Author: Stephen Goldberg

IHSS licensed health care professional certification

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CDSS has issued instructions and forms to counties about certification from a licensed health care professional as a condition of eligibility for In Home Supportive Services (IHSS) benefits.  Counties are required to provide applicants with the SOC 873 certification form and SOC 874 instructions.  Applicants must submit the completed form within 45 days of receiving it from the county.  Applicants can submit alternative documentation if it contains the same information as the SOC 873 form.  The application will be denied if certification is not submitted within 45 days of the county providing the forms.

The health care certification is not the only factor in determining the need for IHSS services, but should be considered as one indicator of the need for services.  However, the IHSS application must be denied if the first two questions on the SOC 873 form are not answered yes by the licensed health care professional.  If the county believes the applicant should be eligible for IHSS despite not receiving yes answers to those questions, the form must be returned to the health care professional to be reconsidered.

Services cannot be authorized until the county has received certification from a licensed health care professional unless services are being requested on behalf of an applicant who is returning to the community from a hospital or nursing home and needs services to remain safely in the community or the applicant is at imminent risk of out-of-home placement.  ACL 16-78 (September 28, 2016).

CalFresh Student Eligibility

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CDSS issued instructions to counties about CalFresh eligibility for students.  The general rule is students age 18-49 are ineligible for CalFresh.  However, there are several exceptions.  Eligibility workers must evaluate whether a student meets one of the exceptions.  The exceptions are when the student is:

  • Employed average of 20 hours per week for the month
  • Has parental control of a child under age 6
  • Has parental control of a child 6-12 but do not have child care to allow attending class and working 20 hours per week
  • Approved for Work Study and anticipate getting a work study job. Exception applies even if no work study jobs are available as long as will take Work Study job if it is offered
  • Receives CalWORKs
  • Enrolled full time and single parent with responsibility to care for a child under age 12
  • Participating in an education and training program and placed in education for that program. Placements with Workforce Investment Opportunity Act, CalFresh Employment and Training, JOBS, Section 236 of Trade Act or state or local government education and training program can qualify.

ACIN I-89-15 (December 1, 2015).

CalWORKs supportive services and verification for education and training

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CDSS has issued instructions to counties about supportive services and verification when a recipient’s welfare-to-work (WTW) activity is education or training.  The WTW plan should include all classes or equivalents required to meet the goal of the education or training program.  This includes concurrent or prerequisite classes.  The specific classes for the education program may not be available prior to enrollment.  In that instance, the county must have procedures to update or revise the WTW Plan to reflect the classes that are actually being taken.  Classes that are not required by the client’s program or education provider are not required to be included in the WTW plan.

Clients are entitled to supportive services for all classes included in the WTW plan.  Clients can request and receive advance payment for supportive services, including books, transportation, or fees and other ancillary expenses.

Participation hours in education or training must be supported by documentation in the case file.  Documentation can include classroom time sheets, attendance records, or enrollment verification from the provider.  Clients are not required to seek additional verification if such verification would require disclosure of confidential information, including disclosure of the fact that an individual is a CalWORKs recipient.  Prohibited verification includes requiring a client to provide teacher or instructor verification of attendance.  Instead, counties can seek verification through other resources offered by the educational institution such as CalWORKs Community College Counselors.

Counties are also reminded that the requirement of daily supervision of WTW activities does not require daily in-person contact.  The supervision requirement is that the responsible party has daily responsibility for oversight of participation.  This responsibility can be achieved by telephone or electronic means.  ACIN I-57-16 (September 8, 2016).

Requiring use of the “Here’s Why” section of CalFresh overissuance notices

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CDSS has issued instructions to counties about the content of CalFresh overissuance notices.  Counties must complete the free-form “Here’s Why” section of the overissuance notice.  The drop-down menu explanations in the “Here’s Why” section of the overissuance notice do not provide sufficient detail about the reason for the overissuance and must be accompanied by additional information that is specific to the case.  The free-form “Here’s Why” section must be completed even if the county consortia computer system allows the notice to be issued without completing the free-form section in order to meet state and federal due process requirements.

At a minimum, the free-form “Here’s Why” section must include: 1) the amount of benefits the household received, 2) the amount of benefits the household should have received, 3) the time period of the overissuance, 4) the specific reason that caused the overissuance, 5) the amount of benefits to be repaid, and 6) how the household can pay the claim.  ACL 16-71 (September 12, 2016).

CalWORKs Time Limit Exemption for Indian Country Residents

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CalWORKs has a time limit exemption for Indian Country residents where at least 50 percent of adults are not employed.  The California Department of Social Services did a survey to determine which Indian Country areas qualify for this time limit exemption.  Based on the survey, CDSS identified and listed 25 Indian Country areas where at least 50 percent of adults are not employed.

If a CalWORKs recipient lives in an Indian Country area not identified by CDSS as having at least 50 percent of adults not employed, the recipient, county or Tribal-TANF program can get a written certification from a federally-recognized tribe that the recipient lived in where at least 50 percent of adults are unemployed to qualify for the time limit exemption. ACL 16-68 (August 26, 2016).

MFG Repeal

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The California Department of Social Services has informed counties that the legislature has repealed the CalWORKs Maximum Family Grant (MFG) rule.  Effective January 1, 2017, no child will denied aid because the child was born into a family receiving CalWORKs.  Any child previously excluded by the MFG rule must be added to the assistance unit effective January 1, 2017.

Counties are required to review their caseloads to determine existing cases with children excluded by the MFG rule and inform those families that their CalWORKs grant will change to include the previously excluded children.  In addition, counties must send a mass mailing starting on November 1, 2016 to all CalWORKs recipients informing them of the repeal of the MFG rule.  CDSS encourages counties to display the informing notices in their offices and to discuss the MFG repeal at application and redetermination.

Children previously excluded by the MFG rule will be subject to child support assignment.  Children excluded by the MFG rule were able to keep all child support paid on their behalf.  Child support paid on behalf of these children will be assigned to the state the effective January 1, 2017 and the family will receive the first $50 of child support collected on behalf of the family.  Parents will need to complete the CW 2.1Q Child Support Questionnaire for children previously excluded by the MFG rule if those children are not already identified on an existing CW 2.1Q.  Parents will be required to cooperate with the local child support agency unless they have good cause, including that cooperation will put the family at risk.

Other benefits paid on behalf of children excluded by the MFG rule, such as Social Security dependant’s benefits, will be counted as income for CalWORKs effective January 1, 2017.  In addition, CalFresh benefits will be redetermined based on the new CalWORKs grant.  ACL 16-66 (August 26, 2016).