BenefitsCal Release of Information

Posted on May 10, 2023 by Stephen Goldberg

The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has announced the release of the integrated release of information form for BenefitsCal.

Currently, people can request access to their county welfare department file using the ABCDM 228 form, or an alternative document that identifies the participant releasing the information and the agency institution or provider to whom information is released.

People can grant access to the county welfare department case file information in BenefitsCal using the ABCDM 229 form, which will be integrated into the BenefitsCal portal. The ABCDM 229 form is the only way for a community based organization (CBO) to access client information on BenefitsCal. Either the benefits applicant or the CBO can submit ABCDM 229 form by document upload to BenefitsCal. The ABCDM 229 can also be submitted to the county in a paper format.

With a ABCDM 229 release of information, CBOs can access notice of action, verification requests, benefit award, program status, termination reasons, and upcoming SAR 7 and renewal dates. CBOs will be able to access information in BenefitsCal for up to 1 year. However, benefits award, program status, termination reasons and upcoming SAR 7 and renewal due dates will be limited to 60 days of case history.

To have access to BenefitsCal, a CBO must have a formal written agreement with the state or with any county, and have been approved by a county for a CBO account. After the ABCD 229 is submitted, the county will determine whether the person who signed the form is the primary applicant in the household and whether the data elements in the system align with the information in the form. If not, the county may contact the applicant to resolve any discrepancies. If the county cannot resolve the issues, the form will remain pending for up to 365 days. The county should fix data mismatches can be easily resolved (such as using the name Jim instead of James) without contacting the applicant.

Applicants can revoke a release of information at any time. CBOs cannot revoke a release of information.

A separate ABCDM 229 is required for each county that a client has a case in (for example if a client moves) and for each CBO that the client authorizes. (ACL 23-37, May 1, 2023.)

End of COVID expansion of CalFresh student exemptions

Posted on May 1, 2023 by Stephen Goldberg

During COVID-19, there were two additional exemptions to the CalFresh rule that students are ineligible for CalWORKs: students who were eligible for federal or state work study and students who had an Expected Family Contribution of zero dollars. These new exemptions will no longer be available to new CalFresh applicants beginning on June 10, 2023 (30 days after the end of the federal Public Health Emergency).

Students who are currently exempt under one of the COVID-19 exemptions must remain exempt until their next annual recertification. Student status is not redetermined mid-period or periodic report. Beginning July 1, 2023, students who must do annual recertification will need to meet one of the permanent exemptions to the CalFresh student rule in order to be eligible.

As temporary students exemptions expire, counties should screen students for all allowable exemptions. (ACIN I-18-23, April 26, 2023.)

Disaster CalFresh for San Bernardino County May 2023

Posted on April 28, 2023 by Stephen Goldberg

The California Department of Social Services has issued guidance and information regarding implementation of Disaster CalFresh for San Bernardino County in May, 2023. Disaster CalFresh has been approved for the following ZIP codes in San Bernardino County: 91759 (Mt Baldy), 92305 (Angelus Oaks), 92314 (Big Bear City), 92315 (Big Bear Lake), 92321 (Lake Arrowhead), 92322 (Crestline), 92325 (Crestline), 92333 (Fawnskin), 92339 (Forest Falls), 92341 (Green Valley Lake), 92352 (Lake Arrowhead), 92372 (Pinon Hills), 92378 (Lake Arrowhead), 92382 (Running Springs), 92385 (Lake Arrowhead), 92386 (Big Bear City), 92391 (Lake Arrowhead), and 92397 (Wrightwood), 92317 (Lake Arrowhead), 92399 (Yucaipa), 92359 (Mentone), 92407 (North San Bernardino), 92404 (North San Bernardino), 92392 (Victorville), 92344 (Oak Hills), and 92371 (Phelan).

Disaster CalFresh provides one month of temporary food assistance to households affected by natural disasters who were not already receiving CalFresh.

To be eligible for Disaster CalFresh, a household must have:

1) lived or worked in the disaster impacted county at the time of the disaster;

2) Purchased or planned to purchase food during the benefits period, which is February 21, 2023 through March 22, 2023;

3) Experienced an adverse effects because of the disaster, such as food loss, loss of income, inaccessible resources, or disaster-related expenses;

4) Meet the Disaster Gross Income Limit. To be eligible, the household’s income received plus accessible liquid resources, minus disaster related expenses, must be less than the Disaster Gross Income Limit.

A Disaster CalFresh household includes people who lived and purchased and prepared food together on the start date of the disaster. A Disaster CalFresh household does not include people who the applicant is temporarily staying with at the time of application due to the disaster. A Disaster CalFresh household may include people who had been excluded from an ongoing CalFresh household at the time of the disaster.

Disaster CalFresh requires verification of 1) Identity; 2. Residency and loss/inaccessibility of income or liquid resources, if possible; and 3. Household composition and food loss, when questionable.

While identity verification is required, a specific type of documentary proof is not Acceptable identity verification may include, but is not limited to, a driver’s license, a work or school identification card, an identification card for health benefits, a voter registration card, a foreign passport, and “matricula consulares.”

A social security number is not required to apply for D-CalFresh.

To the extent possible, verification of residency should be satisfied via information from other sources, such as a rent or mortgage billing statement, utility billing statement, and identity documents. No specific type of documentary proof is required.

Counties should assist households in obtaining necessary verification. This includes, with the client’s permission, verifying information through alternative sources such as online banking or utility accounts, and using collateral contacts.

Certified households must be able to access benefits within 72 hours of application, which begins to run on the day of the interview.

Authorized representatives may assist with Disaster CalFresh applications following the same policy as for regular CalFresh.

The Disaster CalFresh application for San Bernardino County is May 1, 2023 through May 5, 2023, and May 8, 2023 through May 9, 2023. The filing date is the day that the interview is completed and not the day that county receives the application. Applicants must complete the CF 385 form and submit it during the application period. Applications can be submitted by phone, online or in person. When accepting Disaster CalFresh applications by phone, verbal attestation is acceptable. Applicants who submit the application and verification online will be called for an interview within 24 hours. If an online application does not have a phone number, the county must send the applicant a reminder notice to complete the interview no later than April 28, 2023.

Disaster CalFresh interviews should be done in-person when possible, but they can be done by phone. (ACWDL, April 28, 2023.)

Eligibility of Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan parolees for federal and state benefits

Posted on April 28, 2023 by Stephen Goldberg

The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has issued guidance regarding eligibility of Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan parolees for federal and state benefits.

Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan refugees and asylees are eligible for CalWORKs, CalFresh, SSI, Refugee Cash Assistance, and Refugee Support Services. Asylum applicants are not eligible for federally funded benefits and services unless they hold another qualifying status.

Humanitarian parolees are generally not eligible for federal benefits. Nicaraguan and Venezuelan parolees are not eligible for refugee benefits and services. Cubans and Haitians who arrive in the United States under the supporter-based parole process are eligible for benefits to the same extent as refugees.

Temporary Protected Status holders are not eligible for most federal or state benefits or services.

For Refugee Cash Assistance, counties can accept a declaration under penalty of perjury that the individual has a qualifying immigration status if the worker is unable to confirm status after reviewing documents that suggest eligibility. Refugee Cash Assistance applicants are not required to provide Social Security Numbers.

Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan parolees are eligible for CalWORKs because humanitarian parolees have Permanent Residence Under Color of Law. As CalWORKs recipients, they are eligible for Welfare-To-Work services, Family Stabilization, domestic abuse survivor services, Housing Support Program, Homeless Assistance, Bringing Families Home, Housing and Disability Advocacy Program, and Home Safe. Housing Support Program and Homeless Assistance can supplement federal refugee resettlement funding.

Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan parolees are eligible for Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants.

Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan parolees may be eligible for CalFresh or the California Food Assistance Program if they have been paroled into the United States for at least one year.

Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan parolees may be eligible for Medi-Cal.

Counties must submit cases to the SAVE system for verification.

Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan parolees can present a copy of their electronic Form I-94. Additional verification may be required in limited circumstances, such as when information from the applicant does not match federal immigration records. (ACIN I-13-22, April 20, 2023.)

Requirements for truncating Social Security Numbers

Posted on April 20, 2023 by Stephen Goldberg

The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has issued guidance regarding AB 499 (2020) that requires mailings from state agencies, which includes counties operating state and federal programs on behalf of CDSS, to only include the last four digits of a Social Security Number in outgoing mail.

Effective January 1, 2023, with limited exceptions, state agencies must only include the last four digits of a Social Security Number in outgoing mail. Computer systems must make changes to implement this requirement. County processes must be revised to meet this requirement. Computer systems that must make changes to comply include, but are not limited to, CalSAWS and BenefitsCal, CMIPS, ACMS, EBT, Child Welfare Services/Case Management System, Child Welfare Services CARES, and County Expense Claim Reporting Information System.

If a system is unable to make necessary changes in a reasonable timeframe, the system must implement a workaround to redact or truncate all Social Security Numbers in outgoing mail.

Counties should report any mailings that violate this requirement to CDSS using the breach and incident process. (ACL 23-17, January 31, 2023.)

Disaster CalFresh April 2023

Posted on April 17, 2023 by Stephen Goldberg

The California Department of Social Services has issued guidance and information regarding implementation of Disaster CalFresh for April, 2023 for the California winter storms and power outages. Disaster CalFresh has been approved for Kern, Mariposa, Monterey, San Benito, Santa Cruz, Tulare, and Tuolumne Counties.