Author: Stephen Goldberg

CalWORKs special needs

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The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) provides guidance about CalWORKs special needs payments.  A special need is a need not common to a majority of CalWORKs recipients for goods or services which are essential for their support.  Counties are responsible for assisting the applicant or recipient in identifying any special needs which they may have.  Counties must provide applicants or recipients with a clear explanation of the types of special needs allowances, and the procedure for getting them.  Special needs payments are based on either recurring or nonrecurring special needs.

A recurring special need is a need that results in added cost to the family and which is expected to occur during two or more months in a calendar year.  The recurring special needs allowance for each family per month must not exceed $10 per for each recipient in the family who is eligible.

Recurring special needs include therapeutic diets, unusual costs of transportation, laundry, telephone, housekeeping service, and utilities.

Persons who are not aided because they are excluded from the assistance unit are not eligible for a recurring special need allowance, nor is an individual with a penalty that requires that their needs not be considered in the Maximum Aid Payment.  Individual who have a child support penalty may be eligible for special needs payment because their needs continue to be considered in the Maximum Aid Payment determination.

Nonrecurring special needs are for household emergencies resulting from sudden and unusual circumstances beyond the assistance unit’s control, and homelessness when the assistance unit is seeking permanent housing.  After a family has used all available resources in excess of $100, an assistance unit is entitled to receive a nonrecurring special needs payment for household emergencies.  The maximum payment is $600.  Sudden and unusual does not necessarily mean clients must be unaware of the circumstances happening in advance.  Examples of nonrecurring special needs are: clothing and household equipment, damage to the assistance unit’s home, and interim shelter.

Nonrecurring special needs also include homeless assistance and pregnancy special needs.

Before a special need payment is authorized, evidence must establish the conditions under which the need may be allowed are met, the total cost of the need and the payment plan, the proportion of the cost borne by the recipient if the need is shared with others, and the period over which the need will continue.  In addition to medical verification where applicable, clients must provide receipts stating the amount paid or owed for the expense.

Mid-period reports of a special needs request is mandatory.  As such, a CalWORKs recipient may report having a special need at any time during the payment period.  (ACIN I-72-20, October 28, 2020.)

COVID-19 county welfare department office access

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The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) reminds counties of their legal requirements to ensure applicants and recipients have access to public social services benefits and services during an emergency or disaster.  Absent an order from federal, state or local officials to close counties to the public, counties must continue to offer in-person assistance to applicants and recipients in addition to telephone and internet assistance.

If a county closes during regular business hours, the county must: 1) provide the opportunity to file an application for and receive benefits within mandated timeframes by making applications available and providing a drop-box, mail slot or other reasonable means for filing applications; 2) provide the opportunity to file an application for and receive expedited CalFresh, immediate need CalWORKs, and homeless assistance by maintaining sufficient staff to accept and act on all such applications, and/or maintain a local telephone service with sufficient staff to accept and act upon all applications as if the requests has been made in person at the county office; 3) have a telephone announcement with working days and times, when the offices will be closed, and procedures for applying for benefits, and 4) post notices at welfare department offices of times when the office will be closed, procedures to obtain and file applications, and procedures for applying for and receiving expedited CalFresh, immediate need CalWORKs and homeless assistance within mandated time frames.

Counties must provide access to benefits and services by telephone in a timely manner.  Extended wait times, which require applicants and recipients to hold for hours or call back on multiple days are not compliant.

Best practices for counties include triaging client needs to limit lobby traffic and the number of people in the lobby, setting up stations outside of the county office to accept applications and screen for eligibility, providing accessible phones for clients when the county provides applications in boxes outside of a partially closed office, setting up drive through drop-off stations for no contact delivery of documents, issuing homeless assistance benefits to the client’s EBT card, and offering pick-up mail services for homeless clients.

Counties can also set up a laptop pilot program to loan participants mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets, and establish a Digital Navigator program to help clients with digital access and learning, and developing digital skills.  (ACIN I-76-20, November 4, 2020.)

COVID-19 Pandemic EBT extension

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The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has issued information about the extension of Pandemic EBT (P-EBT).  P-EBT was a food benefit for eligible school aged children for March through June, 2020.  California was approved to issue additional P-EBT benefits for August and September, 2020 to provide nutrition benefits for children who would otherwise receive free or reduced-price school meals if not for COVID-19.

Most children who received P-EBT will receive P-EBT extension benefits.  Children who received P-EBT will receive extension benefits if they are still a California registered student, can be assumed to be attending school via virtual instruction, and are found to be eligible through the State’s data match program.  New P-EBT cards with additional benefits will be automatically mailed to families without the family needing to apply online.

Children who are newly eligible for free or reduced-price school meals for the 2020-21 school year are not eligible for P-EBT extension benefits.  This includes children who just started school for the first time as a preschooler or kindergartner.

There is no standard amount due under the P-EBT extension.  Benefit amounts are based on individual student and school level data.  The amount an individual child is eligible to receive depends on the child’s start date of virtual instruction for the 2020-21 school year. P-EBT extension will be provided based on the school meal reimbursement rate of $5.86 per day for each qualifying day of virtual instruction.  The maximum amount of P-EBT extension benefits is $246.

With the issuance of P-EBT extension benefits, counties will no longer be responsible for providing cardholder support.  The P-EBT Helpline will provide ongoing cardholder support.  During a two-week transition period, counties and the P-EBT Helpline will provide cardholder support simultaneously.  The P-EBT Helpline is (877) 328-9677.  The P-EBT Helpline can assist with PIN set-up and P-EBT card replacement.  The P-EBT Helpline cannot help with children not found in the system.  The time for eligibility appeals has expired.

California has been granted authority, pending federal approval, to provide P-EBT for the 2020-21 school year, including children attending qualifying child care.  That program will be called P-EBT 2.0.  CDSS will provide more information after California’s plan is approved.  (ACWDL, November 2, 2020.)

COVID-19 CalFresh emergency allotment for November 2020

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California has been approved to issue an emergency allotment of CalFresh for November, 2020.  The emergency allotment will be issued on December 20 to raise each household’s monthly CalFresh allotment to the maximum allowable for the household size.  Per guidance from the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), households already receiving the maximum allotment are not eligible to receive an emergency allotment.

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. (ACWDL, October 30, 2020.)

Return of CalWORKs 60-month time limit

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Effective May 1, 2022, or when automation is complete, whichever is later, adults will be eligible to receive CalWORKs for a maximum of 60 countable months.  The 60-month time limit replaces the current 48-month time limit.  Months that will count toward the 60-month time limit are: all months of CalWORKs received since January, 1998, all months with a special needs payment received, all months of a zero basic grant, all months of CalWORKs immediate need received, all months of diversion payments received, all months of aid received as aid paid pending, all months of CalWORKs received as an overpayment that exceeded the CalWORKs time limit, all months of TANF received from other states since January 1, 1998, and all months of Tribal TANF received since January, 1998.

Months that do not count toward the time-on-aid limit are: months of TANF received in another state between September, 1996 and December 1997, months in which an adult was exempt from CalWORKs welfare-to-work participation, months in which a full-month of a CalWORKs overpayment is repaid, months for which a retroactive disability exemption was granted, months that have not counted toward the time limit because of COVID-19, months in which the adult was not aided because of a sanction.

Adults who reach the federal TANF time limit but who have not reached the CalWORKs time limit will be aided with state funds.

The change in the time-on-aid limit does not change policies about new applications.  An application may be held beyond the 45 day processing deadline if potential eligibility exists within 60 days.  Counties may pend applications if the applicant may be eligible within 60 days because of the time-on-aid limit.

The change in the time-on-aid limit does not change policies about adding new household members.  Annual reporting/child only households must report people who become eligible because of the increase to 60 months time-on-aid, the change within 10 days and if the individual must be added to the assistance unit, the new individual must occur by the next month.

For semi-annual reporting households, persons who become mandatorily included members because of the increase in time-on-aid to 60 months must be reported and added to the assistance at the beginning of the next semi-annual reporting period.  People who are living in the household but are not mandatorily included in the assistance unit must complete the CW 8 form to be added to the assistance unit.

A mass informing notice of the change to 60 months time-on-aid must be sent to all CalWORKs recipients at least 90 days prior to implementation.

Adult recipients will receive an informing notice of their time on aid at their 54th and 57th months on aid.

Aided CalWORKs recipients who need child care to work or participate in welfare-to-work activities may receive subsidized child care.  Adults who previously used 48 months of time on aid will potentially have renewed eligibility for Stage One or Stage Two child care.

Adding an adult to an existing assistance unit may increase the family’s CalFresh grant, and CalFresh benefits may be recalculated as a county-initiated action.

For Medi-Cal, individuals who were previously aided under the MAGI or non-MAGI may need to transition to a cash-linked Medi-Cal aid code.  (ACL 20-113, October 28, 2020.)

COVID-19 extended foster care

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The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has issued guidance regarding flexibility in Extended Foster Care, waivers of age and time limits for Transitional Housing Program-Plus and remote approval of Supervised Independent Living Placements.

Counties must temporarily continue maintenance payments for otherwise eligible non-minor dependents who do not meet any one of five participation criteria: completing secondary education or a program leading to an equivalent credential, enrolled in an institution which provides post-secondary or vocational education, participating in a program designed to promote or remove barriers to employment, employed at least 80 hours per month, or incapable of doing any of these because of a medical condition.

County caseworkers must continue to work with youth to help them to meet one of these participation criteria.

Caseworkers should continue to assist non-minor dependents by review of a previous Transitional Independent Living Plan and helping them to establish goals that meet their needs.

Counties must serve nonminors between age 18 and 21 requesting entry or reentry into extended foster care.  A nonminor’s inability to satisfy participation conditions because of COVID-19 is not a basis to deny entry or reentry into extended foster care because only nonminor’s intent to satisfy at least one participation condition is required.

A placing agency must offer the least-restrictive safe and appropriate available housing for a nonminor upon their entry or reentry into care.

Effective July 1, 2020, counties can complete Supervised Independent Living Placement inspections for non-minor dependents through methods other than in-person visit.

Any county decision to grant, deny, change or terminate payments to a non-minor dependent must be communicated by adequate written notice to the provider and/or non-minor dependent. (ACL 20-112, October 12, 2020.)