1. NH Local Welfare Administrator’s Association
Understanding and Establishing
Financial Standards as part of your General Assistance Guidelines

2. Why Establish Financial Standards (Basic Needs Allowances)?
Basic need allowances must be a part of your Guidelines.
Calculation of our own allowances from your community and documenting those in your Guidelines.
Finding outside agencies to fix costs keeps you out of biased or arbitrary selection.
Self calculations.
Utilizing resources such as USDA, NHHFA, CPI, etc.

3. Why do we have basic needs allowances?
Documenting unbiased assessment of eligibility.
Documenting that you are assessing needs at current costs in your community.
Actual costs (Hall vs. County of Hillsborough 1982) The court said guideline amount must be set so as to make possible to fulfill the “humanitarian purpose” of the statute so that to actually meet the need. A municipality will be subject to challenge if it keeps its Guideline Amounts artificially low, such that the amount of assistance that could be granted will not actually meet the need.

4. Examples of Basic Needs:
Rents and Housing Costs.
Food.
Electric and Heat allowances.
Non-Food Personal / Maintenance Allowances.
Medical/Prescriptions.
Rents and Housing Costs –NHHFA updates Fair Market Rents. May include rent, but also mortgage costs, lot fees, motel expenses.
Food –USDA sets SNAP (or Food Stamps) Allowance.
Electric and Heat allowances – usually actual monthly costs fro these services; may be cost of delivery for product/service (i.e.: oil, propane, kerosene).
Non Food / Personal Maintenance Allowances.
Medical/Prescriptions.
Transportation (bus ticket?, gas allowances? car payment, car insurance, car repairs, license, registration & inspection?)
Health Insurance.
Telephone.
Cable TV/Internet.
Court Ordered Payment – child support, fines, bail, etc…..?
***You must determine which expenses are allowable vs. un-allowable.

5. Other Examples of Basic Needs for Consideration:
Transportation.
Health Insurance.
Telephone.
Cable TV/Internet.
Court Ordered Payment.

6. How often should you update the allowances?
Yearly or as necessary if a significant shift in costs of living happens in your community.
Based on yearly updates in Costs noted from Sources.
Maximum-Allotments-Deductions.pdf
Annually or as expenses change significantly.
May require an update to Guidelines and/or approval by the governing body.
NHHFA shows rental rates and vacancy rates.
CPI shows cost of living adjustments from year to year.
USDA maximum food allowances.

7. NHHFA Residential Rental Cost Survey (City of Nashua)
All Units
0-Bedroom Units
1-Bedroom Units
2-Bedroom Units
3-Bedroom Units
4+-Bedroom Units
Year
Median Gross Rental Cost
Sample Size
2018
$1,473
1,691
$1,111 27
$1,314
547
$1,566
974
$1,592
116
$1,885
2017
$1,395
1,610
$722 70
$1,195
564
$1,559
825
$1,522
132
#N/A 19
2016
$1,285
2,229
$697 65
$1,119
732
$1,415
1,243
$1,493
170
2015
$1,214
2,276
$689 76
$1,053
706
$1,310
1,241
$1,500
222
$1,542 31
2014
$1,132
2,073
$672 92
$1,027
705
$1,222
1,016
$1,461
235
$1,505 25
2013
$1,139
2,105
$650
$1,013
719
$1,199
1,045
$1,318
237
$1,402 34
2012
$1,114
2,136
102
$982
720
$1,225
1,031
$1,417
248
$1,432 35
2011
$1,095
2,083
$612
$948
687
$1,164
1,062
$1,434
239
$1,502
2010
$1,090
1,898
$628 97
$883
615
$1,142
890
$1,376
271
$1,400
2009
$1,077
1,824 85
$949
640
$1,088
808
$1,424
260
2008
$1,082
1,961
100
$887
598
$1,085
953
$1,392
273
$1,426 37
2007
$1,061
1,931
$642 87
$881
611
950
$1,349
251
$1,437 32
2006
1,982
$687
$901
633
$1,080
1,005
$1,397
216
$1,447
2005
$1,024
1,841
$625 67
$859
548
$1,056
1,011
$1,344
189 26
2004
$1,041
1,786
$676 40
$904
530
$1,086
1,036
$1,281
164 16
2003
$1,012
1,832
$580 46
$886
543
1,066
$1,259
165 12
2002
$969
1,405
$593 33
$858
390
$1,019
830
$1,160
142 10
2001
$966
1,044 17
276
$977
651 3
2000
$874
1,423
$585 50
$769
401
$896
856
$1,023
113
Source: NHHFA Residential Rental Cost Survey
Note: Calculations based on a sample size of less than 20 are highly volatile and not considered valid.
You may want to introduce language in your Guidelines that indicate your municipality will use NHHFA FMR to determine rental allowances/maximums.

8. NH Housing Finance Authority’s Fair Market Rents used by Merrimack

9. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
Last updated 10/01/17
FY 2018 Allotments and Deduction Information
Maximum Allotments
(October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018) People in Household
Maximum Monthly Allotment 1
$192 2
$352 3
$504 4
$640 5
$760 6
$913 7
$1,009 8
$1,153
Each additional person
$144

10. Household Goods / Maintenance/ Non Food/ Personal Hygiene Allowance Used by Nashua
Household Size
Weekly Exp.
Monthly Exp. 1
$13.81
$ 59.80 2
$16.98
$ 73.51 3
$ 20.14
$ 87.21 4
$ 23.30 $
These are examples of costs …. You must determine costs for your community.
Rates can change based on annual CPI.
Additional expenses include Travel Allowance of $17.49/week or $75.20/month.

11. Determining Eligibility/Need for Assistance
Notifying client of allowable expenses:
Can you apply allowances before notifying the client?
Do you need notification in writing?

12. Exceptions to strict application of allowances and referrals to meet needs.
Applying the allowances:
Eviction.
Electric Disconnect.
Heat delivery or disconnect.
Regulated heat sources.
Non regulated heat sources.
Food and other basic needs.
Applying the allowances:
Eviction – prevention services or emergency motel/shelter.
Electric Disconnect.
Heat delivery or disconnect – urgency of need.
Regulated heat sources - PUC.
Non regulated heat sources - propane.
Food and other basic needs – consider temporary interventions and referral to alternative resources.
*Ultimate duty to “relieve and maintain” often requires referral to alternative, longer-term or temporary, resources within the community.

13. NH Municipal Center “Art of Welfare Administration” Publication p. 20
“B. Individual Needs Welfare guidelines are not inflexible rules. Guidelines promote fair case processing, and prevent arbitrary decision making, but they must be interpreted with flexibility if needs exist. If the welfare administrator determines that the strict application of the standard of need criteria will result in unnecessary or undue hardship, the administrator can and should make adjustments in the criteria.”

14. Questions..???