We are working with a national legal services project to provide you with
streamlined food stamp estimators. Once you have entered
this "automated documents" site, you will answer a few questions. Then you get a document
that estimates the
amount of food stamps you could get if you are otherwise eligible. You can print it, if you want to.
If you don't care about saving your information online, choose the "go directly to form" option.
Use the "register" option if you
want to save your information and
come back to it later. Either way, no one sees this information but you.
If you have problems, comments or ideas about how to make
these automated forms work better, please let us know.
NOTE: As much as we love Macintosh computers and Mozilla or Firefox browsers, these seem to
only work on PCs using Internet Explorer, and you need version 6.0 or better. We'll try to fix that.
Option 1
Use our "short forms." The document you get at the end tells you the information used to do the estimate
(which you entered) and the estimated amount of food stamps for a household your size.
For households WITH NO elderly or disabled member (updated 3/08)
For households WITH an elderly or disabled member (updated 3/08)
Option 2
You can use the same program to print out a 6-page form that shows
all of the calculations.
For households WITH NO elderly or disabled member(updated 3/08)
For households WITH an elderly or disabled member (updated 3/08)
Option 3
Use our old self-calculating .pdf estimators if those are easier for you, or if you want to see part
of the history of
how we built the newer online versions.
For households WITH NO elderly or disabled member (updated 3/08)
For households WITH an elderly or disabled member (updated 3/08)
If you fill them out online, they will do the calculations for you, or
your can print them and do the calculations by hand.
Two food stamp eligibility tests: income and assets
This calculator will help you to estimate the amount of monthly food stamps
you can get, based on your household size and income. To qualify
for food stamps, you may also be subject to an "asset test."
Read
more about how food stamps counts assets.
What if I'm not sure about some of my answers to the Estimator questions?
The Estimator is just that; it only estimates your food stamp amount.
If your monthly income and household size are simple to define, the Estimator
may come up with the exact amount of your food stamp grant. But in some
cases, more complicated rules apply. It may not be clear at first who belongs
to the food stamp household or how income should be counted. For example,
if your household includes boarders or unrelated roommates, or your income
is from self-employment or seasonal work, you will probably need to consult
with a DHHS worker about how the rules apply to you. The rules are
published
online. If you run into problems or have more questions about your eligibility,
contact Pine Tree Legal Assistance.
More information about
food stamp rules (MEJP website)
Maine DHHS food stamps page
(with link to application form)
How does the online Estimator work and how private is it?
Learn more about the national "Automatic Documents" project by going to the site's
Frequently Asked Questions
page (or link to these FAQ's from any page on the site after you go there).
