Author: Brian Lawlor

70 Federal Register 77742, et. seq. – Final Rule Eligibility of Students for Assisted Housing Under Section 8 of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937 (December 30, 2005).

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This rule implements a new law, enacted as part of HUD’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2006 appropriations (Public Law 109-115, 199 Stat. 2936), that restricts certain students enrolled in institutions of higher education from receiving assistance under Section 8 of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937. Subsection (a) of Section 327 bars Section 8 assistance to any individual who meets all of the following criteria: (1) is enrolled as a student in an institution of higher education, as defined in 20 U.S.C. § 1002; (2) is under 24; (3) is not a veteran; (4) is unmarried; (5) does not have a dependent child; and (6) is not otherwise individually eligible or has parents who, individually or jointly, are not eligible to receive Section 8 assistance.

Subsection(b) provides that, except for a person over the age of 23 with dependent children, for purposes of determining a person’s eligibility for Section 8, any financial assistance (in excess of amounts received for tuition) that a student received under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. § 1001), from private sources, or an institution of higher education, shall be counted as income.HUD states that the new law and regulation were enacted to address incidents of college students obtaining federal housing assistance without counting their educational financial assistance as income.

HUD states that the new law and regulation were enacted to address incidents of college students obtaining federal housing assistance without counting their educational financial assistance as income. [Download] 

ACIN I-02-06 – CalWORKS Domestic Abuse Protocols And Waivers (January 9, 2006)

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The long-awaited for, yet not quite what we hoped, DV Q & A. Highlights include specifically mentioning that the MFG rule can be waived, that counties must have written standards for their waivers, and that the waivers must be based on individual need, and that the counties must issue a Notice of Action approving or denying a waiver. (The 90 days doesn’t run for a hearing until such a notice issues.)  (Download)

ACL 05-38 – The Emergency Assistance Program (December 5, 2005)

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An overview of the Foster Care Emergency Assistance (EA) Program, complete with Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). Ready for the acronyms? EA is funded by TANF, and provides FFP (federal financial participation) for short term aid to children/families in emergency situations. It no longer includes services for probation, but does cover Emergency Shelter Care (ESC).

So, what are some of the FAQ’s? Relatives can qualify for Shelter Care for up to 30 days; it’s limited to once in 12 months/single episode, for up to 12 months (except not the emergency shelter care) to resolved the emergency. An EA application must be taken immediately or no later than 30 calendar days from the date the child is removed from the home or the date the child is determined to be at risk. (Refer to ACL No. 93-64 and ACL No. 94-90), but the beginning date of aid begins on the date the application is signed. A county can place the child in a relative’s home on an emergency basis prior to relative approval of that home and claim emergency shelter care, if the worker has completed an assessment on the home. The age requirements go up to the age of 21, with no requirement of school attendance. [Download]

ACIN I-77-05 – January 2006 COLA for CAPIs (December 2, 2005)

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In the fine Grinch tradition, CDSS sends out this ACIN reminding counties to reduce CAPI (Cash Assistance Progrm for Immigrants) payments to account for the federal SSI COLA. As background, the State SSP Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) was suspended for all of 2006, and the pass-through of the federal SSI COLA delayed from January 1, 2006, until April 1, 2006. (The only increase in the SSI/SSP or CAPI payment standards is for the Non-Medical Out-of-Home Care (NMOHC) rate, which will increase by the amount of the SSI COLA.) The ACIN includes a chart of CAPI Payment Standards that will become effective on January 1, 2006, and April 1, 2006.

The joyful tidings (NOT) is that the separate federal SSI COLA affects the valuation of In-Kind Support, allowances for ineligible children sponsor deeming situations, and “COLA Coordination When One Spouse Receives SSI/SSP.” The “intended result” is that a CAPI family get $10.00 less than the SSI/SSP benefit rate for a couple. Since that wouldn’t happen under the normal retrospective budgeting, this ACIN requires counties to do prospective budgeting for the January and February payments. [Download]

ACIN I-75-05 – Q & A on Transitional Food Stamps (TFS) (December 7, 2005)

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Another one of those “must reads” for those doing Food Stamps. Too many issues to summarize, but this is THE place to go for TFS info. (There’s very little in the regs.) Learn about how going on TFS, then getting reinstated for CalWORKs in the same month, becoming approved in another household or otherwise losing eligibility (fleeing felon, IPV, etc.) affects TFS (not a pleasant answer: they reduce the HH size, but keep counting the income …), the interaction between a new FS application and the TFS benefits, adjusting TFS for worker error during the 5 months “protected” rate period, and more … [Download]

ACL 05-37 – Changes to Requirements Regarding Child Support Referrals (November 22, 2005)

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CDSS issued regulations regarding whether it is in the best interests of a foster child to make a child support (collection) referrals. This All County Letter transmits a newly modified form for the documentation and transmission of a social worker’s determination of best interest to not make the referral. [Download]