Author: Stephen Goldberg

School attendance penalty repealed

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Effective January 1, 2015, the school attendance penalty for children under age 16 is repealed. Previously, if a child under age 16 was not regularly attending school, the CalWORKs household was penalized by removing all adults in the assistance unit from the grant. AB 2383 amended Welfare and Institutions Code Section 11253.5 to repeal this penalty. As a result, county welfare departments can no longer require families to provide proof of school attendance.

If a 16 or 17 year old is deemed a chronic truant by the school district or a county School Attendance Review Board (SARB), then the needs of that child are not considered in determining the family’s CalWORKs grant. Exceptions to this rule include when there is good cause for non-attendance, when any member of the household is eligible for the family stabilization program and when the child, parent or caretaker is complying with requirements from a SARB, probation department or district attorney. A child whose needs are not considered in computing the family’s grant is eligible for services that may lead to school attendance and can sign a welfare-to-work plan to attend school (with no minimum number of participation hours for that plan).

Penalties imposed prior to January 1, 2015 on children under age 16 should have been lifted effective January 1, 2015. Counties were directed to review all cases of school attendance penalties for 16 and 17 year olds.

ACL 15-22.

Sanctioned adults are eligible for stage 1 child care

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Following substantial advocacy by the Child Care Law Center, CDSS has clarified that adults in CalWORKs sanction status can be eligible for Stage 1 child care. Under MPP Section 42-721.41, sanctioned adults are eligible for child care when the client is in the process of curing a sanction or during the months in sanction the client is working or participating in a county-approved program activity, which are activities in the assigned as part of the a welfare-to-work plan or activities necessary to accept or retain employment. Sanctioned adults in a cure plan remain in Stage 1 child care. Sanctioned adults performing an approvable activity should be assessed for transfer to Stage 2 child care.

CDSS also reiterated that clients in sanction status can request to cure the sanction by entering into a plan to cure the sanction and performing the activity stated on the cure plan up to a maximum of 30 days, whichever is shorter.

ACL 15-53

IHSS 7% reduction restored

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Effective July 1, 2015, the IHSS 7% reduction is restored. The 7% reduction was part of the settlement in the Oster v. Ligthbourne litigation and was codified in Welfare and Institutions Code Sections 12301.01 and 12031.02. In SB 97, (Budget Act, Section 57, Part 6) the legislature suspended the reduction for one year, from July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016. In a special legislative session later this year, the legislature will attempt to determine funding sources for making the restoration of the 7% reduction permanent.

Notices of the possibility that the 7% reduction would be restored were scheduled to go out in mid-June. The notices say that restoration was a possibility because the restoration legislation had not yet passed.

The IHSS computer system called CMIPS II is supposed to automatically create a new IHSS authorization with the restored hours added, and to automatically updated provider hours. The ACL warns that there may be an issue assigning the hours when a recipient has multiple providers and if the recipient wants hours divided differently between multiple providers, the recipient needs to file a SOC 838 form with their county.

ACL 15-57

CDSS issues new instructions about Protective Supervision

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In this letter, CDSS states several policies about several aspects of eligibility for In Home Supportive Services Protective Supervision, which is 24 hour supervision to safeguard against injury, hazard or accident. (MPP § 30-757.17.) These policies include:

  • A person must be both mentally ill and non-selfdirecting to be eligible for Protective Supervision. CDSS states it will amend MPP Section 30-757.17 to reflect this policy.
  • A person must be physically able to harm themselves to be eligible for Protective Supervision. This can include observation of persons who are bedridden but who are able to harm themselves. CDSS gives the example of a bedridden person who can pull out a G-tube.
  • While Protective Supervision is not available to guard against deliberate self-destructive behavior, a recipient who engages in deliberate self-destructive behavior and other behavior that is a basis for Protective Supervision such as wandering can be eligible for Protective Supervision to prevent the wandering.
  • Environmental modifications such as removing knobs from stoves or adding safety latches can eliminate the need for Protective Supervision.
  • Fluctuating or episodic behavior can be a basis for Protective Supervision if the behavior is unpredictable. However, if the behavior is predictable, IHSS should only be authorized for the time when the behavior occurs.
  • Leaving a recipient for fixed short periods of time is not, by itself, a reason to deny Protective Supervision
  • Actual injury is not required for Protective Supervision eligibility. A history of a propensity for the recipient to place themselves in danger is sufficient for Protective Supervision eligibility.

The letter also restates criteria for assessing children for eligibility for Protective Supervision. ACL 15-25.

HUD Guidance: Housing Discrimination against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Individuals and Families (July 1, 2010)

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This guidance provides that while the federal Fair Housing Act does not specifically include sexual orientation or gender identity as prohibited bases for housing discrimination, an LGBT person’s experience with housing discrimination may still be prohibited by the Act. The guidance provides illustrative examples and a link to file a housing discrimination complaint on line. [Download.]

H 2010-02: Enterprise Income Verification (EIV) & You Brochure – Requirements for Distribution and Use (1/11/10)

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This HUD notice clarifies that owners and management agents of federally-subsidized or assisted multifamily developments must provide the HUD EIV & You brochure and HUD Fact Sheet entitled “How Your Rent is Determined” to each tenant household as well as to applicant households that have been selected from the waiting list for screening and final application processing. The EIV system is the central database from which housing authorities and the aforementioned owners/managements agents may obtain the income data of tenants and applicants. Through a matching agreement between HUD and HHS and SSA, EIV gathers and maintains wage, income and benefit information. Among other things, the brochure is intended to inform tenants and applicants that owners and managements agents have access to certain of their personal and income information. [To download, click here, and then click on the text next to Notice 2010-02.]