Author: Stephen Goldberg

New NA Back 9 form

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The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has issued a revised version of the NA Back 9 form, which is the form on the back of every Notice of Action for a CDSS administered program about hearing rights and how to request a hearing.  The new NA Back 9 form includes the ability to request a preferred hearing modality, instructions on submitting hearing requests online or by email, and information about on-line hearings accounts.

Counties must begin using the new NA Back 9 form when automation in the CalSAWS computer system is complete.  All county generated notices must include the revised NA Back 9 after it is programmed into CalSAWS.  CDSS does not state when to expect the revised NA Back 9 to be programmed into CalSAWS or state a deadline for that programming.

Counties must include the local legal aid office(s) in the “Get Help” section of the new NA Back 9.

Agencies that use a form other than the NA Back 9 to request a hearing must have those forms reviewed and approved by the CDSS State Hearings Division.  (ACL 23-81, September 19, 2023.)

CalFresh mass replacement for Northern California power outages

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The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has approved mass replacement of CalFresh benefits for area impacted by public outages in Northern California in August, 2023.  Based on USDA’s approval, the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) will automatically replace 30 percent of CalFresh benefits for August, 2023 for zip codes: Calaveras: 95223 and 95247 Contra Costa: 94514 Del Norte: 95531, 95543, 95548, and 95567 Humboldt: 95556, 95558, and 95546 Kings: 93204 Lake: 95426 Mariposa: 95325 Nevada: 95975 Placer: 95715 Santa Cruz: 95006 Siskiyou: 95568 Trinity: 95527 and 95563 Tulare: 93633 Tuolumne: 95321 and 95372.  CDSS will automatically replace 25 percent of CalFresh benefits for August, 2023 for zip codes: Colusa: 95979 Glenn: 95939 Humboldt: 95569 Shasta: 96065, 96084, and 96047 Tehama: 96029 and 96074.

The replacement benefits will be issued to all regular CalFresh households in those zip codes.  Households that have already received replacement benefits based on a signed affidavit of loss will not receive the mass replacement benefits.  Households can submit a signed affidavit of loss to request more than the amount of the mass replacement benefits. (USDA Letters, September 8, 2023 and September 15, 2023.)

CalWORKs Income Reporting Threshold for Fiscal Year 2024

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Effective October 1, 2023, new CalWORKs Income Reporting Threshold (IRT) will be effective.  The new IRT amounts are in a chart attached to this ACL.  Income over the IRT amount must be reported mid-period, that is, when it occurs between semi-annual reports or annual recertifications.  Income that must be reported is the total combined earned and unearned income of the assistance unit.  The IRT reporting amount is 55% of the federal poverty level for a family of 3, plus the amount of income used most recently used to determine the assistance unit’s grant.  Income over the IRT must be reported within 10 days of receipt.

Assistance Units with no income or only unearned income are required to report income changes only if they receive new earned income that, when combined with other earned income, exceeds the IRT.

When income over the IRT is reported to the county, the county must determine if the income is reasonably anticipated to continue.  If it is reasonably anticipated to continue, the county must redetermine the CalWORKs grant amount using the new income amount.  If the grant will be decreased, the county must give timely and adequate notice to decrease the grant at the end of the month.  If the new income amount exceeds 130% of the Federal Poverty Level, the county must discontinue CalWORKs at the end of the month after timely and adequate notice is given.

It is possible that there will be some cases that are over the IRT, but under 130% of the Federal Poverty Level, where the assistance unit will not be eligible for a cash grant.  Those cases will have zero grant, but will be eligible for supportive services and CalWORKs special needs.

Counties must inform recipients of their IRT at application approval, at least once per semi-annual reporting period, and whenever the IRT amount changes.  The IRT level which the recipient was last notified of is used for reporting purposes.  (ACL 23-75, August 31, 2023.)

Increase in CalWORKs Maximum Aid Payment

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Effective October 1, 2023, the CalWORKs Maximum Aid Payment (MAP) will increase by 3.6%.  In addition, the 10% MAP increase that was scheduled to end on September 30, 2023 will continue.

The 3.6% increase in the MAP may cause a decrease in CalFresh benefits.  Counties must give written notice of any CalFresh grant decrease because of the MAP increase no later than September 20, 2023.

Counties must send a notice to all CalWORKs recipients informing of the MAP increase and the potential CalFresh decrease no later than September 1, 2023. Counties must also send individualized notices giving each assistance unit information specific to their CalWORKs grant amount.

CDSS has updated the child MAP charts to reflect the October 1, 2023 MAP increase.  The child MAP is used to determine if child support received on behalf of a child is more than the CalWORKs grant amount for that child.  If the child support received on behalf of a child is more than then CalWORKs grant amount for that child, the assistance unit has the option of having that child opt-out of the assistance unit.  The county may add the child back into the grant mid-period if the child support received is no longer greater than the CalWORKs grant amount.  If the child support received remains lower than the CalWORKs grant amount, the county must add the child to the CalWORKs grant at the next semi-annual review or annual recertification.

These changes must be programmed into the CalSAWS computer system no later than October 1, 2023.  If they are not, CalSAWS must provide counties with a manual work-around to ensure that families receive the correct amount of benefits.  (ACL 23-74, August 30, 2023.)

Increase in CalWORKs resource limit

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Effective January 1, 2024, the CalWORKs resource limit for applicants and recipients will increase to $11,634 or $17,452 for assistance units that include at least one member who is age 60 or older, or disabled. This is a 6.85% increase based on the California Necessities Index. This increase also applies to Refugee Cash Assistance, Entrant Cash Assistance, and Trafficking and Crime Victims Assistance Program.  (ACL 23-71, September 1, 2023.)