TN 46 (03-99)

A. Introduction

The first-of-the-month rule is an adjudicative expedient. It eliminates the need to develop ISM in each residence during a month when an individual moves.

B. Policy — FOM and ISM

1. First of the Month Rule

When an eligible individual changes his/her place of residence during a month, the ISM (if any) is based on thepermanent residence as of the first moment of the month.

2. First of Month Residence

1. An individual's FOM residence is his/her permanent residence as of the first moment of the calendar month.

2. An individual may be physically absent from FOM residence without affecting applicability of this section. This may be due to a temporary absence (SI 00835.040) or to the circumstances described in SI 00835.500E.2. below.

3. FOM Rule's Relationship to Throughout-a-Month Requirements

The FOM rule does not affect or supersede the throughout-a-month requirements related to:

• being an ineligible inmate of a public institution (SI 00520.001);

• applicability of the $30 payment cap (SI 00520.011);

• applicability of the VTR (SI 00835.200).

C. When to use the FOM rule

1. When the FOM Rule Applies

The FOM rule applies to ISM in any month in which an individual or couple has a permanent residence as of the first moment of the month and moves during the month.

2. When the FOM Rule Does Not Apply

The FOM rule does not apply to:

• ISM to one person (SI 00835.400) since such ISM is often not residence related and can be received at any point in a month; or

• individuals who do not have a permanent residence (transients).

  Example: Mr. Jones, a transient (SI 00835.060), lived in 3 residences in June including a week in the county jail, and received ISM in all three places. Because he had no permanent residence, the FOM rule does not apply. The ISM from all 3 residences is countable for June under the PMV rule.

D. Procedure — developing FOM residence

1. FOM Residence Apparent

Do not undertake any special documentation if the FOM residence is apparent from information in the file.

2. FOM Residence Not Apparent

If the FOM residence is not apparent because the individual was in the process of moving to a new permanent residence, but was not physically occupying it:

• Obtain the individual's signed statement of intended physical FOM residence and the reason that he/she did not occupy it as of the first moment of the month (e.g., individual was in the hospital, the house was not ready for occupancy, individual moved on the first day of the month, etc.);and

• Accept available evidence, if any, of intent (e.g., householder's statement, rental agreement, etc.); and

• record your FOM determination on MSSICS or on a paper Report of Contact.

E. Procedure — evaluating ISM for month of residence change

1. General Rules

1. When an individual changes his/her place of residence during a month, ISM is valued based on the permanent residence as of the first moment of the month.

   Example: The eligible individual's permanent living arrangement is an apartment in which he pays for all of his food and shelter. On 08/06/ 98, he moves to a house with several roommates who provide him with both food and shelter. Under the FOM rule, the field office determines the ISM based on the individual's residence as of the first moment of the month of August. Thus, he is not charged ISM for August.

2. Use the PMV rule to charge an individual with a month's worth of ISM received in the FOM residence just as if he/she had lived there the entire month. We determine the ISM as if the individual lived in the FOM residence for the entire month.

   Example: An eligible individual leaves his permanent residence and enters jail on 03/15/98. He is released on 05/06/98 to his home where he has rental liability and pays for all of his own food and shelter. Based on the FOM rule, no ISM is charged in March for the period spent in jail. The CR determines that the individual was ineligible (N22) in April. Based on the FOM rule, the CR charges a month's worth of ISM for May capped at the PMV for the food and shelter the individual received while in jail from May 1-6.

3. For purposes of rebutting the PMV, use only contributions toward expenses in the FOM residence to establish the AV of the ISM for the month. Any contribution the individual makes toward expenses in the new residence are not considered a contribution toward expenses in the FOM residence.

2. Exceptions to the General Rules

a. Month of Birth

Treat an individual's place of birth as the FOM residence for the month of birth.

b. Month of Move From Public Institution to Medical Treatment Facility

Treat a medical facility as an individual's FOM residence even though he/she had a prior residence, if:

• the only prior residence in the month is a public institution where the individual would have been ineligible had he/she remained there throughout the month; and

• the new residence is one in which the individual will be subject to the $30 payment limit (SI 00520.011).

EXCEPTION: The $30 payment would not apply if the individual enters a medical facility during an authorized absence from a penal institution (SI 00520.009B.1.). During such an absence, the individual remains ineligible for SSI.

c. Month of Move and VTR Continues to Apply

Determine that the VTR continues to apply, if the FOM residence is one where the VTR would apply, and:

• all subsequent residences in the month qualify as someone else's household; and

• the individual receives both food and shelter in each such residence.

d. Month of Move and VTR Does Not Apply

Determine that the VTR does not apply in a month when the individual, who has been subject to the VTR, moves to another residence and makes a contribution toward the household operating expenses of the subsequent residence.

• Use the PMV rule to charge the individual with a month's worth of ISM received in the FOM residence just as if he/she had lived there the entire month.

• Do not use the contributions to the subsequent residence to establish the AV of ISM from the FOM residence (see SI 00835.500E.1.c. above).

F. Examples of ISM determinations based on FOM residence

Example 1: FOM Residence is a Medical Facility

Mr. Rose left his apartment and entered a medical facility on 08/05/98 and he did not intend to return to his residence. Mr. Rose's FOM residence in November was a medical facility. On 11/11/98 he was discharged to his daughter's home where he did not contribute toward any of the household operating expenses. The field office did not charge ISM in November because his FOM residence was the medical facility. Food and shelter received during a medical confinement are not income (SI 00815.100).

Example 2: FOM Residence is a Public Institution

Mr. Payne entered the county jail on 01/23/99. Mr. Payne's FOM residence in March was the county jail. He was released on 03/04/99 and returned to his home. He made no payment to the jail for food or shelter which had a monthly value of $300. The field office determined that he received a month's worth of ISM for March. The ISM was valued at $300, so he was charged the PMV. (Although he was in jail for only 4 days, the monthly value of the ISM is counted. The amount is not prorated just because he was in jail for only part of the month. If Mr. Payne wants to rebut the value of the ISM, he would need to show that the monthly value was less than $300, or verify that he made a payment to the jail.)

Example 3: Move From Public Medical Institution to Medical Care Facility

Mr. White's FOM residence in 11/98 was a public medical institution where he would have been ineligible (N02) if he had remained there throughout the month. He did not pay for any of his food or shelter. On 11/04/98 he became ill and was transferred to a nearby hospital, where he remained until 11 /20/98 when he returned to the FOM public institution. Since Medicaid paid for his stay at the hospital, Mr. White was eligible for the $30 payment for November. Because the $30 payment cap applies in November, ISM is not counted in that month. See SI 00835.500E.2.b.

NOTE: Had this public institution been a penal facility, Mr. White would have remained ineligible (N22) for November if his transfer to the medical facility was an authorized absence (SI 00520.009B.1.).

Example 4: Temporary Absence Due to Incarceration

For about 7 months, Mr. Young had been living in an apartment and paying for all of his own household expenses when he was sent to the county jail on 05/ 18/98. While in jail he intended to return to his apartment, and on 06/05 /98 he did return. The period of incarceration was a temporary absence from his permanent living arrangement. ISM received during a temporary absence is not counted. Therefore, he is not charged with any ISM for the period he spent in jail. His FOM residence for June is his apartment (his permanent residence). ISM, if any, is based on his FOM residence, and since he was not receiving ISM in his apartment, no ISM is charged for June.

Example 5: No Permanent Residence on the First of the Month

Ms. Harris is an eligible individual who normally lives with her mother. However, she had a dispute with her mother, and for the past 5 months has been staying at different friends' homes for a few weeks at a time. On 5/15/98 she is arrested and put in jail. On 05/28/98 she posts bail and she returns to live with her mother.

Since Ms. Harris did not have a permanent residence in May, the FOM rule is not applicable. For May, ISM is counted from each place that she lived. Her short stays in the jail, with friends', and with her mother cannot be considered temporary absences because she had no permanent residence.

If Ms. Harris chooses to rebut the PMV in May, the actual value of ISM would include ISM she received 05/01-05/15 while staying with friends, ISM received 05/15-05/28 while in jail, and ISM received 05/28-05/31 in her mother's home.

Example 6: FOM Residence is a Household Where the VTR Would Apply

Ms. Morris had been subject to the VTR for the past 8 months. She lived with 3 roommates and did not contribute to household expenses. On 08/15/ 98 she moved into an apartment where she has rental liability. The VTR does not apply for August because she did not live in another person's household throughout a month. Therefore, the field office uses the PMV rule to charge her with a month's worth of ISM received from her FOM residence. The field office determines that, in August, she received ISM with an actual value of $200 which was capped at the PMV. Any money she spent in August toward household expenses in her new residence is not considered when computing ISM from the FOM residence.

NOTE: Assume that, instead of making no contribution, Ms. Morris had contributed $100 toward expenses in the FOM residence and that she decides to rebut the value of the ISM she received in August in the FOM residence. Assume that the field office determines that the monthly household operating expenses are $800. With 4 household members in the FOM residence, Ms. Morris' pro rata share was $200. She paid $100 toward the household expenses of the FOM residence. Therefore, the actual value of Ms. Morris' ISM is $100 for August.

Example 7: Intended FOM Residence Would be Subject to the VTR

Ms. Appleby had been living alone in her own apartment. She decided to move to her sister's home across the country where she would not pay for any food or shelter. She left on 02/24/99, intending to arrive the last week of February, but bad weather delayed her arrival until 03/02/99. Although she intended to be in the sister's home as of the first moment of March, she was still in transit. The VTR does not apply in March because she did not meet the throughout the month requirement. However, her intended FOM residence was her sister's home and we use the PMV rule to charge a month's worth of ISM there for March.

Example 8: Transients/Homeless and the FOM Rule

A homeless individual sleeps on park benches and gets food from a private nonprofit homeless shelter which has been certified by the State as a nonprofit provider of in-kind support and maintenance (SI 00830.605 and SI 00835.331). The FOM rule does not apply because the individual has no permanent residence. ISM, if any, would be counted from all of the sources during the month. However, he is not charged with ISM for sleeping on the park benches since that is considered ISM of no value. The food received at the homeless shelter is excluded per SI 00830.605.

G. References

• Resident of a Public Institution, SI 00520.001

• $30 Payment Limit, SI 00520.011

• Temporary Absence, SI 00835.040

• Transients, SI 00835.060

• ISM to One, SI 00835.400