Changes to CalFresh electronic theft policy

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Electronically stolen CalFresh benefits are currently replaced with federal funds.  However, federal funding for this purpose expires on December 20, 2024.  If Congress does not act, replacement for electronically stolen food benefits will be from state funds starting on December 21, 2024.  Current policy about replacing electronically stolen CalFresh benefits will not change.

CalFresh recipients are, and will continue to be, eligible to receive up to two months of replacement food benefits for each countable replacement of electronic theft.  A countable replacement is each overall sequence of electronic theft transactions reported by a recipient on the EBT 2259 form, regardless of the number of transactions involved.

All transactions that occur within 90 days and are listed on the same EBT 2259 form will be considered one countable replacement unless the county suspects, based on the information on the EBT 22259 form, that there were two series of thefts in the 90-day period.  In that case, the county must contact the customer.  Indicators that there are separate incidents of theft include thefts the occurred in different states, thefts that are across multiple months, and thefts in which there are weeks between the dates of the transactions.  In these situations, households cannot be required to submit another EBT 2259 form.  The county worker must document in the case record and inform the household why two countable replacements were issued.

A household cannot receive more than two instances of replacement benefits each federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30).   (ACL 24-62, August 23, 2024 and ACL 24-62E, September 30, 2024.)

CalWORKs best practices for supportive services

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All CalWORKs Welfare-to-Work participants are eligible to receive supportive services that are necessary for their Welfare-to-Work activity.  This includes child care, transportation, and ancillary expenses.  Supportive services must be advanced to participants when needed and requested by the participant.  This is to prevent participants from needed to use personal funds to pay for these services.  If supportive services are not available, or have not been advance paid, the participant has good cause for not participating.  However, the time on aid clock continues to tick when participants are in good cause.  For that reason, counties are strongly encouraged to provide supportive services and engage participants in Welfare-to-Work activities as soon as possible.

The California Department of Social Services recommends as a best practice that counties issue transportation and ancillary services at least 10 days prior to the start of the Welfare-to-Work activity, or within 10 days if the county receives the request less than 10 days prior to the start of the activity.  Counties should also use this timeline for notice that a supportive service request is denied, or that additional documentation is needed.

Timelines for other supportive services, including child care, diapers, and the advance standard payment for students, remain unchanged.  (ACIN I-36-24, August 23, 2024.)

Increase in CalWORKs Maximum Aid Payment

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The CalWORKs Maximum Aid Payment will increase by .3% effective October 1, 2024.  The grant increase is funded by the Child Poverty and Family Supplemental Support Subaccount.  Grant increases in future years will depend on the amount of funds in the Subaccount.

The grant increase applies to all CalWORKs cases.  Counties must treat the grant increase as a mandatory mid-period action.

The California Department of Social Services will send an informing flyer to all CalWORKs recipients.

For children who have opted to receive child support instead of CalWORKs, counties must used updated charts to determine if that is still an option.  Children can get child support instead of CalWORKs, when there are multiple children with different paying parents in the same Assistance Unit, and the child support received for the child is greater than the CalWORKs grant for that child.  If the amount of child support received is no longer greater than the amount in the updated charts, the county cannot add the child to the grant until the next semi-annual report or annual recertification.  However, in that situation, the parent/caretaker relative can ask to add the child to the CalWORKs grant mid-period. (ACL 24-55, August 8, 2024.)

Cell-Ed for Afghan and Ukranian employment services participants

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The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has issued guidance regarding the Cell-Ed Welcome Start Program (WSP). It is an online learning program for eligible Afghan and Ukrainian employment services participants. Time spent on the program provides countable hours towards activity requirements for CalWORKs, CalFresh Employment and Training, and Refugee Cash Assistance participants.

WSP targets employability and digital literacy, using accessible methods like phone calls, an app, or a website. The program also includes partner outreach and support to encourage engagement with employment services programs.

For Afghan newcomers, 4 categories of eligibility are detailed as A-D: A includes citizens or nations of Afghanistan paroled into the US between, July 31, 2021, and September 30, 2023.  The group includes unaccompanied minors, who if under 18 are eligible to apply for the ORR’s Unaccompanied Refugee Minor (URM) program. The B category includes spouses and children of any individual described in group A who is paroled into the US after September 30, 2023. The C category includes parents or legal guardians of any individual described in A who is determined to be an unaccompanied child and paroled into the US after September 30, 2023. The D category includes citizens and nationals of Afghanistan for whom refugee and entrant assistance activities are authorized with their eligibility date being on or after July 31, 2021.

For Ukrainian newcomers, 4 categories of eligibility are detailed as A-E: Category A includes citizens or nationals of Ukraine who the DHS has paroled into the US between February 24, 2022, and September 30, 2024, known as Ukrainian Humanitarian Parolees (UHPs). Category B includes non-Ukrainian individuals who last habitually resided in Ukraine and the DHS paroled into the US between February 24, 2022, and September 30, 2024. Category C includes the spouses and children of an individual described above in A or B, who is paroled into the US after September 30, 2023. Category D is the parent, legal guardian, or primary caregiver of an unaccompanied refugee minor or child described above in A or B who is paroled into the US after September 30, 2023. Category E refers to citizens and nationals of Ukraine whose refugee and entrant assistance activities are authorized with an eligibility date of February 24, 2022.

Dates of eligibility for Ukrainian parolees have been updated with those entering the US between February 24, 2022 — Sept 30, 2023, now having an eligibility of May 21, 2022, or their date of parole whichever is later. For those paroled between October 1, 2023 — Sept 30, 2024, their date of eligibility is April 24, 2024, or their date of parole, whichever is later.

The WSP courses may count toward Adult Basic Education, Job Search (Supervised Job Search under CalFresh E&T) and Job Readiness, Job Skills Training, Soft Skill Development, Education Directly Related to Employment, Vocational Education and Training, Secondary Education, and  English as a Second Language (ESL).

Individuals involved in the activities may also have supervised or unsupervised homework time in their WTW and/or Family Self-Sufficiency Plan (FSSP). Up to one hour of unsupervised homework for each class and the actual hours spent on supervised homework can be used as participation. The only documentation required for unsupervised homework time is a statement from the educational program indicating the amount of homework time required. Because of this, all WSP hours are considered supervised homework time and can be documented.

The WSP offers CalFresh E&T Activities under the Education and Supervised Job Search sections. Participants may also receive supportive services like mobile phones or internet access for Cell Ed. counties must include the WSP in their CalFresh Employment and Training Annual Plans. The WSP can satisfy the county-approved employment-directed education/training requirements for benefits. If participants demonstrate satisfactory progress, the WSP recommends that participation hours include course time and additional independent practice. For CalFresh Employment and Training, every hour spent on the program three additional hours should be credited for homework time or content reinforcement.  (ACWDL, July 9, 2024.)

Increase in CalFresh Standard Medical Expense Deduction

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California currently has a Standard Medical Expense deduction of $120 per month under a project scheduled to last until September 30, 2025.  This means that households with an elderly or disabled get a standard medical deduction amount of $120 per month if they can verify at least $35 per month of medical expenses.

Effective October 1, 2024, the Standard Medical Expense deduction will increase to $150 per month.  This means that households with an elderly or disabled member and between $35 and $185 of medical expenses per month will get a standard $150 per month deduction.  Households with over $185 in medical expenses will be able to deduct their actual medical expenses.

To pay for this increase in the Standard Medical Expense deduction, the Standard Utility Allowance offset will increase from $3 to $4 per month for all households starting October 1, 2024.

Failure to verify medical expenses is not a basis to deny or discontinue a case.  If a household does not verify medical expenses, they will not get the medical expense deduction.  The county must help applicants and recipients to get verification.

Eligible households must be informed about the new medical expense dedication amount and how to claim the medical expense deduction at both application and recertification. (ACL 24-59, August 16, 2024.)

Social Security updates listing of available occupations

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Effective June 22, 2024, the Social Security Administration determined that 114 occupations listed in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles are not isolated jobs that can no longer be used to find that a person is not disabled.

Social Security disability determinations use a five step sequential evaluation process: 1) Is the person working or earning less than the defined substantial gainful activity amount? 2) Does the person have a severe impairment? 3) Does the condition meet or equal a listed impairment? 4) Can the person do their past relevant work? 5) Is there any work in the national economy that the person can do?

The rules change is about the fifth step of the sequential evaluation.  Social Security uses the Dictionary of Occupational Titles to determine whether a potential job exists substantial numbers in the national economy.  If Social Security finds that a person can do a job that exists in substantial numbers in the national economy, then Social Security will find them to be not disabled.  Social Security has determined that 114 jobs that are listed in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles no longer exist in the national economy in substantial numbers and therefore cannot be used to support a not disabled determination.

In addition, Social Security identified 13 jobs listed in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles that federal court have questioned.  Social Security is implementing an additional evidence requirement for those 13 jobs for a finding that they do exist in substantial numbers in the national economy.  (Social Security Matters, June 24, 2024, EM-24026, June 22, 2024, and EM-24027, June 22, 2024.)

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