Author: Stephen Goldberg

Effect of SSI COLA on CalFresh benefits

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Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients received a Cost of Living Increase effective January 1, 2022.  The new SSI amount must be acted on for CalFresh purposes no later than March, 2022.  This will happen automatically for most CalFresh cases. Counties must manually process some cases, including cases that receive SSI amount that are more than the maximum monthly SSI payment (because of a retroactive SSI payment for example).  Supplemental Nutrition Benefits and Transitional Nutrition Benefit cases are not affected by the SSI COLA increase.

Note that retroactive SSI payments are excluded as income for CalFresh purposes.  January 2022 should include a higher than usual number of retroactive payments because of improper benefits reductions and denials caused by Social Security incorrectly counting pandemic benefits as income.  Any cases with amounts over the SSI maximum payment will be excluded from automatic processing to prevent improperly counting SSI retroactive payments.

As a reminder, amounts recouped from SSI benefits, including recoupment of SSI overpayments, do not count as income for CalFresh. (ACIN I-11-22, January 28, 2022.)

Stage One Child Care eligibility age

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Stage One child care is available to every CalWORKs participant with a dependent child in the household who is age 12 or younger.  Children who reach age 13 are generally ineligible for subsidized child care.  Children with exceptional needs or severe disabilities may receive child care through age 21.  Children who are under court supervision can receive Stage One Child Care to age 18.

Children who certified for child care prior to their thirteenth birthday may receive child care for 12 months.  Contractors cannot disenroll a child when they turn age thirteen during the 12-month eligibility period and must allow the child to continue in subsidized child care until the family’s next recertification.  Counties must give families a Notice of Action stating the duration of eligibility that includes an end date of eligibility which must be through the 12-month eligibility period.  (Child Care Bulletin 22-04, January 13, 2022.)

COVID-19 CalFresh emergency allotment for January, 2022

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California has been approved to issue an emergency allotment of CalFresh for January, 2022.  All households will receive at least the maximum CalFresh allotment.  Households eligible to receive the maximum allowable allotment based on household size are now eligible to receive an emergency allotment of $95 per month. Households who are not eligible to receive the maximum allowable allotment based on household size, but whose emergency allotment would be less than $95 per month to receive the maximum allotment, will receive additional CalFresh benefits to raise their emergency allotment to the $95 minimum.

The emergency allotment will be issued on February 27, 2022.

Moving forward, emergency allotments may be approved by FNS on a month-to-month basis until the Secretary of Health and Human Services rescinds the public health emergency.  There will be a one-month phase out of emergency allotments after the public health emergency is rescinded.  (ACWDL, January 21, 2022.)

Approved Relative Caregiver benefits eligibility for out-of-state placements

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The Adult Relative Caregiver (ARC) program provides payments on behalf of children and Non-Minor Dependants (NMDs) who are placed with approved relatives, but are not eligible for Aid to Families with Dependent Care-Foster Care payments, and meet other existing eligibility requirements. 

Effective January 1, 2022, ARC payments are available on behalf of children/NMDs in out-of-state placements with relatives when the children/NMDs are not eligible for AFDC-FC.

Homes must be licensed or approved in the receiving state consistent with the requirements of the state in which the home is located. The county placing agency is responsible for contacting the receiving state to determine these requirements. 

This ARC eligibility does not change a foster child or nonminor dependent’s (NMDs) eligibility to receive CalWORKs when placed in another state. If a child is placed in a state where the
host state’s foster care rate is lower than California’s CalWORKs grant for an Assistance Unit of one, then the relative caregiver can opt to receive CalWORKs instead of ARC. Counties should
inform caregivers of the option to receive CalWORKs payments or receive ARC.  (ACL 21-141, December 3, 2021 and ACL 21-141E, February 1, 2022.)

Posted in ARC

Social Security hold on failure to provide information suspensions

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The Social Security Administration (SSA) has temporarily changed its procedures about benefits suspension for failure to provide information.  SSA will be changing its procedures for suspending benefits for failing to provide information.  Until that change is made, SSA will not suspend payments for failure to provide information.  If at any time the recipient provides the requested information, benefits should be processed normally.

For redeterminations and other post-eligibility issues, SSA should exhaust all efforts to obtain the requested information.  If the issue remains unresolved, payments continue until the moratorium on suspending benefits ends.

For continuing disability review cases, SSA will develop the cases but cannot suspend benefits until the moratorium on suspending benefits ends.

The moratorium on suspending benefits will remain in place until further notice.  (EM 21079, December 23, 2021.)

Posted in SSI