Prorating Initial Month's Benefits

SNAP benefits for a household's initial month shall be prorated. The initial month is the first month for which a household is certified to participate in SNAP following any period of time during which the household did not receive SNAP, except for migrant and seasonal farmworker households. For migrant and seasonal farmworker households, the initial month is the first month for which a household is certified to participate in SNAP following any period of more than one month during which the household did not receive SNAP. A migrant or seasonal farmworker household that has received SNAP within the month before application is entitled to a full month's benefits. Households which apply for initial benefits after the 15 day of the month and are determined th eligible for expedited SNAP benefits in accordance with 106 CMR 365.800: Expedited Service, must be issued a combined allotment. A combined allotment includes the initial month's prorated benefits plus the second month's full allotment. Combined allotments must be issued within the seven-day expedited service time frame. Proration is the issuance of that portion of a household's monthly SNAP benefit, as calculated in accordance with 106 CMR 364.600, which corresponds to the period of time from the date of application to the end of the month. For a household with a monthly allotment of $400 or less, the initial month's allotment is determined in accordance with 106 CMR 364.990. For a household with a monthly allotment greater than $400, the initial month's allotment is calculated as follows: (A) Count the number of days from the first day of the household's cyclical month through the date of application, inclusive, to determine the day of the cyclical month. If the day of the cyclical month is 31, use the number 30 instead of 31. Subtract the day of the cyclical month from 31. Multiply the result by the household's monthly allotment. Divide the result of this by 30; (B) If the result of 106 CMR 364.650(A) is not a whole dollar, round the result down to the next whole dollar by dropping cents; then (C) If the result of 106 CMR 364.650(B), is less than $10, no benefits shall be issued for the initial month.