Bay State Combined Application Project (CAP) Overview
Bay State Combined Application Project (Bay State CAP)
Bay State CAP was developed through the cooperative effort of the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA), the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The Bay State CAP Program enrolls Supplemental Security Income (SSI) applicants and recipients in SNAP using information gathered by SSA during the application or the redetermination of eligibility for SSI benefits. SSA transmits information to DTA electronically through the SDX system once the SSI case is approved (including preliminary status SSI cases for elderly applicants who are 65 or over) or the recertification of benefits is processed. Persons who are approved for SSI are disabled at the federal disability standard and/or are elderly (age 65 or over).
Note: SSI applicants are not required to have an interview with DTA when applying for Bay State CAP.
Bay State CAP Eligibility
To be eligible for Bay State CAP benefits, an SSI individual must:
- be 18 or older
- be unmarried (single, widowed, divorced or separated)
- have no earned income
- be a citizen or eligible noncitizen
- purchase and prepare food separately from other household members
- not be permanently disqualified from receiving SNAP benefits
- be coded Federal Living Arrangement A on SDX
- be coded State Living Arrangement A or B on SDX
- not have fluctuating income
- not reside in a licensed group home
Important: Existing Bay State CAP Clients who have fluctuating income are no longer eligible for Bay State CAP. They will be converted to either EDSAP or Simplified Reporting, based on eligibility.
A Bay State CAP application can only be made through SSA. SSA staff will determine if the SSI applicant appears eligible for food assistance. If the SSI approval process is expected to take 30 days or less, the SSA worker will:
- ask the food assistance related questions during the full SSI interview
- enter the appropriate high or low shelter parameter on SDX
- describe the Bay State CAP project
- provide the applicant with the Your Bay State CAP Food Assistance Benefits brochure; and
- give the applicant a copy of the completed Bay State CAP Food Assistance Benefits Statement, FSP/BSC-1 Form.
Important: Bay State CAP clients have the right to opt-out of Bay State CAP at any time. Please click the link for more information regarding opting-out of Bay State CAP.
If the household meets Bay State CAP requirements, but the SSI approval process is expected to take more than 30 days, the SSA worker will help the applicant complete the one-page application for regular SNAP benefits FSP/SSA-1 Form and send the completed FSP/SSA-1 Form to DTA.
Once the applicant has been determined disabled by SSA, the SSA worker will complete the SSI interview process. As part of this interview, the SSA worker will:
- ask the food assistance related questions
- enter the appropriate high or low shelter parameter on SDX
- describe the Bay State CAP project
- provide the applicant with Your Bay State CAP Food Assistance Benefits brochure and
- give the applicant a copy of the completed Bay State CAP Food Assistance Benefits Statement, FSP/BSC-1 Form.
All SSI households applying for Bay State CAP will be asked the expedited screening questions. The SSA worker will indicate on the FSP/SSA-1 Form if an applicant appears to qualify for expedited service. The SSA worker will then assist in completion of the FSP/SSA-1 Form, if not already completed, and send it to DTA.
Bay State CAP Calculation
Bay State CAP food assistance benefits will be calculated as follows:
- BEACON uses the applicant’s income as reported by SSA. This information is updated daily, so DTA will be able to process an accurate benefit each month.
- Bay State CAP households receive the standard deduction for a household of one.
- BEACON determines the Shelter Deduction for Bay State CAP cases using SDX shelter information reported by the SSA worker.
- Households claiming monthly shelter expenses greater than or equal to $481 will receive the high shelter amount.
- Households claiming monthly shelter expenses less than $481 will receive the low shelter amount.
- Bay State CAP cases receive the Bay State CAP Standard Utility Allowance (SUA)
- To calculate the household’s shelter deduction, half of the adjusted gross income will be subtracted from the appropriate shelter allowance plus the Bay State CAP SUA. The difference is the shelter deduction for the household.
- BEACON will subtract the shelter deduction from the household’s adjusted gross income to determine the household’s net monthly income.
- The net monthly income will be used to determine the Bay State CAP benefit amount in accordance with 106 CMR 364.600.
Note: The high or low shelter codes entered by SSA will appear on the SDX CAP Inquiry screen in the program administration workflow of BEACON. The CAP Shelter Indicators are: Y (High Shelter), N (Low Shelter) or Blank (Not Requested).
SDX Batch Information Converting Cases that are No Longer Eligible for Bay State CAP
When information is received from SDX, BEACON will automatically convert Bay State CAP cases to EDSAP or Simplified Reporting, based on eligibility, in the following instances:
- Client requests through SDX that Bay State CAP stop
- Client no longer receives SSI for any reason except for the eight reasons listed below:
- Is an ineligible noncitizen based on FSP rules
- Is a resident of a public or private institution
- Is no longer a Massachusetts resident
- Is deceased
- Whereabouts are unknown
- Did not cooperate with a fraud investigation
- Is receiving assistance in another state
- Is a fleeing felon
- Client’s SDX Federal Living Arrangement Code is no longer A.
- Client’s SDX State Living Arrangement is no longer A or B.
- Client no longer receives Federal SSI.
- Client has a Marital Status of Married.
- Client is under age 18.
- Client has had three (3) consecutive months of Earned Income.
These households will receive an EBC notice and a conversion notice informing them of what certification type s/he will be on.