1. Updated HCUA for SNAP. We have updated the utility allowance for SNAP calculations. Utility calculations are changing in a way that will increase a household’s utility allowance which results in a decrease in countable income.
As of February 8 for new SNAP applicants, CDHS will issue EBT credits to HHs ($20 to help cover utilities + $1 for ATM fees) that didn’t get LEAP in the prior 12 months. All eligible SNAP households will get this amount regardless of income, expenses, or HH size. The result is that all Colorado HHs will get the HCUA. The goal is to give HHs the highest possible utility deduction. This is consistent with long-standing federal regulations that Colorado is now starting to utilize. Current SNAP recipients will see this change in March.
2. Cleaned up white labels in the database. As MyFriendBen grows, having multiple white labels in the same database will get confusing. The team has added the white label names to the string versions of each program in the database to avoid confusion.
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