Acknowledging that inclusion of promissory notes along with CalWORKs overpayment notices of action constituted an unlawful demand in violation of its regulations (MPP Section 44-351.1), CDSS directed counties to stop sending such agreements to reimburse. Recipients may still voluntarily request a reimbursement agreement, which must be in writing and clearly indicate that repayment is voluntary. CDSS further instructed counties to begin using a new form, CW 2217 “CalWORKs Request for Voluntary Repayment,” which they may provide upon request as long as the recipient has asked if he or she may voluntarily repay, the overpayment was already explained to the recipient, the county did not initiate or request the repayment, and the recipient understands he or she may suspend the repayment at any time. ACL 15-13.
Summaries of select CalWORKs, CalFresh, Health and Housing Regulations
CalWORKs
AB 1614 codifies existing practices and establishes new requirements for EBT program
CDSS has published instructions to local county welfare departments to assure compliance with recently enacted AB 1614 (2014). Its provisions codify a range of established practices in California’s EBT program, the default payment mechanism for CalFresh, CalWORKs, Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA), Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants (CAPI), and several other state-administered cash programs, as well as some local county general assistance programs. AB 1614 also establishes a set of new requirements to make certain elements of the EBT program easier to use by recipients, including more ready access to the recipient’s EBT account information. Among the requirements now codified in AB 1614 are:
- 24-hour recipient access by toll-free telephone so they can hear a listing of their last ten EBT transactions, with the option to request by telephone to have a copy of their transaction history detail for the past two months mailed to them;
- Local county welfare offices must make a recipient’s EBT transaction history available to them within 10 business days of such a request, at no cost to the recipient;
- The EBT system must establish the capacity to deliver “system outage alerts” to recipients, to inform them when the system is not functioning or is expected not to function for more than one hour between 6am and midnight during any 24-hour period;
- Recipients must be informed by the county welfare department where they can use their EBT cards to withdraw benefits without incurring a fee, charge, or surcharge;
- If a local county welfare department makes direct deposit available to its employees, then it must also make direct deposit available to its CalWORKs recipients.
Providing recipients with information about how to access their EBT benefits without surcharge fees is no small matter. CDSS confirms in this ACL that “almost two-thirds of ATM withdrawals made by EBT recipients incur surcharge fees.” (Federal law prohibits surcharge fees for CalFresh transactions.) CDSS also notes that recipients can access the MoneyPass website (or its mobile apps, linked there) to locate ATMs that provide surcharge-free transactions. ACL 15-39 (April 21, 2015).
Updated County instructions about verification of Social Security numbers and income
In July 2014, the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced the availability of SSA benefit verification letters and other SSA verification processes, via its My Social Security site. CDSS has now issued updated instructions (along with a few pointed reminders) to counties about the changes in the SSA processes for verification of Social Security account information, and how they relate to largely unchanged CDSS requirements for a client’s submission of Social Security numbers and income information. The specifics for verification of Social Security account information vary somewhat in the CalWORKs, Medi-Cal and and CalFresh programs, highlighted here. There is language here that is horatory but still helpful to the client’s cause, where CDSS reminds counties that “the CWD shall make every effort to assist the individual in obtaining the documents necessary to submit a complete application for a SSN card” and “strongly recommends that counties ensure that the forms they are using are adequate in providing all necessary information to clients.” ACIN I-24-15 (April 13, 2015).
Welfare to Work’s altered “flow”
Beginning in 2014, CDSS implemented AB 74, which changed the sequence of activities for CalWORKs Welfare to Work (WTW) participants provided in Welf. & Inst. Code Section 11320.1 in order to better serve individuals who face significant barriers to employment in light of the WTW 24-month clock. AB 74 permits participants to bypass the job search (job market test) when the participant is identified as having potential barriers to employment, such as mental health, substance abuse or domestic abuse, which warrant further assessment during the appraisal process. AB 74 also provides for a standardized appraisal tool to identify such individuals. That tool, the Online CalWORKs Appraisal Tool (OCAT), is to be implemented in Spring 2015. When significant barriers are identified during appraisal, the participant should be evaluated for a WTW exemption and referred for barrier evaluation and related services when appropriate. ACL 15-09.
High unemployment stops the CalWORKs clock in Indian Country
After conducting a survey on the unemployment rate of adults in federally recognized tribes, CDSS has determined which tribes experienced an unemployment rate of 50 percent or higher in 2013, providing CalWORKs and tribal TANF recipients exemptions from the CalWORKs time limits during those months of high unemployment. A recipient may still qualify for an exemption if CDSS has not recognized the tribe’s unemployment rate, but must obtain written documentation from the federally-recognized tribe that adult unemployment was 50 percent or higher during the months in question. ACL 14-108.
New CalWORKs form for self-certifying motor vehicle value
CDSS released the CW 80 in February, which is to be used by CalWORKs applicants and recipients to report the equity value of motor vehicles owned by the assistance unit. Only equity value in excess of $9,500 is counted against the unit’s resource limit and no equity value is counted for vehicles driven by a household member younger than 18 to commute for employment, job search or to training or education intended to lead to employment. If a recipient reports that a vehicle was a gift, donation or family transfer, he or she must obtain verification from the Department of Motor Vehicles of the transaction and provide that to the county. ACL 15-27.