Yearly Archives: 2017

Adoption Assistance Program Eligibility

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CDSS has issued a clarification regarding Adoption Assistance Program (AAP) eligibility.  Starting October 1, 2016, children are eligible for federal AAP if they age 2 or older.  Federal AAP requires the placing agency to have a Title IV-E agreement with the state of California.  This means that children placed by public agencies or Indian tribes can be eligible for federal AAP if the placing agency has a Title IV-E agreement.  However, children placed through a private agency cannot be eligible for federal AAP.

Please note that children placed by private agencies can be eligible for state AAP.  (See ACL 16-38, summarized here.)  ACIN I-82-16 (November 16, 2016).

Restaurant Meals Program on College Campuses

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CDSS has issued instructions about implementing AB 1747 (2015) regarding implementation of the CalFresh Restaurant Meals Program on college campuses.  The Restaurant Meals Program allows elderly, disabled or homeless CalFresh households to use their benefits at participating restaurants.

AB 1747 requires two or four year colleges that operate food facilities on campus to apply to become a food vendor under the Restaurant Meals Program.  AB 1747 also requires colleges to provide contracting food vendors with information about the Restaurant Meals program.

In addition, AB 1747 requires the CDSS to act as the state entity for receipt of federal reimbursement for CalFresh outreach to state educational institutions and other state and local agencies.  AB 1747 also requires CDSS to establish the Public Higher Education Pantry Assistance Account, which, if funded by the legislature, would provide funding for food banks that support on campus pantry and hunger-relief efforts for low-income students. ACL 16-112 (December 23, 2016).

CalWORKs Overpayments Based on Income or Household Composition Reporting

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CDSS has instructions to counties about AB 2062 regarding overpayments based on income or household composition reporting.  Effective January 1, 2017, counties cannot assess an overpayment in the month following a change in income over the income reporting threshold or a change in household composition for an assistance unit that does not include an eligible adult, if the recipient timely reported the change but the county was unable, before the first month following the change, to provide 10 days notice of termination or reduction in benefits.

Recipients subject to semi-annual reporting must report income changes over the income reporting threshold within 10 days.  Child only cases subject to annual reporting must report income over the income reporting threshold or changes in household composition within 10 days.  Prior to AB 1232, there was an overpayment if these changes were reported timely but the county could not issue a notice of action giving 10 days notice of reduction or termination of benefits.

Under AB 1232, this changes and now if these changes are reporting timely and the county is unable to give 10 days notice of reduction or termination of benefits, the next month of benefits will not be an overpayment.  However, if these changes are not reported timely (that is, not reported within 10 days) and the county could not issue a notice of action giving 10 days notice of reduction or termination of benefits, the next month of benefits will still be an overpayment.  ACL 16-120 (December 30, 2016). 16-120E (March 10, 2025) [editing one example in the letter].

 

Telephone Interviews for CalWORKs

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CDSS has issued instructions to counties about SB 947 which allows counties to do telephone interviews for CalWORKs effective January 1, 2017.  Counties can choose whether to do telephone interviews for CalWORKs.  A county that chooses to do telephone interviews can do face-to-face interviews on a case-by-case basis.  Those counties must provide a face-to-face interview if requested by the CalWORKs applicant or recipient. The county must have procedures in their county plan for conducting telephone interviews.

Telephone interviews must occur within seven working days of filing of the application.  If an applicant meets the immediate need interview requirements on the application, the telephone interview must occur no later than the next working day.

For telephone interviews, there are three ways counties can obtain signatures on documents.  The county can mail the documents to the applicant or recipient.  The county can use an interactive voice response system that has a PIN number that can act as an electronic signature.  In addition, if the application was filed online, the county can upload documents to the applicant or recipient’s online account.  A journal entry stating the client attested to the information is not sufficient.  CDSS provided a chart that outlines the county’s options regarding telephone interviews.  ACL 16-119 (December 30, 2016).

County Welfare Department Use of Consumer Credit Reports

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NOTE — The section of this ACL regarding the Work Number being used in conjunction with, but not in lieu of, existing income and eligibility sources, is superseded by ACL 21-23.

CDSS has issued instructions to counties about SB 1232 regarding county welfare department use of consumer credit reports.  An example of a consumer credit report is a report from “The Work Number.”  These requirements are mandatory effective January 1, 2017.

Counties cannot obtain consumer credit reports without written authorization of the applicant or recipient.  Consumer credit reports can be used in conjunction with existing fraud detection resources.  Consumer credit reports cannot be used as the only means of verification.  The SAWS 2 Plus, CF 285 and CF 37 have been modified to include authorization for counties to obtain consumer credit reports.

If a county takes adverse action based on information in a consumer credit report, the county must provide an informing notice in addition to the notice of action.  The informing notice must include the name, address and telephone number of the consumer credit reporting agency, a statement that the consumer credit reporting agency did not make the decision, a statement of the right to free disclosure from the consumer credit reporting agency within 60 days and a statement of the right to dispute the accuracy of the information with the consumer credit reporting agency.

Information from a consumer credit report must be made available to an applicant or recipient who requests it from the county welfare department or if an applicant requests a fair hearing to regarding the information in the consumer credit report.  Note that information received from “The Work Number” is not considered verified upon receipt for CalFresh.  Counties cannot require applicants or recipients to submit hard-copy documentation that is duplicative of the information obtained from a consumer credit report.  ACL 16-118 (December 30, 2016).

 

Adoption Assistance Program Notice of Action and Overpayments

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CDSS has transmitted a new form notice of action for the Adoption Assistance Program and instructions regarding Adoption Assistance Program overpayments.  The instructions require that the comment section of the form be used to provide the reason for and clarification of the action taken.  The instructions also require that specific regulation supporting the county’s action be cited in the form.

CDSS also states that there are only three situations when an Adoption Assistance Program overpayment is collectable: 1) The responsible public agency has determined that the adoptive parents are no longer legally responsible for the support of the child; 2) The responsible public agency has determined that the adoptive parents are no longer supporting the child and 3) The responsible public agency determines the adoptive parents may have committed fraud.

Counties cannot demand repayment caused by county error.  ACL 16-29 (November 7, 2016).