County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency HHSA CalWORKs Program Guide Voluntary MidPeriod Reports Number Page 44270H 1 of 6 Revision Date December 1 2018 Background State regulations state recipients may voluntarily report changes any time A voluntary report can never be late and there is no requirement for an Assistance Unit AU to report a voluntary change within 10 days If the change is verified midperiod the recipient is not required to report the change again however gross income received in the Data Month must still be reported and verified Midperiod reports may be made in writing fax online email by phone inperson or on a MidPeriod Status Report Purpose This section is being reformatted and revised to remove the Statewide Fingerprinting Imaging System SFIS requirements Policy 44270H1 Taking Action on Voluntary Reports Action will be taken midperiod for a voluntary report when Verification has been provided that results in an increase in CalWORKs benefits or There is a request for discontinuance for an individual or entire AU When midperiod action is not required or verification for a potential increase in benefits has not been received Changes will be noticed in Held Change for followup at the next SAR 7 or annual redetermination whichever comes first A No Change Notice of Action NOA will be issued to the AU The budget calculation must be included on the CalWORKs No Change NOA in order for the AU to see how the County determined that the reported change did not result in a midperiod increase in benefits 44270H2 Establishing Effective Date of Benefit Increase The effective date of the increase in CalWORKs is based on when the change is reported and not when the change actually occurred This is determined based on the type of change reported If the voluntary report is a Decrease in income CalWORKs benefits will increase effective the first of the month in which the change occurred or is reported whichever is later New household member CalWORKs benefits will increase following the report of the change Example 1 Verification received within 10day Timeframe Scenario An AU is in the January June Payment Period SAR Cycle 1 Mom voluntarily reports a decrease in income on March 25th A request for verification was sent on March 28th with a 10day due date of April 7th The verification is provided timely on April 3rd County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency HHSA CalWORKs Program Guide Number Page Voluntary MidPeriod Reports 44270H 2of 6 Recalculate the grant amount for March June and issue a supplemental Outcome payment for March no later than April 13th The AU will also be notified of any changes in IRT Example 2 Verification received after 10day Timeframe Same scenario as Example 1 above however the requested verification is not Scenario received until April 10th after the 10day due date Since the verification was provided after the 10day timeframe consider April 10th as the new report date and no supplemental payment will be issued for March Outcome Benefits will be recalculated for April June and a supplemental payment will be issued for April The AU will also be notified of any changes in IRT Example 3 Submit Month Change reported on SAR 7 An AU is in the January June Payment Period SAR Cycle 1 Mom submits a timely May SAR 7 on June 4th The Mom reporting that her June Scenario income will be lower than previously anticipated and that her income will continue at that lower level On June 7th she provides acceptable verification of her decreased income Benefits will be recalculate for the month of June and issue a supplemental Outcome payment if eligible Benefits for the new SAR Payment Period July December will be reevaluated and timely notification of any changes in IRT will be provided Example 4 Decreased Income reported for One Month Only An AU is in the JanuaryJune Payment Period SAR Cycle 1 The current grant amount is based on the AUs current earned income of Scenario 1000month On March 25th Mom reports that she missed two weeks of work due to illness and anticipates only receiving 500 for March Her regular monthly income of 1000 will resume in April Upon receiving timely verification of the decreased income benefits will be recalculate for March only and issue a supplement Benefits for April May and Outcome June will remain at the previous level Since the decrease in income for March was only temporary the AUs IRT will not be recalculated 44270H3 Changes in Exempt and NonExempt MAP Status Midperiod action to change an AUs exemption status will only be taken if the change will result in an increase to the CalWORKs grant When the exempt MAP status is due to the receipt of certain disabilitybased income a determination must be completed if CalWORKs will increase when using the new disabilitybased income together with the higher exempt MAP amount If the change results in an overall decrease in CalWORKs the MAP exemption status will remain unchanged and the lower MAP will be used until the next SAR Payment Period County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency HHSA CalWORKs Program Guide Voluntary MidPeriod Reports Number Page 44270H 3 of 6 44270H4 Household Composition Changes If a change in household composition is voluntarily reported during the SAR Payment Period midperiod action will be taken if the change results in an increase in benefits or if there is a request for discontinuance for an individual or the AU The AU will continue to receive CalWORKs at their current level for the remaining months of the SAR Payment Period if the change results in a decrease in benefits unless there is a change in eligibility due to other reasons Verification must first be requested and evaluated before benefits can be increased midperiod An individual who left the home may request hisher own discontinuance from the AU An optional AU member who no longer wants to receive CalWORKs may also request to be discontinued from the AU in order for hisher CalWORKs time clock to stop Midperiod action will be taken to adjust benefits for the remaining AU members per recipient request regardless of whether the AU had reported the change There is no requirement for the AU to report that a household member had deceased until the next SAR or annual redetermination whichever comes first If a death of a household member is voluntarily reported by the AU or discovered through a thirdparty countyinitiated action must be taken to discontinue the deceased household member When a death of a child is voluntarily reported the child will continue to be included as a member of the AU in which his or her death occurred and the following month When the birth of a baby is voluntarily reported midperiod and required verification has been provided If adding the newborn will result in an Increase in aid discontinue the pregnancy special need PSN payment at the end of the month Add the newborn to the AU the first of the month following the report of the birth after PSN is discontinued Decrease or no change in aid continue the PSN through the end of the payment period The newborn will be added first month of the next SAR Payment Period after PSN ends For a Pregnant Woman Only PWO AU if the father of the unborn child is living in the home he will be excluded from the AU until the child is born If the father was not previously living in the home or was not included on the Statement of Facts at initial application he is required to complete the CW 8 interview and provide all documentationverifications When the child is born after all necessary verifications have been provided the father and the newborn will be added to the AU effective the First of the month following the report of the birth if the result will be an increase in CalWORKs PSN will be discontinued at the end of the month in which the birth was reported 10day notice is not required Beginning of the next SAR Payment Period if the result will be a decrease in CalWORKs PSN will continue through the end of the current SAR Payment Period If the household does not report a new household member on the SAR 7 or at annual redetermination and the addition of the individual would have resulted in a decrease in benefits an overpayment OP will be established County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency HHSA CalWORKs Program Guide Voluntary MidPeriod Reports Number 44270H Page 4 of 6 Example 1 New Household Member reported MidPeriod Scenario Outcome An AU of 3 Mom and her two children is in the January June Payment Period SAR Cycle 1 The AU has no income In February Mom voluntarily reports that Dad has moved into the home and he has income It was determined that adding Dad to the AU will result in a decrease in benefits A No Change NOA is sent to the AU and the information is noted as a Held Change for followup at the next SAR 7 or annual redetermination whichever comes first Example 2 Followup at SAR 7 Scenario Outcome Mom submits the May SAR 7 in June but does not report Dad or his income on the SAR 7 The HSS calls Mom regarding these omissions and she explains that Dad left the home in April Unless there is conflicting information benefits for the upcoming SAR Payment Period July December will continue to be calculated based on the AU of 3 with no income Dads three months in the home February April will have no effect on the benefit level for this AU Example 3 New Household Member results in Ineligibility Scenario An AU of 2 Mom and her child are in the JanuaryJune Payment Period SAR Cycle 1 In February Mom voluntarily reports that Dad moved into the home in February He has income It was determined that adding Dad to the AU will result in ineligibility to CalWORKs Outcome No midperiod action will be taken and a CalWORKs No Change NOA including the required budget will be issued The change will be noted in Held Change for followup at the next SAR 7 or at annual redetermination whichever comes first MediCal will be evaluated for Dad CalWORKs will be discontinued effective June 30th at the end of the SAR Payment Period after Dads income is reported on the SAR 7 or redetermination All household members will be evaluated for continuing eligibility to MediCal County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency HHSA CalWORKs Program Guide Voluntary MidPeriod Reports Number Page 44270H 5 of 6 Example 4 Adding a Newborn Scenario An AU of 2 pregnant Mom and her child is in the January June Payment Period SAR Cycle 1 In February Mom voluntarily reports that she gave birth in January Outcome The newborn will be added to the CalWORKs AU effective March 1st pending required verification The newborn is deemed eligible to receive MediCal effective January 1st regardless of when verification is provided to add the newborn to the AU 44270H5 Combining Assistance Unit AUs When a change in household composition results in combining separate AUs midperiod a determination must be made if the change will result in an increase or decrease in aid for the separate AU A comparison of the monthly CalWORKs grant of the combined AU to the total monthly grants of the separate AUs must be completed If the monthly grant of the combined AU is Higher than the total month grants of the separate AUs the AU will be combined effective the first of the month following the voluntary report Lower than the total monthly grants of the separate AUs the AUs will be combined effective the first month of the next SAR Payment Period after the change is reported on the SAR 7 or at the annual redetermination If the two AUs have different SAR cycles the AUs will be combined at the beginning of whichever SAR Payment Period comes first 44270H6 Request for Special Need Payments When a recipient voluntarily reports having a special need and verifications are provided the special needs payment will begin effective the month that the request was made if verification is received timely and terminate at the end of the SAR Payment Period in which the special need is expected to end based on the verification Pregnancy Special Need PSN may discontinue midperiod if adding the newborn will result in an increase to the CalWORKs grant If the duration of the special need is Permanent verification must be provided once per year at annual redetermination or when the current verification expires Temporary special need payments will be allowed through the end of the SAR Payment Period in which the special need is expected to end Unknown verification must be provided once per semiannual period References All County Letters ACLs 1225 1225 Errata EAS 40103 40107 40181 44316 County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency HHSA CalWORKs Program Guide Voluntary MidPeriod Reports Number Page 44270H 6 of 6 Sunset Date This policy will be reviewed for continuance by December 31 2021 Approval for Release Rick Wanne Director Eligibility Operations