Author: Stephen Goldberg

Paper copies of electronically submitted CalFresh applications

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The United States Department of Agriculture  Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has granted a statewide waiver for the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) to allow counties to not provide a paper copy of an electronic CalFresh application submitted in person at a local office unless the client requests one.  The waiver is effective until June 30, 2024.

Counties must give clients who submit an electronic application in person at a local office the opportunity to review the information recorded electronically.  Counties must give clients the opportunity to get a paper copy of information submitted electronically.

Counties must inform clients who submit an electronic application in person at a local office that they will be given a paper copy upon request.  Each local office must post clear and visible signs or posters in the area where clients apply for benefits electronically, or use other methods, to inform clients of their right to get a paper copy of the information submitted electronically.  (ACL 20-98, August 31, 2020.)

 

COVID-19 extension of reverification of employment and appraisals for FHA Single Family loans

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The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development has extended temporary changes to re-verification of employment and appraisal rules for FHA Single Family programs that were announced in Mortgagee Letter 2020-05, summarized here.  Until October 31, 2020, mortgagees do not need to re-verify employment within 10 days of the Note or within 10 days of loan disbursement if there is no loss of employment by the borrower.

Appraisers may do Exterior-only (viewing from the street) or Desktop-Only (relying on various documents and not viewing the property) appraisals for FHA Single Family loans.

There changes also apply to refinances and reverse mortgages.  (Mortgagee Letter 2020-28, August 28, 2020.)

COVID-19 Extension of FHA mortgage and eviction moratorium

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FHA has extended until December 31, 2020 its directive that properties secured by FHA- insured Single Family mortgages are subject to a moratorium on foreclosure, announced in Mortgagee Letter 2020-04, summarized here. This is the third extension of this moratorium.  The moratorium applies to initiation of and completion of the foreclosure process.

Evictions of persons from properties secured by FHA- insured Single Family mortgages are suspended until December 31, 2020.

Deadlines for the first legal action and reasonable diligence timelines are extended by 90 days from the date of expiration of this moratorium.  (Mortgagee Letter 2020-27, August 27, 2020.)

COVID-19 Social Security waiver of overpayments during COVID-19

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The Social Security Administration has issued an interim final rule regarding waiver of certain overpayments that accrued during the COVID-19 pandemic. Overpayments incurred between March 1, 2020 and September 30, 2020 that Social Security did not manually process because of its cession of certain activities are eligible for a streamlined waiver process.  Social Security will assume that these overpayments were the result of Social Security ceasing certain operations and that it would be against equity and good conscience to collect them and will waive the debt.

Overpayments that qualify for the streamlined waiver process include overpayments caused by suspended Title XVI redeterminations, not processing information in the claimant’s file, and other suspended actions.  Overpayments identified through automated processes such as computer interfaces with the Veterans Administration are not eligible for streamlined waiver because those matches continued to be processed during COVID-19.

Streamlined waiver will not apply to overpayments caused by fraud or misuse of funds by a representative payee.  Only the portion of an overpayment that occurred between March 1, 2020 and September 30, 2020 is eligible for streamlined waiver.

Auxiliary beneficiaries may be eligible for streamlined waiver even if the primary beneficiary is not eligible for streamlined waiver for the overpayment.

Overpayments that are not eligible for streamlined waiver may still be eligible for the regular waiver process.

Social Security will not issue refunds outside of the regular waiver process for overpayment recovery that occurred during the pandemic period.

The streamlined waiver process applies to qualifying overpayments that Social Security identifies before December 31, 2020.

Between August 31, 2020 and December 31, 2020, overpayment notices will direct beneficiaries to contact their local field office about their overpayment or to request an overpayment waiver.  Field offices will review the case to determine if streamlined waiver applies.  If it does, the field office will document the waiver request and attest to the beneficiary’s signature.  The beneficiary will not be required to complete the full SSA-632 Request for Waiver or provide supporting information about their income and expenses to make the waiver determination.

Beginning August 31, 2020, Social Security intends to resume its normal workload.

This interim final rule is effective on August 27, 2020. Comments on the rule are due on October 26, 2020.  (Waiver of Recovery of Certain Overpayment Debts Accruing During the COVID-19 Pandemic Period, 85 Fed. Reg. 52909.)

Family Urgent Response System for foster caregivers and children or youth

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The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has issued information regarding Family Urgent Response System for foster caregivers and children or youth (FURS).

FURS is a coordinate statewide, regional and county-level system to provide state-level phone-based response and county-level in-home in-person mobile response during situations of instability for the purpose of preserving the relationship between the caregiver and the child or youth, provide conflict management, and connect the caregiver to local services.

CDSS must establish a state-wide toll free hotline that is available 24 hours per day, seven days per week.  Hotline still will provide de-escalation and conflict management and warm handoff to the County Mobile Response Team where services are needed.

The County Mobile Response Team must be available 24 hours per day, seven days per week, to provide immediate face-to-face in-home response to address instability and preserve the relationship between the caregiver and the child or youth.  Counties must submit a plan to CDSS by November 15, 2020 describing how they will meet the County Mobile Response Team County Mobile Response Team requirements.  (ACL 20-89, August 6, 2020.)

COVID-19 CalFresh emergency allotment for September 2020

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California has been approved to issue an emergency allotment of CalFresh for September, 2020.  The emergency allotment will be issued on October 18 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.

Note that the August 2020 emergency allotment will issued on September 13, 2020, not September 12 as previously announced.

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, August 24, 2020.)