County of San Diego Health and Human ServicesAgency HHSA CalFreshProgram Guide Students Number Page 63162 1 of 4 Revision Date 08012022 BackgroundFor CalFresh purposes students are defined as individuals ages 18 to 49 who are physically and mentally fit and enrolled at least half time in an institution of higher education To be eligible to receive CalFresh benefits students must meet one of the student eligibility requirements Purpose This section defines student eligibility for CalFresh This section is being revised to remove the list of student exemptions from Attachment A and incorporate the California Department of Social Services CDSS student resource website into the program material PolicyCustomers who are enrolled at least half time in college business technical or trade schools that require a high school diploma are considered students Enrollment status is determined by the school and may be verified using customers statement or information gathered while completing the 0955 HHSA Student Eligibility Worksheet Enrollment begins on the first day of the school term and will continue through normal periods of class attendance and vacation unless the student graduates is suspended drops out or does not intend to register for the next school term Evaluate student status at intake and recertification To assist in determining student eligibility staff must complete and image the 0955 HHSA Student Eligibility Worksheet Note The 0955 HHSA Student Eligibility Worksheet is not to be completed by the customer 1Eligibility Requirements Students must meet one of the following exemptions to be eligible for the CalFresh program Be age 17 or younger or age 50 or older Be physically or mentally unfit for employment This may be verified by receipt of temporarypermanent disability benefits or a statement from a doctor or licensed psychologist Customers who have a disability and receive disabilitybased income like Social Security Disability Supplemental Security Income Veterans Disability Workers Compensation or other disabilitybased income qualify for an exemption The disability must be expected to last more than 30 days Receive CalWORKs Work at least 20 hours per week or a total of 80 hours per month in paid employment Be approved for a State or Federally financed work study program and anticipate participating in work study Exerting parental care and control for a child under the age of 6 If two people exert parental care and control in the household allow the exemption status to only one person Exerting parental care and control for a child aged 6 11 and customer does not have adequate childcare to attend school work 20 hours per week or participate in work study If two people exert parental care and control in the household allow the exemption status to only one person A single parent enrolled full time in college and exerting parental care and control of a child under age 12 County of San Diego Health and Human ServicesAgency HHSA CalFreshProgram Guide Students Number Page 63162 2 of 4 Participating in local or foster youth programs that increase employability LPIEs The list of CalFresh Student Eligibility List of Approved LPIEs is updated and posted monthly on the CDSS website httpswwwcdsscagovinforesourcescalfreshresourcecenterpolicy In addition to the programs listed on the CDSS website if the student attends a California Community College CCC California State University CSU or a University of California UC and participates in one of the following they meet the criteria for an exemption to the student eligibility rule as an LPIE Employed by the school on campus in any position Employed as a research or teaching assistant whether paid or unpaid Note The 20 hour per week or 80 hour per month rule does not apply to on campusemployment or researchteaching assistant jobs Participating in an onthejob training program Receiving CalGrant A or B that meets Temporary Assistance for Needy Families TANF requirements 2 Ineligible Students Students who do not meet any of the exemptions listed above will be considered ineligible students and will be treated as excluded household members The income and resources of ineligible students are exempt 3 Reporting a Students Status A students status is to be reported at application and recertification Student eligibility criteria will be applied on the date of enrollment in school Enrollment begins on the first day of school Student eligibility is not a mandatory midperiod reporting requirement and is not considered Verified Upon Receipt VUR If the household reports student status midperiod document the voluntarily reported change in the case record that does not impact the CalFresh benefit Below are two examples on how to determine the student enrollment status Example One Application received and customer interviewed on July 2 During the interview the customer states they are enrolled to start college in the fall The first day of school is August 20 At the time of the interview the customer meets no student exemptions This customer is evaluated and determined eligible for CalFresh because the school term has not started yet the customer is not considered a student Since the customer has reported that the first day of school is August 20 staff must follow up with a Request for Information RFI to confirm student eligibility requirements are being met at that time Example Two Application for CalFresh received on August 3 During the interview the customer states they are enrolled in college and will start school on August 14 This customer must meet a student exemption to be eligible since the first day of school is on the same month as the application If the customer does not meet any of the exemptions they will be an ineligible student 4 Student Meal Plans Students who receive more than half their meals from a meal plan are ineligible for CalFresh benefits Students whose meal plan provides less than half of their meals ten meals per week may qualify for County of San Diego Health and Human ServicesAgency HHSA CalFreshProgram Guide Students Number Page 63162 3 of 4 CalFresh benefits if all other eligibility criteria is met Review the college website to obtain the latest meal plan information to determine eligibility for CalFresh Refer to Attachment A for website information for local colleges 5 Verification of Student Exemption The case record must document what exemption is met A customer statement is sufficient to verify the student exemption Verification for a student exemption should only be requested when the information provided by the household is questionable or a students claim of physical or mental unfitness is not evident to staff To be considered questionable the information on the application must be inconsistent with statements made by the applicant andor inconsistent with other information received by the county Refer to CaFresh Program Guide 63117 for more information on questionable information NOTE Nonreceipt of financial aid is verified by customer statement and must be narrated in case comments This guidance does not alter the need to verify a households gross nonexempt income including any applicable educational assistance Receipt of certain types of educational assistance or studentrelated income may indicate that the student meets an exemption from the student eligibility rule While the exemption is no longer a mandatory verification income must be verified for purposes of determining the households income eligibility for CalFresh Procedures 0955 HHSA CalFresh Student Eligibility Worksheet 082022 ImpactsNone References ACL 2246 ACL 2158 ACL 2034 1932 1827 ACL 1705 ACL 1705E ACIN No I8915 MPP 634061 MPP 633005 7 CFR 2732f1i 0955 HHSA CalFresh Student Eligibility Worksheet 082022 Sunset Date This policy will be reviewed for continuance by 08312025 Approval for Release RICK WANNE Director SelfSufficiency Services Attachment A College Meal Plan Information University California San Diego UCSD For detailed information about meal plans offered at UCSD visit Housing Dining Hospitality page at httpshdhughousingucsdedudiningplanindexhtml San Diego State University SDSU For information about meal plans offered at SDSU visit SDSU Dining page at wwweatatsdsucomMealPlans