Author: Stephen Goldberg

CalFresh eligibility for people in SSI suspense status

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CDSS has issued instructions to counties implementing the decision and judgment in Riojas v. Vilsack and Lightbourne, 2016 WL 3566941.  Riojas held that people in SSI suspense status are eligible for CalFresh.

CDSS instructed counties that, effective immediately, people who are not receiving a SSI payment are eligible for CalFresh as long as all other CalFresh eligibility criteria are met. Within two months counties must identify applications that were filed after August 30, 2016 that were denied solely because the applicant was in SSI suspense status and issue retroactive benefits to those people.  Counties must also identify household members excluded solely because of their SSI suspense status on or after August 30, 2016, and, if otherwise eligible, issue retroactive benefits to those persons.

A change in SSI from active status to suspense status is not a mandatory mid-period report. However, if this change is reported, the county must add the household member effective the first day of the next month.  If SSI status changes to active status and that change is known to the county, then the county must increase or decrease benefits effective the first day of the next month, or as soon as 10-day notice can be given.  (ACL 17-09, January 27, 2017.)

CAPI PRUCOL Clarification

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CDSS has issued instructions about the definition of Permanent Resident Under Color of Law (PRUCOL) for purposes of eligibility for Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants (CAPI) benefits.  One way that people can be eligible for CAPI is if they are PRUCOL.  For CAPI purposes, PRUCOL refers to 12 categories of non-citizens.  The twelfth category is a general classification for people who can show that USCIS knows they are in the United States and USCIS does not intend to deport them.

A non-citizen can demonstrate that USCIS is aware of their presence in the United States by showing correspondence with USCIS. Individuals who are subject to an order of deportation or who overstay their visas cannot qualify.

A non-citizen can show that USCIS does not intend to deport them by showing it is USCIS’ policy or practice not to deport aliens in the same category.

The Systemic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system for verifying immigration status does not identify people as PRUCOL.  Counties must determine whether people qualify as PRUCOL.  (ACIN I-79-16, November 30, 2016.)

Changes to Approved Relative Caregiver program

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CDSS has issued new instructions about the Approved Relative Caregiver (ARC).  These changes and all rules for the program are compiled in the ARC Implementation Guide.  Prior All County Letters regarding the ARC program, except for ACL 15-54 about notices of action, are superseded by the ARC Implementation Guide.

CDSS highlights two changes to the ARC program.  First, counties are to change from paying ARC benefits prospectively to calculating the days a child is actually placed and paying the caregiver in arrears.  Counties are not required to take measures to mitigate financial hardship from this change but are “encouraged to do so if feasible.”  Counties should make this change by June 30, 2017.

Second, ARC benefits will no longer be distributed using electronic benefits transfer.

The computer consortia must develop and submit plans to CDSS outlining the timeframe for making required programming changes.  (ACL 16-92, December 23, 2016.)

Posted in ARC

CalWORKs eligibility when child dies

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CDSS has issued instructions about implementing AB 433 (2015) regarding CalWORKs eligibility in the event of death of a child.  AB 433 requires that if the county becomes aware of the death of a child, CalWORKs benefits cannot be decreased in the month of the death or the following month.  Note that for semi-annual (SAR) reporters, change in household composition is not a mandatory mid-period report.  This means SAR reporters are not required to report death of a child until the next semi-annual report.  However, if death of a child is reported, the county must act on that information.  For AR/CO reporters, death of a child must be reported within 10 days and AB 433 means these families are eligible for an additional month of benefits following the death.

In addition, AB 433 prohibits sanctions or overpayments for failure or refusal to comply with Welfare-to-Work requirements during the month the child died or in the following month.  ACL 16-90 (October 21, 2016).

Resource Family Approval Hearing Procedures

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CDSS has issued instructions about administrative hearings in the Resource Family Approval (RFA) program.  RFA is a unified process for licensing foster family homes, approving relatives and non-relative extended family members as foster care providers, and approving adoptive families.  AB 403 amended Welfare and Institutions Code Section 16519.5 to create a right to a state hearing to appeal a county action denying or rescinding a RFA or criminal records exemption, or CDSS’ action to exclude an individual from a resource family.  A resource family parent, applicant or associated person will have the right to a state hearing to challenge application denial, rescission of approval, exemption denial or approval, or exclusion.  Such a hearing must be requested within 25 days of service of a notice of action, or 30 days if the notice is mailed.

Disputes regarding submission of an alleged severe neglect or child abuse incident to the Child Abuse Central Index are submitted to the county and there is not state hearing jurisdiction for these disputes.  There is also no right to a state hearing regarding decisions to remove or place a foster child and those disputes can be submitted to the county grievance procedure.

Cases where a county denies a relative or non-relative extended family member approval to provide foster care  and approval is requested prior to December 31, 2016 will continue to have the right to a state hearing under the court order in Harris v. California Department of Social Services.

Hearings will occur before either the California Department of Social Services State Hearings Division or the Office of Administrative Hearings.  For a description of the issues that are heard by the California Department of Social Services State Hearings Division or the Office of Administrative Hearings see Resource Family Approval Program Written Directives Version 3 at pp. 79-81.  (ACL 16-110, December 19, 2016.)

Changes to Treasury Offset Program

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CDSS has issued instructions to counties regarding the change in federal law in the timeframe for referring debts to the Treasury Offset Program (TOP) from 180 days to 120 days.  TOP allows federal debts to be submitted for offset from federal tax returns and other federal payments.  A CalFresh overissuance is considered a federal debt that is submitted to TOP if the submission requirements are met.

TOP requires a pre-offset warning notice, which will now be sent 31 days after the notice of action that alleges the overissuance.  This gives the debtor 60 days to pay the debt, enter into a repayment agreement or request an administrative review.  The TOP process stops if the debtor requests an administrative review within 60 days of the pre-offset notice, requests a fair hearing within 90 days of the notice of action that alleged the overissuance, or files bankruptcy.

At 120 days after the notice of action, if the debtor has not paid the debt, entered into a repayment agreement, requested a fair hearing or filed bankruptcy, CDSS will send the debt to the Food and Nutrition Service for referral to TOP.  ACL 16-108 (December 28, 2016).