Refugee Cash Assistance

Direct deposit of cash benefits

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The California Department of Social Services reminds counties that electronic benefits transfer cardholders can opt-in to receive benefits by direct deposit at any time.  Benefits may be issued by direct deposit for CalWORKs, RCA, CAPI, and Kin-GAP.  Counties must inform recipients and applicants of these programs of the direct deposit option at application and any redetermination.

Delivery of benefits by direct deposit is more secure, and benefits will always arrive on the first of the month.

Demand Deposit Accounts are eligible to receive cash benefits through direct deposit.  (ACIN I-23-23, May 3, 2023.)

Timely issuance of Refugee Cash Assistance benefits

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The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has issued instructions regarding timely issuance of Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA) to and guidelines for nonparticipation in employment services.

RCA provides 12 months of cash assistance for refugees who are ineligible for other programs.  States must determine eligibility for RCA within 30 days of application.

When benefits are issued, recipients must begin to participate in employment services.  Benefits should not be withheld awaiting proof of registration for employment service.  Recipients must register for employment services within 30 days of receiving benefits.  Failure to register and participate in employment services within the first 30 days of receiving benefits without good cause will cause benefits to be discontinued.  Good cause includes failure to obtain work authorization when the delay is not the recipient’s fault.

Disclosure of an applicant’s Social Security number is not required for RCA.

If the recipient does not comply with employment participation requirements without good cause, they are ineligible for RCA for three months for the first occurrence, and six months for each subsequent occurrence.  (ACIN I-20-23, May 12, 2023.)

Treatment of Hospital and Skilling Nursing Facility retention pay for various programs

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Hospital and Skilled Nursing Facility COVID-19 Worker Retention Pay gives eligible full-time employees a one-time payment of up to $1,500, eligible part-time employees a one-time payment of up to $1,250, and eligible physicians a one-time payment of up to $1,000.

The Clinic Workforce Stabilization Retention Payment Program provides funds to eligible clinics make a one-time retention payment to eligible employees.

For CalWORKs and CalFresh, payments under each of these programs are non-recurring lump sums and are therefore not income.  These payments are considered property in the month of receipt.

These payments are not considered income for Refugee Cash Assistance, Entrant Cash Assistance, or Trafficking and Crime Victims Protection Act benefits.

For CAPI, these payments are not income and are excluded as a resource. (ACL 23-21, January 31, 2023.)

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

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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.)

 

Extension of benefits eligibility for Afghan migrants

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The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has provided guidance extension of the arrival timeframe for Afghan Humanitarian Parolees and other persons who have left Afghanistan to be eligible for CalWORKs and CalFresh and refugee resettlement benefits.

Afghan Humanitarian Parolees, and their spouse and children, are eligible for benefits and services to the same extent as refugees.  Persons are Afghan Humanitarian Parolees if they are citizens or national paroled into the United States between July 31, 2021 and December 16, 2022 (an extension of the original cutoff date of September 30, 2022.).  They are eligible from October 1, 2021 or the date they are paroled in the United States, whichever is later, to March 31, 2023, or the end of parolees’ parole term, whichever is later.  Benefits that Humanitarian Parolees, and their spouse, children, parents or legal guardians are eligible for are Refugee Cash Assistance, CalWORKs, CalFresh, SSI, Refugee Support Services, and Services for Older Refugees.  Counties should redetermine eligibility for benefits when parole has expired or by March 31, 2023, whichever is later.

Afghan Special Immigrant Visa holders, Special Immigrant Conditional Permanent Residents, and Afghan Special Immigrant Lawful Permanent Residents are eligible for public benefits to the same extent as refugees if their status is established between July 31, 2021 and December 16, 2022.

Effective November 21, 2022, Afghan parolees and their families with certain classes of admission are considered work authorized without waiting for their employment authorization.  This allows them to enroll in Refugee Cash Assistance employment services.  Their unexpired I-94 is sufficient to show employment authorization for 90 days after they are hired.

Afghan Humanitarian Parolees, and their spouse, children, parents and legal guardian, who are admitted into the United States between July 31, 2021 and December 16, 2022 are eligible for CalFresh.  They are not subject to the five year waiting period for refugees. They are eligible until March 31, 2023.

CDSS has provided an updated list of acceptable verification and an updated chart of acceptable verification.  (ACWDL, December 14, 2022.)

Treatment of CAPP payments for various programs

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The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has issued guidance to County Welfare Departments (CWDs) regarding treatment of California Arrearages Payment Program (CAPP) payments issued to California assistance program applicants and recipients to help pay eligible past due energy bills that increased during the COVID-19 pandemic

CAPP payments do not count as income when determining eligibility and/or grant amount for the CalWORKs program and do not count against the resource limit for the 12 months after receipt of payment. Furthermore, CAPP authorized payments are not considered in-kind income for CalWORKs recipients.

For both CalFresh and the California Food Assistance Program (CFAP), CAPP payments are considered third-party payments that are not owed to the household and therefore are not counted income. CAPP payments are not considered resources for CalFresh and CFAP.

For Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) Medi-Cal, CAPP payments are treated as a qualified disaster relief payment similar to other disaster payments that the IRS exempts from gross income. This means that CAPP payments are not counted in the MAGI Medi-Cal eligibility determination. For Non-MAGI Medi-Cal, CAPP payments are considered exempt disaster and emergency assistance and do not count as income or a resource.

CAPP payments do not count as income for the Cash Assistance Programs for Immigrants (CAPI), because they are considered to be a tax refund. CAPP payments do not count as a resource for CAPI for the 12 months after the payment is made.

RCA, ECA, and TCVAP programs do not count CAPP payments as income and do not count as a resource limit for 12 months after receipt of the payment because their programs use the same rules as CalWORKs. (ACL 22-83, October 21, 2022.)