August 4, 2020
The Oregon Department of Human Services has received approval by the federal Food and Nutrition Service to continue in August to provide increased food benefits and waive the interview requirement for new applicants – making it faster and easier for Oregonians to access benefits.
This will result in an additional $30 million to eligible Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients in August 2020.
“As the pandemic continues, access to food has worsened greatly,” said Self-Sufficiency Programs Deputy Director Claire Seguin. “Providing another month of emergency assistance will help ease the threat of chronic hunger in Oregon.”
SNAP households will automatically receive the additional allotment in the same way they receive their current benefits. For most customers this is an EBT card. The additional benefit amount will be disbursed on the schedule below to all eligible SNAP households.
 No additional action is needed from Oregonians already enrolled in SNAP. The increase brings all households to the maximum SNAP benefit. Households that already receive the maximum benefit will not receive any additional benefits.
Resources
A judge issued new injunctions last week blocking the public charge immigration rule during the COVID-19 pandemic. This will allow immigrant communities across Oregon and the rest of the country to access critical health care and public benefits during the current health crisis.
The injunction issued against the Department of Homeland Security prevents the agency from enforcing, applying, implementing or treating as effective the "public charge" rule for any period during a declared national health emergency in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The rule had expanded the list of benefits that the federal government could consider in deciding whether a person can enter the United States or obtain lawful permanent residency.
"The public charge rule has worsened health disparities, especially for the Latino/a/x community, at a time when they are most hard hit by the lethal coronavirus," said Patrick Allen, Oregon Health Authority Director. "Here in Oregon many immigrant families decided not to access public benefits, even leaving their children without health insurance."
In January the Supreme Court issued a ruling that lifted an October 2019 decision to block the public charge rule, allowing it to go into effect. As a result, the Department of Homeland Security began enforcing the rule on Feb. 24, just before the coronavirus outbreak became a nationwide pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic has given scammers a variety of different opportunities to commit fraud. Learn more about potential scams at the Division of Financial Regulation’s COVID-19 fraud prevention webpage. Topics include fake mobile banking apps, government imposters, bogus unemployment claims, and more.
COVID-19 has claimed five more lives in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 333, the Oregon Health Authority reported at 12:01 a.m. today.
Oregon Health Authority reported 342 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. today, bringing the state total to 19,699.
The new cases reported today are in the following counties: Baker (2), Benton (3), Clackamas (21), Clatsop (1), Columbia (5), Coos (3), Crook (1), Deschutes (8), Douglas (5), Harney (2), Hood River (5), Jackson (17), Jefferson (13), Josephine (1), Klamath (2), Lane (12), Linn (1), Malheur (33), Marion (23), Morrow (11), Multnomah (57), Polk (4), Tillamook (2), Umatilla (61), Union (4), Wasco (1), Washington (29), and Yamhill (15).
Oregon’s 329th COVID-19 death is an 89-year-old woman in Malheur County who tested positive on July 19 and died on July 27 at Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center. She had underlying conditions.
Oregon’s 330th COVID-19 death is an 88-year-old woman in Yamhill County who tested positive on July 30 and died on August 1 in her residence. She had underlying conditions.
Oregon’s 331st COVID-19 death is an 87-year-old man in Clackamas County who tested positive on July 7 and died on July 28 at Kaiser Permanente Westside Medical Center. He had underlying conditions.
Oregon’s 332nd COVID-19 death is an 88-year-old man in Morrow County who tested positive on July 27 and died on August 2 at Good Shepherd Health Care System. He had underlying conditions.
Oregon’s 333rd COVID-19 death is a 96-year-old woman in Malheur County who tested positive on July 27 and died on August 2 at Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center. Presence of underlying conditions is being confirmed.
|
