County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency HHSA CalFresh Program Guide Resource Eligibility Determination Number Page 63201 1 of 4 Revision Date 04012023 BackgroundResources must be evaluated as part of the CalFresh eligibility determination process Resources must not exceed the maximum allowable nonexempt property limit for the household HH type and size PurposeThis section details the CalFresh resource evaluation policy This section is being updated to include the treatment of resources of an excludedineligible HH member There are no federal or state legislative changes PolicyHHs that have been determined to be Categorically Eligible CE or Modified Categorical Eligible MCE are not required to have resources evaluated Refer to 63120 for information on determining CE and MCE eligibility For HHs who are not CE or MCE verify and determine the value of the HHs liquid and nonliquid resources Evaluate resources at initial application Eligibility Status Report SAR 7 recertification or when adding a new HH member A HH whose resources exceed the maximum allowable nonexempt property limit will be determined ineligible for CalFresh Refer to 631101 for the current maximum allowable resource limit 1 Countable Resources The following types of resources shall be included in the evaluation for CalFresh at application and recertification Liquid resources such as cash on hand money in checking and savings accounts savings certificates stocks or bonds nonrecurring lump sum payments funds held in Individual Retirement Accounts IRAs and in accessible Keogh plans provided they are not excluded as described below Note The value of an IRA or Keogh is the total cash value minus the amount of the penalty for early withdrawal of the entire amount in the plan Nonliquid resources such as personal property land buildings vehicles and recreational properties provided they are not excluded as described belowNote The value of nonliquid resources is the equity value which is the fair market value less any loans owed on the resource 2 Joint Ownership Resources owned jointly by separate HHs including nonCalFresh HHs will be considered entirely available to the HH unless the HH can demonstrate that the resources are inaccessible If the HH can demonstrate having access to a portion of a resource the value of that portion will be counted toward the HHs resource level The resource will be considered inaccessible to the HH if the resource cannot practically be subdivided and the HHs access to the value of the resource is dependent on the agreement of a joint owner who refuses to comply A resource cannot be practically subdivided if the financial value of the proportionate share would be significantly reduced by the sale of only the subdivision If a resource is jointly held by members of the same CalFresh HH and some County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency HHSA CalFresh Program Guide Resource Eligibility Determination Number Page 63201 2 of 4 receive Public Assistance PA and others are not the amount counted in determining the PA eligibility will be excluded Bank accounts held jointly with military personnel deployed overseas will be excluded when the HH cannot use the funds for its own purposes and only has access to the account to pay bills for the service member It is the responsibility of the applicant to provide verification of this arrangement Verification may be a written statement from the military service person a statement from the bank or other means attesting to this arrangement The funds will be counted as a resource for the HH if the customer has access to the service members bank account for their own purposes 3 Resources of Excluded HH Members The table below demonstrates how to treat the resources of the following excludedineligible HH members ExcludedIneligible Member The Resources of These Excluded HH Members Shall Ineligible NonCitizens count in their entirety to the remaining HH members Social Security Number Disqualified Failure to Meet Abled Body Adult Without Dependents ABAWD Work Requirements Intentional Program Violators IPV Fleeing Felons and ProbationParole Violators CalFresh Employment and Training CFET Sanctioned Ineligible Students be considered unavailable to the remaining HH members 4 Resources for HHs with Sponsored Noncitizens The resources of a sponsor and the sponsors spouse if the spouse signed the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services USCIS Form I864 or I864A will be deemed to the eligible sponsored noncitizen and will be considered in determining the eligibility of the HH The amount deemed to the noncitizens HH will be the total amount of the sponsors resources reduced by 1500 If a sponsored noncitizen can demonstrate that their sponsor is also sponsoring other noncitizens then the sponsors resources will be deemed and divided by the number of sponsored noncitizens applying for or participating in the CalFresh Program If the noncitizen cannot provide verification about other noncitizens for whom the sponsor is responsible the calculated deemed resource amount will be attributed to the applicant noncitizen in their entirety until the noncitizen provides the information If the noncitizen changes sponsors during the certification period deemed resources will be recalculated based on the new sponsors information 5 Resources of Residents in Battered Persons Shelters County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency HHSA CalFresh Program Guide Number Page Resource Eligibility Determination 63201 3of 4 Eligible residents of shelters for battered persons must be certified based on the resources the customers have on the date of application and their resource level as of the date of their interview The resources of such individuals shall be considered inaccessible if The resources are jointly held by the individual and members of their former household from which they fled and Access to such resources require the consent of the individual and the members of the HH they fled 6 Transfer of Resources During initial application the HH must provide information regarding resources that have been transferred within the threemonth period immediately preceding the date of application This includes excluded HH members resources that are considered available to the HH The following resource transfers will not affect eligibility to the CalFresh program Excluded resources Have been sold or traded at or near fair market value Transferred between members of the same HH including ineligible noncitizens or disqualified persons whose resources are considered available to the HH Transferred for reasons other than qualifying or attempting to qualify for CalFresh benefits for example a parent placing funds into an educational trust fund Applicants who knowingly transfer resources for the purpose of qualifying for or attempting to qualify for CalFresh benefits will be denied and sent a Notice of Action NOA explaining the denial reason and disqualification period The disqualification period will begin with the month of application HHs that are already participating when the transfer is discovered will be discontinued and sent a NOA explaining the discontinuance reason and length of the disqualification period The disqualification period will begin with the first day of the month following timely notice The length of the disqualification period is based on the amount by which the nonexempt transferred resources added to other countable resources exceeds the resource limits Determine the length of the disqualification period by Adding the value of the transferred resource to the total countable resource value Subtract the resource limit from the total amount of resource value The amount over the resource limit is used to determine the length of the disqualification period Use the following chart to determine the length of the disqualification period Amount in Excess of Resource Limit Period of Disqualification 0 to 24999 1 month 250 to 99999 3 months 1000 to 299999 6 months 3000 to 499999 9 months 5000 or more 12 months Example A oneperson HH with 1000 in the bank transfers a vacation property to a relative The disqualification period is computed as follows Step Action County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency HHSA CalFresh Program Guide Resource Eligibility Determination Number Page 63201 4 of 4 1 2050 vacation property 1000 bank account 3050 total resources 2 3050 total resources 2750 resource limit as of 1012022 300 excess resources 3 300 excess resources disqualify the HH for a period of 3 months according to the chart above Note A transfer of resources to qualify for CalFresh will not be treated as a fraudulent action in and of itself However concealment and misrepresentation of the resources transferred will constitute fraud and will be subject to the intentional program violation provisions References MPP 63501 MPP 6350344 45 ACL 1332 CFR 2738 Sunset Date This policy will be reviewed for continuance on or by 04302026 Approval for Release RICK WANNE Director SelfSufficiency Services