Author: Stephen Goldberg

Increase in CalWORKs Maximum Aid Payment

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The CalWORKs Maximum Aid Payment will increase by .3% effective October 1, 2024.  The grant increase is funded by the Child Poverty and Family Supplemental Support Subaccount.  Grant increases in future years will depend on the amount of funds in the Subaccount.

The grant increase applies to all CalWORKs cases.  Counties must treat the grant increase as a mandatory mid-period action.

The California Department of Social Services will send an informing flyer to all CalWORKs recipients.

For children who have opted to receive child support instead of CalWORKs, counties must used updated charts to determine if that is still an option.  Children can get child support instead of CalWORKs, when there are multiple children with different paying parents in the same Assistance Unit, and the child support received for the child is greater than the CalWORKs grant for that child.  If the amount of child support received is no longer greater than the amount in the updated charts, the county cannot add the child to the grant until the next semi-annual report or annual recertification.  However, in that situation, the parent/caretaker relative can ask to add the child to the CalWORKs grant mid-period. (ACL 24-55, August 8, 2024.)

Cell-Ed for Afghan and Ukranian employment services participants

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The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has issued guidance regarding the Cell-Ed Welcome Start Program (WSP). It is an online learning program for eligible Afghan and Ukrainian employment services participants. Time spent on the program provides countable hours towards activity requirements for CalWORKs, CalFresh Employment and Training, and Refugee Cash Assistance participants.

WSP targets employability and digital literacy, using accessible methods like phone calls, an app, or a website. The program also includes partner outreach and support to encourage engagement with employment services programs.

For Afghan newcomers, 4 categories of eligibility are detailed as A-D: A includes citizens or nations of Afghanistan paroled into the US between, July 31, 2021, and September 30, 2023.  The group includes unaccompanied minors, who if under 18 are eligible to apply for the ORR’s Unaccompanied Refugee Minor (URM) program. The B category includes spouses and children of any individual described in group A who is paroled into the US after September 30, 2023. The C category includes parents or legal guardians of any individual described in A who is determined to be an unaccompanied child and paroled into the US after September 30, 2023. The D category includes citizens and nationals of Afghanistan for whom refugee and entrant assistance activities are authorized with their eligibility date being on or after July 31, 2021.

For Ukrainian newcomers, 4 categories of eligibility are detailed as A-E: Category A includes citizens or nationals of Ukraine who the DHS has paroled into the US between February 24, 2022, and September 30, 2024, known as Ukrainian Humanitarian Parolees (UHPs). Category B includes non-Ukrainian individuals who last habitually resided in Ukraine and the DHS paroled into the US between February 24, 2022, and September 30, 2024. Category C includes the spouses and children of an individual described above in A or B, who is paroled into the US after September 30, 2023. Category D is the parent, legal guardian, or primary caregiver of an unaccompanied refugee minor or child described above in A or B who is paroled into the US after September 30, 2023. Category E refers to citizens and nationals of Ukraine whose refugee and entrant assistance activities are authorized with an eligibility date of February 24, 2022.

Dates of eligibility for Ukrainian parolees have been updated with those entering the US between February 24, 2022 — Sept 30, 2023, now having an eligibility of May 21, 2022, or their date of parole whichever is later. For those paroled between October 1, 2023 — Sept 30, 2024, their date of eligibility is April 24, 2024, or their date of parole, whichever is later.

The WSP courses may count toward Adult Basic Education, Job Search (Supervised Job Search under CalFresh E&T) and Job Readiness, Job Skills Training, Soft Skill Development, Education Directly Related to Employment, Vocational Education and Training, Secondary Education, and  English as a Second Language (ESL).

Individuals involved in the activities may also have supervised or unsupervised homework time in their WTW and/or Family Self-Sufficiency Plan (FSSP). Up to one hour of unsupervised homework for each class and the actual hours spent on supervised homework can be used as participation. The only documentation required for unsupervised homework time is a statement from the educational program indicating the amount of homework time required. Because of this, all WSP hours are considered supervised homework time and can be documented.

The WSP offers CalFresh E&T Activities under the Education and Supervised Job Search sections. Participants may also receive supportive services like mobile phones or internet access for Cell Ed. counties must include the WSP in their CalFresh Employment and Training Annual Plans. The WSP can satisfy the county-approved employment-directed education/training requirements for benefits. If participants demonstrate satisfactory progress, the WSP recommends that participation hours include course time and additional independent practice. For CalFresh Employment and Training, every hour spent on the program three additional hours should be credited for homework time or content reinforcement.  (ACWDL, July 9, 2024.)

Increase in CalFresh Standard Medical Expense Deduction

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California currently has a Standard Medical Expense deduction of $120 per month under a project scheduled to last until September 30, 2025.  This means that households with an elderly or disabled get a standard medical deduction amount of $120 per month if they can verify at least $35 per month of medical expenses.

Effective October 1, 2024, the Standard Medical Expense deduction will increase to $150 per month.  This means that households with an elderly or disabled member and between $35 and $185 of medical expenses per month will get a standard $150 per month deduction.  Households with over $185 in medical expenses will be able to deduct their actual medical expenses.

To pay for this increase in the Standard Medical Expense deduction, the Standard Utility Allowance offset will increase from $3 to $4 per month for all households starting October 1, 2024.

Failure to verify medical expenses is not a basis to deny or discontinue a case.  If a household does not verify medical expenses, they will not get the medical expense deduction.  The county must help applicants and recipients to get verification.

Eligible households must be informed about the new medical expense dedication amount and how to claim the medical expense deduction at both application and recertification. (ACL 24-59, August 16, 2024.)

Social Security updates listing of available occupations

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Effective June 22, 2024, the Social Security Administration determined that 114 occupations listed in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles are not isolated jobs that can no longer be used to find that a person is not disabled.

Social Security disability determinations use a five step sequential evaluation process: 1) Is the person working or earning less than the defined substantial gainful activity amount? 2) Does the person have a severe impairment? 3) Does the condition meet or equal a listed impairment? 4) Can the person do their past relevant work? 5) Is there any work in the national economy that the person can do?

The rules change is about the fifth step of the sequential evaluation.  Social Security uses the Dictionary of Occupational Titles to determine whether a potential job exists substantial numbers in the national economy.  If Social Security finds that a person can do a job that exists in substantial numbers in the national economy, then Social Security will find them to be not disabled.  Social Security has determined that 114 jobs that are listed in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles no longer exist in the national economy in substantial numbers and therefore cannot be used to support a not disabled determination.

In addition, Social Security identified 13 jobs listed in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles that federal court have questioned.  Social Security is implementing an additional evidence requirement for those 13 jobs for a finding that they do exist in substantial numbers in the national economy.  (Social Security Matters, June 24, 2024, EM-24026, June 22, 2024, and EM-24027, June 22, 2024.)

Posted in SSI

Social Security reduces past relevant work consideration to 5 years

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Effective June 22, 2024, the Social Security Administration has reduced the past relevant work consideration to five years.

Social Security disability determinations use a five step sequential evaluation process: 1) Is the person working or earning less than the defined substantial gainful activity amount? 2) Does the person have a severe impairment? 3) Does the condition meet or equal a listed impairment? 4) Can the person do their past relevant work? 5) Is there any work in the national economy that the person can do?

The rules change is about the fourth step of the sequential evaluation.  Previously, Social Security looked at work for the past 15 years to determine if the person could do past relevant work.  That past relevant work period is now reduced to five years.

In addition, Social Security will no longer consider work that was done for less than 30 calendar days as past relevant work.  (Social Security Matters, June 26, 2024.)

Posted in SSI

Benefits eligibility for citizens of freely associated states

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Effective March 9, 2024, citizens of the Compact of Free Association states of Micronesia, Palau, and the Marshall Islands are eligible for federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits (CalFresh in California).  This population is not subject to a waiting period and is immediately eligible for benefits.

State agencies must verify the immigration status of this population using the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system.

Members of this population who applied for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits on or after March 9, 2024 and were denied may reapply to be determined eligible from the date of reapplication.  In addition, people who applied and were denied can request a hearing within 90 days of the denial[1] and if the Administrative Law Judge determines that the household was eligible at the time of application, benefits can be issued retroactive to the date of application.

As a best practice, states should track members of this population who were denied benefits on or after March 9, 2024 and do outreach to encourage them to reapply or request a hearing.

Citizens of the Compact of Free Association states of American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands remain ineligible for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.   (FNS Memo, July 12, 2024.)

The California Department of Social Services has now issued a policy that mirrors the FNS memo except that when the date of denial is within 30 days, counties must reopen the application and process it in accordance with the new rules.  (ACL 24-61, August 21, 2024.)

NOTE:  Citizens of the Compact of Free Association states of Micronesia, Palau, and the Marshall Islands are now also eligible for Medicaid.  (P.L. 118-42, Section 209(f)(1).)

[1] In California, that 90 day deadline can be extended to 180 days for good cause, and the 90 time limit does not begin to run if the denial notice does not meet legal requirements.