County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency HHSA CalFresh Program Guide Number Page Resource Eligibility Determination 63201 1 of 5 Revision Date 01012021 Background Resources must be evaluated as part of the CalFresh eligibility determination process Resources must not exceed the maximum allowable nonexempt property limit for the household type and size This section is being reformatted after sunset review there are no Federal or State legislative changes Purpose This section details the CalFresh resource evaluation policy Policy Evaluate resources at initial application SAR 7 recertification or when adding a new household member A household 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 Households 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 applicants who are not CE or MCE verify and determine the value of the households liquid and nonliquid resources 1 Countable Resources The following types of resources will be included in the CalFresh household resource evaluation Liquid resources such as cash on hand money in checking and savings accounts savings certificates stocks or bonds and nonrecurring lump sum payments Nonliquid resources such as personal property land buildings vehicles and recreational properties NOTE Resources of nonhousehold members will not be counted including resources of ineligible students 2 Treatment of Resources Resources will be treated as specified below Resource Type Liquid Resource NonLiquid Resources Nonrecurring Lump Sum Payments Excluded Funds Treatment The value of liquid resources will be included in the resource evaluation for the household The equity value for nonliquid resources will be included in the resource evaluation The equity value is determined by the fair market value FMV less encumbrances Nonrecurring Lump Sum Payments are onetime payments of money that are not expected to be received again in the future This includes but is not limited to lump sum social security railroad or insurance payments These payments will be counted as a resource in the month they are received Excluded funds that are kept in a separate account and are not commingled in an account with nonexcluded funds will be excluded These excluded funds will retain their resource exclusion for an unlimited period Students and selfemployed household members resources that are prorated as income and are commingled in an account with nonexcluded funds County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency HHSA CalFresh Program Guide Resource Eligibility Determination Number Page 63201 2 of 5 will remain excluded only for the period they have been prorated as income All other excluded resources which are commingled in an account with nonexcluded funds will remain excluded for six months from the date they are commingled After six months funds in the commingled account will be counted as a resource Income Property which annually produces income consistent with its fair market Producing value even if used seasonally is excluded as a resource Determine if Property property is producing income that is consistent with its fair market value by contacting local realtors local tax assessors the Small Business Administration Farmers Home Administration or other similar sources Determine whether a property annually produces income consistent with the FMV by assessing if the rental amount is the same as comparable homes in the area by using newspaper classified advertisements or local realtors Notes The full value of trust deeds and notes receivable will be considered exempt Receivable and liquid resources when the household receives income from the trust deed or Trust Deeds notes receivable that is consistent with fair market value The interest portion of the repayment of these transactions will be counted as unearned income to the household The principal portion of the repayment will be treated as a nonexcluded resource and added to the households resource level If the repayments are for interest only determine whether that amount represents an appropriate rate of return on the transaction If the rate of return is not consistent with interest rates normally charged in similar business transactions the resource will not be excluded Installment contracts trust deeds and notes receivable lose their exempt status when sold Property Utilized The portion of real property determined necessary for maintenance or use of to Maintain an an excluded vehicle is excluded as a resource Example A household owns Excluded a produce truck to earn its living The household owns a 100acre field and Vehicle parks the truck in a quarter acre of the field The value of the quarter acre would be excluded as a resource not the entire 100acre field 3 Joint Ownership Resources owned jointly by separate households including nonCalFresh households will be considered entirely available to the household unless the household can demonstrate that the resources are inaccessible If the household can demonstrate having access to a portion of a resource the value of that portion will be counted toward the households resource level The resource will be considered inaccessible to the household if the resource cannot practically be subdivided and the households 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 Resources owned jointly by household members and persons in the household who are disqualified or ineligible noncitizens who would otherwise be household members will be considered available to the household If a resource is jointly held by members of the same CalFresh household and one of the members is receiving Public Assistance PA and the other is not receiving PA the amount counted in determining the PA eligibility will be excluded County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency HHSA CalFresh Program Guide Resource Eligibility Determination Number Page 63201 3 of 5 Bank accounts held jointly with military personnel deployed overseas will be excluded when the household 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 household if the customer has access to the service members bank account for their own purposes 4 Resources for Households 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 household of which the sponsored noncitizen is a member The amount deemed to the household will be the total amount of the sponsors resources reduced by 1500 A Sponsor with Multiple Sponsored NoncitizensIf a sponsored noncitizen can demonstrate that hisher 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 B Changing SponsorsIf the noncitizen changes sponsors during the certification period deemed resources will be recalculated based on the new sponsors information 5 Resources of Residents for Battered Persons Shelters 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 Their former households resources will not be considered available to the residents and resources held jointly with any members of their former households will be considered inaccessible 6 Transfer of Resources During initial application the household must provide information regarding resources that could have been transferred within the threemonth period immediately preceding the date of application This includes excluded household members resources that are considered available to the household Customers who have transferred resources knowingly for the purpose of qualifying or attempting to qualify for CalFresh benefits will be disqualified from participation in the program for up to one year from the date of the discovery of the transfer Apply the disqualification period if resources are transferred in the threemonth period prior to the application or if resources are transferred after the household is determined eligible for benefits A Acceptable TransfersThe following transfers will not affect eligibility to the CalFresh Program resources whichthat Would not otherwise affect eligibility Have been sold or traded at or near fair market value Have been transferred between members of the same household including ineligible noncitizens or disqualified persons whose resources are considered available to the household County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency HHSA CalFresh Program Guide Resource Eligibility Determination Number Page 63201 4 of 5 Have been transferred for reasons other than qualifying or attempting to qualify for CalFresh benefits for example a parent placing funds into an educational trust fund B Notice of Action RequirementsCustomers 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 Households 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 C Disqualification PeriodThe 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 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 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 household with 1000 in the bank transfers a vacation property to a relative The disqualification period is computed as follows Step Action 1 2050 vacation property 1000 bank account 3050 total resources 2 3050 total resources 2250 resource limit 800 excess resources County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency HHSA CalFresh Program Guide Resource Eligibility Determination Number Page 63201 5 of 5 3 800 excess resources disqualify the household for a period of 3 months according to the chart above Program ImpactsNone References MPP 63501 MPP 63102 ACIN I1605 ACIN I1807 ACIN I3405 ACIN I3499 ACIN I5013 ACIN I5808 ACIN I7903 ACL 1262 ACL 1262E ACL 1332 ACL 1590 ACL 9819 ACWDL 06302014 Sunset Date This policy will be reviewed for continuance on or by 01312024 Approval for Release RICK WANNE Director Eligibility Operations