification period.[Eff 3/19/93; am 8/18/94; am 10/28/96; am and comp 11/09/06] (Auth: HRS § 346-14) (Imp: 7 C.F.R. §§273.10, 273.21; Pub. L. No. 104-193 (1996))