County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency HHSACalWORKs Program Guide Mandatory MidPeriod Reports Number Page 44270G 1 of 7 Revision Date April 23 2020 BackgroundUnder the SemiAnnual Reporting SAR system customers are required to report only certain changes midperiod PurposeThis section is being revised to remove policies that were addressed in other sections of the program guide and to update the Income Reporting Threshold IRT threetier system to two The Tier 1 IRT will remain the same and the existing Tier 2 will be replaced with the existing Tier 3 130 of the Federal Poverty Level FPL The change to the IRT tier system is effective June 1 2020 PolicyMandatory Reporting All CalWORKs customers are required to report the following changes within ten calendar days of the date the change becomes known to the Assistance Unit AU When income exceeds the IRT When an AU member has a change in fleeing felon status Violations of conditions of probation or parole Address changes If the AU reports midperiod that income exceeds the IRT due to income of a new household member then no midperiod action will be taken to decrease or discontinue CalWORKs since the report of income over IRT is based on a new household member and a voluntary report MidPeriod reports may be made in writing including fax online via email by phone or inperson to designated staff or at a Family Resource Center FRC Customers may also provide a MidPeriod Status Report SAR 3 to report a change Taking Action on MidPeriod Reports When an AU reports a change midperiod make a case comment to document the reported information Issue a written request as needed for the AU to provide verification within ten days For reports of income over IRT that result in CalWORKs discontinuance take timely action without waiting for verification of the new income in order to avoid an overpayment A mandatory report requires timely action to reevaluate continuing eligibility for the AU and recalculate the grant amount midperiod Timely and adequate notice is required if a mandatory report results in a decrease or discontinuance of CalWORKs When the customer makes a mandatory report and the AU receives CalFresh benefits reevaluate continuing eligibility to CalFresh when taking midperiod action for CalWORKs If a change is reported that does not require midperiod action issue a No Change Notice of Action NOA and note the information as a Held Change for followup at the next SAR 7 or annual redetermination whichever comes first County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency HHSACalWORKs Program Guide Mandatory MidPeriod Reports Number Page 44270G 2 of 7 Required Informing Notice SAR AUs are notified of their mandatory reporting responsibilities including their IRT amount via the Reporting Changes for Cash Aid and CalFresh SAR 2 informing notice Issue a SAR 2 to the AU upon the initial approval of CalWORKs at each annual redetermination and anytime there is a change in their IRT Whenever an action is taken that results in a recalculation of the CalWORKs grant also recalculate the IRT Issue a new SAR 2 to the AU within ten days of the reported change to ensure timely notification of their new IRT Note When there is a change in IRT and the AU has not been notified of the new level use the priorIRT level for mandatory reporting purposes until an informing notice indicating the new IRT level can be issued to the AU Income Reporting Threshold IRT The IRT is an income level that informs the AU when they are mandated to make a midperiod report of an increase in income AUs with only unearned income including disabilitybased unearned income are not required to report midperiod when their income exceeds the IRT AUs with earned income are required to report within ten days when their total combined gross monthly income earned and unearned of all the members in the Family Maximum Aid Payment MAP exceeds the IRT Income that must be reported includes Income for penalized excluded and timedout individuals Income of individuals who are not in the AU but are included in the determination of eligibility If the AU receives Earned income only or a combination of earned and unearned income then the AU is required to report within ten days when their households total income exceeds the IRT Unearned income only or no income then the AU is required to report within ten days only if they receive new earnings that would exceed the IRT if combined with other household income Note New unearned income is not required to be reported midperiod Failure to make a timely report of income that exceeds the IRT may result in an overpayment per CPG 44350A If the failure to report income was done knowingly and intentionally the customer may be subject to fraud prosecution financial penalties and potential disqualification from CalWORKs as described in CPG 44350J Nonrecurring lump sum income is treated as property in the month received and for any subsequent months per CPG 44100A Customers are not required to report midperiod when nonrecurring lump sum income is received County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency HHSACalWORKs Program Guide Mandatory MidPeriod Reports Number Page 44270G 3 of 7 TwoTiered IRT System The CalWORKs IRT will vary for each family due to the twotiered system which is used for both Annual ReportingChild Only ARCO and SAR AUs A report of income over the IRT may result in either a midperiod decrease or discontinuance of CalWORKs Effective June 1 2020 the CalWORKs IRT is the lesser of the following Tier 1 55 of the FPL for a family of three regardless of the actual AU size plus the amount of gross income last used in the CalWORKs benefit determination Tier 2 130 of the FPL The level likely to make a household ineligible for CalFresh benefits based on the household size o The CalWORKs cases may remain open with a zerobasicgrant ZBG refer to CPG 44300D if the AUs income remains below the Tier 2 IRT amount ZBG cases remain eligible for supportive services andor CalWORKs special needs o If the reasonably anticipated income will continue to exceed the Tier 2 IRT for the remainder of the payment period the AU is determined to be financially ineligible and is to be discontinued at the end of the month in which timely and adequate notice can be provided Refer to CPG 45200 Resources and Desk Aids CalWORKs Assistance Standards Chart for current IRT levels Examples of Calculating the IRT Note The IRT levels used in the following examples are effective 060120 through 053121 Example 1A New Earned Income reported on SAR 7 An AU of 2 is in the January June Payment Period SAR Cycle 1 Scenario The AU has no income and has an IRT of 978 based on Tier 1 On the May SAR 7 Mom reports that she started a new parttime job in May and now earns 500month which is anticipated to continue at this level The CalWORKs grant is recalculated for the upcoming SAR Payment Period using Outcome the new income Benefits are decreased with timely and adequate notice A SAR 2 is issued to notify the AU of their new IRT which is calculated as follows Tier 1 978 baseline 500 gross income 1478 Tier 2 1832 for AU 2 Since Tier 1 is the lower of the two tiers the new IRT for the AU is 1478 Example 1B Earned Income ends MidPeriod On November 15th Mom makes a midperiod report that her job just ended and Scenario provides verification that she received 300 in November No other income is anticipated for the rest of the SAR Payment Period The CalWORKs grant is recalculated using 300 earned income for November and Outcome no income effective December ongoing A supplement will be issued for November and benefits will increase beginning in December A SAR 2 is issued to notify the AU of their new IRT which is calculated as follows Tier 1 978 baseline 0 income 978 Tier 2 1832 for AU 2 Tier 1 continues to be the lower of the two tiers but the new IRT amount is 978 County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency HHSACalWORKs Program Guide Number 44270G 4 of 7 Example 2 New Unearned Income reported MidPeriod Scenario An AU of 3 is in the January June Payment Period SAR Cycle 1 The AU has no income and has an IRT of 978 based on Tier 1 In February Mom reports midperiod that she started receiving Unemployment Insurance Benefits UIB of 900month The 900month UIB income is reasonably anticipated to continue at this level Outcome Since this AU receives only unearned income this change will be considered a voluntary report No midperiod action will be taken to change the CalWORKs grant and a No Change NOA will be issued The information will be noted as a Held Change for followup at the next SAR 7 or annual redetermination The IRT will remain unchanged Example 3A New Earned Unearned Income MidPeriod Scenario Outcome Scenario Outcome An AU of 3 Mom and two children is in the January June Payment Period SAR Cycle 1 The AU has no income and has an IRT of 978 based on Tier 1 In March Mom reports midperiod that she started a parttime job and now earns 600month She also reports that her children now each receive 200month in disability benefits DBI based on their absent father The total combined gross income is over the IRT 600 400 DBI 200 x 2 1000 The CalWORKs grant is recalculated using the new income and decreased with timely and adequate notice A SAR 2 is issued to notify the AU of their new IRT which is calculated as follows Tier 1 978 baseline 1000 total income 1978 Tier 2 2311 for AU 3 Since Tier 1 is the lower of the two tiers the new IRT for the AU is 1978 In April Mom reports that her earnings have increased to 1700month and the childrens DBI increased to 300 each The total combined gross income is now over the IRT 1700 600 DBI 300 x 2 2300 Because the countable nonexempt income is over the MAP the CalWORKs grant is decreased to 0 with timely and adequate notice but the case remains open as ZBG A SAR 2 is issued to notify the AU of their new IRT which is calculated as follows Tier 1 978 baseline 2300 total income 3278 Tier 2 2311 for AU 3 Since Tier 2 is the lower of the two tiers the new IRT for the AU is 2311 When Income Exceeds the IRT When a customer reports income that exceeds the IRT first determine whether the income will continue at that level If the income is only expected to last for one month and will not continue at that level do not take any action to decrease or discontinue benefits County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency HHSACalWORKs Program Guide Number Page Mandatory MidPeriod Reports 44270G 5 of 7 If increased income is reported midperiod that does not exceed the IRT the report will be treated as voluntary Do not take midperiod action and issue a No Change NOA Document the information as a Held Change for followup at the next SAR 7 or redetermination whichever comes first Example 1 Income exceeds the IRT for One Month Scenario An AU of 3 is in the October March Payment Period SAR Cycle 4 The AU has no income and has an IRT of 978 based on Tier 1 Mom gets a holiday job for December only that will pay 1000 In December she reports that her income now exceeds the IRT and verifies that the job will end in December No income is anticipated after December Outcome Because this income is not expected to continue the grant is not recalculated and the IRT remains unchanged When income over the IRT will continue at that level use the reasonably anticipated income to recalculate the CalWORKs grant If the AU is determined to be ineligible to CalWORKs based on the new income discontinue CalWORKs at the end of the month with timely and adequate notice In order to avoid an overpayment take action to discontinue CalWORKs based on the reported information prior to receiving verification of the increased income Example 2 Income exceeds the IRT and will Continue Scenario An AU of 3 is in the January June Payment Period SAR Cycle 1 Mom currently receives 1200month earned income Her current IRT is 2178 based on this income On February 15th Mom reports midperiod that her income has increased to 2500 She anticipates her income will continue at this level Outcome The CalWORKs grant is recalculated midperiod using the new information and the AU is determined to be ineligible to CalWORKs as the new reasonably anticipated income will exceed the Tier 2 IRT for the remainder of the payment period CalWORKs is discontinued effective February 28th with timely and adequate notice without waiting for verification of the new income Example 3 Increased Income does not exceed the IRT Scenario An AU of 2 is in the July December Payment Period SAR Cycle 1 The AU consists of Mom an aided child and an excluded SSI child Mom receives 200month earned income and the IRT is 1178 based on Tier 1 On August 31st Mom reports that her income increased in July She now receives 898 from her job and also 643 for her childs SSI Outcome Since the SSI income is excluded Mom was not required to report her increased income because it was not over the IRT No midperiod action is taken a No Change NOA is issued and the information is noted as a Held Change for later followup at the next SAR 7 or redetermination The current IRT remains unchanged until the new income is required to be used to recalculate the CalWORKs grant County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency HHSACalWORKs Program Guide Number 44270G 6 of 7 Example 4 Increased Earned Income does not exceed IRT Scenario Outcome An AU of 3 Mom and two children is in the January June Payment Period SAR Cycle 1 Mom currently works parttime and earns 600month Each child receives 100month in disability benefits based on the disability of the absent father The current combined gross income for the AU is 600 100 x 2 800 Their IRT is 1778 based on Tier 1 In April Mom reports that she now earns 1300month The total combined gross income for the AU is now 1300 100 x 2 1500 Although there is an increase in income the total household income is still under the IRT and no midperiod action is required A No Change NOA is issued and the information is noted as a Held Change for later followup at the next SAR 7 or redetermination The current IRT remains unchanged until the new income is required to be used to recalculate the CalWORKs grant Fleeing Felon Status and ParoleProbation Violations Customers are required to report within ten days when it becomes known that a member of the AU Becomes a fleeing felon Violates a condition of parole or probation Take midperiod action to discontinue the ineligible individual from the AU and reduce or discontinue CalWORKs for the AU at the end of the month with timely and adequate notice Example 1 Violation of a Condition of Parole Reported Timely Scenario An AU is in the January June Payment Period SAR Cycle 1 On March 20th the AU reports timely that Mom has violated her condition of parole on March 10th Outcome Mom is discontinued from the AU effective March 31st with timely and adequate notice Example 2 Violation of a Condition of Parole Not Reported Timely Scenario Same Scenario as Example 1 above however the AU reported in April that Mom has violated her condition of parole on March 10th Outcome Mom is discontinued from the AU effective April 30th with timely and adequate notice An overpayment will be established for April due to Client Error Address Changes Customers are required to report any changes in residence or address within ten days Out of State Moves When a customer reports moving out of state take midperiod action to discontinue CalWORKs benefits for the individual or the AU at the end of the month with timely notice County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency HHSACalWORKs Program Guide Mandatory MidPeriod Reports Number Page 44270G 7 of 7 If an individual member moves out of state that individual will be discontinued and the remaining members of the AU will continue to receive CalWORKs if otherwise eligible If the entire AU moves out of state CalWORKs will be discontinued midperiod for all members with tenday notice Note If it is determined that the customer moved out of state and therefore was not entitled to receive aid in California an overpayment will be established for those months in which aid continued due to the inability to provide tenday notice Procedure None ImpactsNone References ACL No 1225 13109 14100 1592 1976 1976E ACIN No I0216 Sunset Date This policy will be reviewed for continuance by April 30 2023 Approval for Release Rick Wanne Director Eligibility Operations