Author: Stephen Goldberg

HUD guidance on smoke-free Public Housing policies

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The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has issued guidance regarding smoke-free policies in public housing.  Public housing authorities (PHAs) must implement smoke-free policies within 18 months of issuance of the guidance.  Policies must ban the use of prohibited tobacco products in all public housing living units, interior common areas, and outdoor areas within 25 feet of public housing and administrative office buildings.  Prohibited tobacco products are items that involve ignition and burning of tobacco including cigarettes, cigars, pipes and water pipes.  PHAs have flexibility regarding e-cigarettes, limiting smoking to designated areas, requiring a smoke-free perimeter greater than 25 feet, and requiring an entire campus to be smoke-free.

PHA’s must obtain board approval for their smoke-free policies.  PHA must also determine whether adoption of their smoke-free policy is a significant amendment to their PHA plan which requires public meetings.

PHAs must also amend leases.  Residents must sign amended leases as a condition of continuing occupancy.  The lease amendment must incorporate the requirement that residents, members of the resident’s household, resident’s guests and anyone else under the resident’s control cannot smoke in restricted areas or in other outdoor areas that the PHA designates as smoke-free.  PHAs must give residents 60 days notice of the lease amendment and a reasonable amount of time for the resident to accept the amendment.

PHAs are encouraged to adopt graduated enforcement of their smoke-free policy, with termination of tenancy and eviction as a last resort.

PHAs must provide reasonable accommodations to persons with disabilities who smoke.  For example, a PHA could move a disabled smoking tenant to a unit near a door to give the tenant easier access to a smoking area.  However, HUD policy is addiction to nicotine is not a disability.  (PIH Notice 2017-03, February 15, 2017.)

VAWA Guidance for HUD Multifamily owners and management agents

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The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has released guidance regarding implementation of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (VAWA) for HUD Multifamily owners and management agents.  The guidance is very similar to the HUD’s guidance for the Public Housing and Housing Choice Voucher programs, summarized here.

In addition, this guidance specifies that VAWA protections apply to all owners and managers in the following HUD Multifamily programs: Project Based Section 8, Section 202, Section 811, Section 236 and Section 221(d)(3) and (d)(5).

In addition to the requirements in the the Public Housing and Housing Choice Voucher programs the guidance states that VAWA protections apply to all applicants and tenants in these programs, which means that all applicants and tenants must receive notice of their rights under VAWA.  The guidance also allows owners and managers in Multifamily programs to establish a waiting list preference for victims of dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, in addition to domestic violence.  (HUD Notice H 2017-05, June 30, 2017.)

IHSS time for Medical Accompaniment

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The California Department of Social Services has issued instructions regarding IHSS time for Medical Accompaniment.  Accompaniment to health care appointments and alternative resource sites is an allowable IHSS service.  CDSS states its policy is Medical Accompaniment can only be authorized when the recipient needs assistance with another IHSS authorized task during transportation or at the medical appointment or alternative resource site.  CDSS policy is Medical Accompaniment is not authorized only to fill the recipient’s need for transportation. Wait time is available for appointments when the provider provides authorized Medical Accompaniment and the provider is not performing work duties but is unable to use the time for their own purposes.

CDSS policy is that Medical Accompaniment is generally unavailable for minor recipients because it is a parental responsibility to accompany children to medical appointments.  Medical Accompaniment for a minor can be authorized only if the minor has an assessed extraordinary need, the appointment is for specialty care, and the minor has a need for another IHSS authorized task during transportation or at the medical appointment.  Although Medical Accompaniment is not available for routine medical appointments, if the minor recipient needs other authorized services based on assessed extraordinary need, the provider may be paid for assistance with another IHSS authorized task during transportation or at the medical appointment.  Wait time is also generally unavailable for minor recipients, with limited exceptions such as a medical professional taking physical charge of the minor recipient for a set period of time and there is enough time for the parent provider to conduct their own personal business.

Medical Accompaniment is available for appointments only when the county verifies that the recipient is not receiving Medi-Cal non-emergency medical transportation for that appointment.  When a recipient receives non-emergency medical transportation for an appointment, but the recipient needs assistance with another IHSS authorized task during transportation or at the medical appointment, Medical Accompaniment can be authorized, but only for the amount of time for travel to and from the recipient’s home to the appointment.  This is because the time for the other IHSS authorized tasks should already have been accounted for in the total authorization for those service categories.  (ACL 17-42, June 23, 2017.)

CalWORKs and CalFresh treatment of ABLE accounts

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The California Department of Social Services has issued instructions regarding treatment of ABLE accounts for purposes of CalWORKs and CalFresh.  An ABLE account allows persons with disabilities to save and invest money for disability-related expenses without losing eligibility for certain benefits programs.  ABLE accounts cannot exceed $100,000 and the maximum annual contribution is $14,000.

CalWORKs recipients can reduce their unearned income from Social Security Disability or other disability benefits buy making contributions to an ABLE account.  Money in, contributions to and any distribution up to $100,000 for qualified expenses from an ABLE account does not count toward determining eligibility for any state or local means-tested program, including CalWORKs.

ABLE accounts are excluded as both income and resources for CalFresh.

Counties are strongly encouraged to inform eligible CalWORKs and CalFresh applicants and recipients with disabilities that they can retain an ABLE account so they do not need to spend down their savings to be eligible.  (ACL 17-61, June 27, 2017.)

Changes to Inter-County Transfer process

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The California Department of Social Services has issued instructions implementing changes to the Inter-County Transfer (ICT) process required by SB 1339.  Effective June 1, 2017, CalWORKs and CalFresh recipients can report a move to either their old county or their new county.  CalWORKs recipients must report a change of residence within 10 days of the actual move.  Failure to report a move, by itself, cannot be a basis for an overpayment, overissuance or other negative action.

The county that the recipient informs of the move must initiate the ICT process within seven days.  Benefits must be transferred from the sending county to the receiving county with no redetermination or recertification of eligibility in the receiving county.  The new county cannot interview the recipient, request or require a new application, or request or request any verification.  The new county can interview the client only regarding Welfare-to-Work participation.

The sending county must provide the receiving county copies of documents necessary to verify current benefits and grant amount within seven business days, including the most recent SAR 7, SAWS 2 Plus, SAWS 1 and Welfare-to-Work plan.  Benefits and payment responsibility must be transferred to the receiving county no later than the first day of the next month following 30 days after the county is notified of the move.  If the move is from a Region1 to Region 2 county or visa versa, the receiving county adjusts the grant accordingly.

The county can provide the Child Care Request form (CCP 7) as part of the ICT process, but the recipient must apply for child care in the receiving county.

The receiving county is responsible for determination of homeless assistance eligibility and issuance of homeless assistance benefits.

The process is the same for non-assistance CalFresh cases except that CalFresh recipients are not required to report a mid-period move to a new county.  CalFresh recipients are encouraged to promptly notify the county when they move to another county to ensure continuity of benefits.

The ICT process now applies to Transitional CalFresh cases.  This change will be effective when the computer systems are programmed for it, but no later than September 1, 2017.  (ACL 17-58, June 23, 2017.)

IHSS eligibility for children in Adoption Assistance Program or Foster Care

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The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has issued instructions about IHSS eligibility for children in Adoption Assistance Program (AAP) or Foster Care.  Children who receive AAP benefits who apply for IHSS must receive a comprehensive needs assessment.  Children who receive AAP can be eligible for IHSS.  AAP cannot be considered an alternative resource when determining the number of hours of IHSS eligibility.

Children placed in with an approved resource family or in a setting that must be approved as a resource family prior to December 31, 2019 are considered to be residing in their own home and are eligible for IHSS.  Children placed with a relative or with Non-Relative Extended Family Member are also eligible for IHSS.  Children who live in licensed community care facilities such as group homes, short-term residential therapeutic programs and transitional housing placement providers are not eligible for IHSS as long as they are in those placements because they are not residing in their own home.  (ACIN I-40-17, June 23, 2017.)