Table
of Contents
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CPG Letter 309 (1/14) |
45-000.B.1
General Questions
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QUESTION 1
What
are “held changes”? A
“held change” refers to what happens when a recipient voluntarily reports a change that would result in a mid-year
decrease of benefits, but due to AR/CO rules, the decrease cannot be made
until the beginning of the next annual reporting period. ACL 13-28 QUESTION 2Regarding
CalFresh, what is meant by “associated with CalWORKs”? For
clarification purposes, the term “associated with CalWORKs AR/CO cases”
should be defined as all households in which any member of the CalFresh
household is part of a CalWORKs AR/CO case. NOTE:
CalFresh households associated with CalWORKs AR/CO AUs were given
Change Reporting status from October 1, 2012 – September 30, 2013. Effective October 1, 2013, these CalFresh
households transitioned to Semi-Annual Reporting (SAR), per CPG 44-260.J and 44-270.A. ACLs 12-25; 13-28 |
45-000.B.2
AR/CO Assistance Unit (AU)
Criteria
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QUESTION 1An
adult applicant is a sponsored non-citizen who is ineligible for CalWORKs
because the sponsor is meeting his/her needs.
Is this case an AR/CO case? Yes,
the case is AR/CO because there is no eligible adult in the AU, per CPG 44-260.A. ACL 13-28 |
45-000.B.3
Annual Redetermination
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QUESTION 1If a recipient misses
their redetermination appointment during the redetermination month but
continues to reschedule, eventually there will no longer be any interview
appointments available in the redetermination month. Can CalWORKs truly be
discontinued in this instance? No,
CalWORKs will not be discontinued
if the Family Resource Center (FRC) does not have any available appointments
to reschedule the interview during the redetermination month. If a
recipient requests a make-up appointment prior to the end of the
redetermination month, CalWORKs will not be discontinued merely due to lack
of operational capacity. See
CPG 44-260.B for additional information
regarding annual redetermination. ACL 13-28 |
45-000.B.4
Mid-Year Reports and
Report Forms
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QUESTION 1Is a change in
immigration/citizenship status a mandatory report because it falls under “a
change in household composition”? No,
a household composition change is defined as someone moving into or out of
the home. A change in immigration status
is not considered a change in
household composition and is not a mandatory report. If
a recipient reports a mid-year change in immigration status, it is considered
voluntary for CalWORKs. Any adverse action to decrease or
discontinue CalWORKs (i.e., if a child loses eligibility based on immigration
status) will not be taken until
after the redetermination has been completed. If
the AU reports a change in immigration status that makes someone eligible for
CalWORKs, the HSS may increase the grant mid-year. This could include a child becoming
eligible, in which case the grant would increase, or an adult becoming
eligible, in which case the grant would increase and the AU would transition from AR/CO to SAR. See
CPG 44-260.C for voluntary mid-year reports. ACL 13-28 QUESTION 2If a child begins
receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI), is he/she discontinued from the
AU at the end of AR period or immediately (i.e., mid-year with timely
notice)? A
child being awarded SSI benefits is not
a mandatory report under AR/CO; therefore, the grant will not be decreased
until the beginning of the following AR/CO period after the redetermination
is completed. NOTE:
The Social Security Administration (SSA) will determine the SSI award
amount taking into consideration any CalWORKs grant received by the
recipient. A
parent may voluntarily request to discontinue a child from the AU in order
for SSA to recalculate the SSI benefit amount; however, without a parent’s
voluntary request for discontinuance, the HSS will not take mid-year action to discontinue CalWORKs for the SSI
child. See CPG 44-260.C for voluntary mid-year reports. ACL 13-28 QUESTION 3In
a two-parent AR/CO case, are both parents required to sign the Mid-Year
Status Report for CalWORKs and CalFresh (AR 3)? No,
the signature of one parent on the AR 3 is sufficient. For AR/CO, the AR 3 is not a required form
and recipient may report information via other means, per CPG 44-260.C. ACL 13-28 QUESTION 4Can the Food Stamp
Household Change Report (DFA 377.5) that is used for CalFresh households be
used to report CalWORKs changes? For
CalWORKs, the recipient may utilize any means of making a mid-year report,
per CPG 44-260.C, including the AR 3 or DFA 377.5. NOTE:
The DFA 377.5, which has been revised to CF 377.5 CR and CF 377.5 SAR,
is not a required form for CalFresh but may be used for reporting changes. ACL 13-28 QUESTION 5SCENARIO: An AR/CO AU consists of a timed-out mother with
one child. She reports that she
received an inheritance of $180,000 mid-year in February. Her last redetermination was just completed
for January. Is she
property-eligible for the 11 months until her next redetermination? For
CalWORKs, under AR/CO, there is no provision for taking mid-year action due
to property/resource changes; therefore, no action will be taken on the case
until the next redetermination. See CPG 44-260.C for voluntary mid-year reports. ACL 13-28 |
45-000.B.5
Budgeting and Income
Reporting Threshold (IRT)
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QUESTION 1When
calculating the Tier 1 IRT, is “the amount of income last used” referring to
the gross income or the net countable income?
And if gross income, is the conversion factor applied? The
Tier 1 IRT refers to the gross
income, including the conversion factor, if appropriate. See CPG 44-260.E. ACLs 12-25; 13-28 QUESTION 2For
the Tier 1 IRT, does “the amount of income last used” refer to earned income,
unearned income, disability income, or any combination thereof? The
AR/CO statute does not specify a type of income; therefore, the HSS will use all income (including any combination
of different income types) last used to calculate grant. ACLs 12-25; 13-28 QUESTION 3In calculating the
Tier 2 IRT (the amount likely to render the AU ineligible to CalWORKs), is
the AU Maximum Aid Payment (MAP) or the Family MAP used? The
HSS will use the Family MAP. See CPG 44-260.E. ACLs 12-25; 13-28 QUESTION 4Does the child support
disregard count toward the total monthly income used in the calculation of
the Tier 1 IRT? No,
the child support disregard ($50) is not
counted in the IRT calculation. Per CPG 44-100.F, child support disregard is not
considered income. ACL 13-28 QUESTION 5In
determining the IRT for an AU with self-employment income, is the income
before or after deductions used? Self-employment income after deductions will be used regardless if applying the standard 40% deduction or using itemized actual deductions. Per CPG 44-100.I, self-employment deductions are considered business expenses. Subtracting business expenses from gross revenue provides gross income. ACL 13-28 QUESTION 6If
an applicant reasonably anticipates receiving income over the IRT beginning
in Month 9 of the AR/CO period, should the HSS decrease/discontinue CalWORKs
effective the beginning of Month 9 or the beginning of Month 10? Provided
the applicant reasonably anticipates the income in Month 9 (i.e., actually
being paid during Month 9, as opposed to just working the hours and getting
paid in Month 10), the HSS will decrease or discontinue CalWORKs effective
the beginning of Month 9. The
applicant is not required to
report the income again because it was reported at intake and the income is
reasonably anticipated. However, if
circumstances change and the reasonably anticipated income is not received, the recipient will need
to report this change to the HSS in order for the grant to be recalculated. The fact that the applicant reasonably anticipates the income, as opposed to reporting the income when it is actually received, results in the grant being decreased or discontinued one month earlier. When a recipient reports the income when it is received, if the income is anticipated to continue, the HSS will not decrease or discontinue CalWORKs until the beginning of Month 10 (and there will be no overpayment). ACL 13-28 QUESTION 7Will the Tier 3 IRT
(130% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL)) ever be used? On
rare occasions, prior to the October
1, 2013 increase of the Earned Income Disregard (EID), the Tier 3 IRT was
used because the Tier 2 IRT (the amount likely to render the AU ineligible to
CalWORKs) is based on earned income, but disability-based unearned income
(DBI) had a higher disregard. EXAMPLE (based on IRT levels for FFY 2012-13): A non-exempt AU of 2 reports they have a
total income of $1,175 ($225 in DBI and $950 in earned income). The AU is still eligible to CalWORKs and
must be assigned a new IRT. ·
The
Tier 1 IRT is $2,050 ($875 + 1,175). ·
The
Tier 2 IRT for a non-exempt AU of 2 is $1,144. ·
The
Tier 3 IRT is $1,640. Tier
2 is the lower of the three IRT levels.
However, the Tier 2 IRT cannot
be used for this AU because the current income ($1,175) is already over the
Tier 2 IRT level. Between Tier 1 and
Tier 3, Tier 3 is the lower IRT
level and will be assigned to this AU. NOTE:
The DBI income allowed a higher EID to be used in the budget
determination, which resulted in continuing eligibility to CalWORKs for this
AU. See
CPG 44-300.G for current IRT levels. ACL 13-28 QUESTION 8SCENARIO: An AR/CO AU consists of a mother and her
three children. They have no
income. Mother reports timely on September
10, 2013 that the unemployed father has returned home. He receives $100/week in Unemployment
Insurance Benefits (UIB). Effective
October 1, 2013, the father is added to the AU and the AU transitions from
AR/CO to SAR. Will the HSS count his
income, even though it is under the IRT, which would potentially decrease the
grant? Changes
in household composition are a mandatory report for AR/CO. When an AU reports a household composition
change, eligibility must be determined in light of the change, taking all
associated eligibility factors into consideration, including the income of a
new household member. In
this scenario, the HSS will count the father’s income when he is added to the
AU, even if it results in a mid-year decrease to the grant. Under AR/CO rules, the HSS may decrease or
discontinue CalWORKs mid-year as a result of a mandatory report. While
income under the IRT is not a
mandatory report, the income is counted because it is associated with the new
household member. See CPG 44-260.D for mandatory mid-year reports. ACL 13-28 QUESTION 9SCENARIO: An AR/CO recipient’s current job ends
because she will start a higher paying job that is still under the IRT. Does the HSS stop
budgeting for the current job (and issue a supplement, if eligible) and not
count the new income as it is not over the IRT? Yes,
the HSS will stop budgeting for the current job and issue a supplement, if
eligible. Since the income from the
new job is under the IRT, the report is considered voluntary and no mid-year action will be taken to decrease the
grant. The HSS must act on each reported mid-year change separately and
sequentially. In
this scenario, the recipient reported two
changes: That she left one job and
that she started a new job. The HSS
will take the following actions once verification of the job termination is
received:
NOTE:
If there is a change in IRT, per Step 2 above, and a new AR 2 or AR 2
SAR is issued, the AU is required to re-report
the income from the new job if it exceeds the new IRT and the HSS will take
mid-year action based on the mandatory
report. ACL 13-28 QUESTION 10If an AU voluntarily reports
income that is under the established IRT, is the HSS required to give the AU
a new IRT? No,
the HSS is not required to provide
a new IRT for CalWORKs. The IRT remains the same, until the AU’s
income exceeds the IRT or if the HSS is otherwise required to recalculate the
grant. Anytime there is a change in the grant, the HSS must inform the AU of
the applicable IRT. If
the recipient’s income exceeds the IRT, and the grant decreases (rather than
CalWORKs discontinuing), the HSS will calculate a new grant amount and assign a new IRT. ACL 13-28 QUESTION 11SCENARIO: An applicant has just lost his job and
there is no indication that Unemployment Insurance Benefits (UIB) will be
denied. The applicant anticipates
receiving UIB but has no verification of this. Does the HSS count the
UIB income? The
HSS cannot count the UIB income in
the CalWORKs budget. Per CPG 44-260.G, the HSS cannot prospectively
budget based on reasonably anticipated income unless the amount of income and
the dates the income will be received are certain. In this scenario, neither the amount nor
the dates are known. ACL 13-28 |
45-000.B.6
Acting on Multiple Changes
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QUESTION 1SCENARIO: An AR/CO AU has a redetermination due in
April 2014 and is assigned to Cycle 5.
On November 5, 2013, the AU reports an increase in income that is
under their IRT. On December 5, 2013,
the AU reports that the absent father has moved back into the home. He has no income and requests to apply for
CalWORKs. What
actions will the HSS take in this scenario? Regarding
the November 5th report of increased income, since the income is under
the IRT, no mid-year action will be taken.
The HSS will note the information as a Held Change and send a “No
Change” NOA to the AU. Regarding
the December 5th report of the change in household composition,
the HSS will take mid-year action to add the father to the AU effective
January 1, 2014 if eligible. The AU
will also transition from AR/CO to SAR effective January 1, 2014. If
there are no other changes or mid-year actions taken, the HSS will budget the
increased income effective May 1, 2014 following the completion of the April
2014 redetermination. The
September SAR 7 will be due in October 2014. QUESTION 2SCENARIO: The same scenario as in Question 1, except
the redetermination is due in May 2014 (Cycle 6). What
actions will the HSS take in this scenario? As
in Question 1, the HSS will not take mid-year action regarding the report of
increased income under the IRT, but will act to add the father to the AU
effective January 1, 2014 if eligible.
The AU will transition from AR/CO to SAR effective January 1, 2014. The
HSS will budget the increased income effective June 1, 2014, following the
completion of the May 2014 redetermination. The
AU will not have a SAR 7 due until November 2014 for Data Month October 2014. ACLs 12-25; 13-28 QUESTION 3SCENARIO: A SAR AU has a redetermination due in March
2014 and is assigned to SAR Cycle 4.
On November 5, 2013, the mother reports an increase in income which is
over the IRT. In addition, the mother
reaches her 48th month of CalWORKs and times-out in November 2013,
resulting in the AU transitioning from SAR to AR/CO effective December 1,
2013. What actions will the
HSS take in this scenario? Mid-period
action is required to be taken regarding the increased income since income
over the IRT is a mandatory report.
CalWORKs may be decreased or discontinued mid-period with timely
notice. Once the grant is recalculated
and continuing eligibility is established, the HSS will send an IRT informing
notice to notify the AU of any changes in IRT. Since
the AU transitions to AR/CO in December 2013, the August SAR 7 that is due in
December will no longer be
required for CalWORKs. ACLs 12-25; 13-28 QUESTION 4SCENARIO: The same scenario as in Question 3, except
that the increase in income is under the IRT. What actions will the
HSS take in this scenario? Since
the increased income is under the IRT, this will be considered a voluntary report and no mid-period
action will be taken to decrease or discontinue CalWORKs. The HSS will note the information as a Held
Change and will issue a “No Change” NOA to the AU. Following
the AU’s transition from SAR to AR/CO effective December 1, 2013, the mother
will not be required to re-report
the income again unless the AU’s income exceeds the IRT. The HSS will budget the increased income
effective April 1, 2014, following the completion of the March 2014
redetermination. ACLs 12-25; 13-28 QUESTION 5SCENARIO: A SAR AU has a redetermination due in
February 2014 and is assigned to SAR Cycle 3.
On August 5, 2013, the mother reports an increase in income on the
July SAR 7. In addition, the mother
reaches her 48th month of CalWORKs and times-out in August 2013,
resulting in the AU transitioning from SAR to AR/CO effective September 1,
2013. What actions will the
HSS take in this scenario? If
the increased income is anticipated to continue at that level, the income
will be used in the budget effective September 1, 2013 because it was
reported on the SAR 7 while the AU was in SAR status. The HSS will issue an IRT informing notice
to notify the AU of any changes to the IRT. The
grant amount will remain unchanged until the February 2014 redetermination
unless there are any other changes or actions taken. ACLs 12-25; 13-28 |