CDSS guidance regarding COVID-19

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The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has issued guidance regarding the impct of COVID-19 on CalWORKs, CalFresh, housing and homelessness programs, and Refugee Cash Assistance.  Counties must ensure continuity of and safe access to services during pandemic conditions or periods of social distancing.

Current CalWORKs recipients are eligible for waiver of existing rules regarding homeless assistance, including the once-every-12-months limit.

Counties are encouraged to explore Diversion eligibility.  Diversion is designed to address a specific crisis or item of need and may be appropriate for affected families.  People who receive diversion are not subject to work requirements or child support assignment.  However, Diversion payments count toward the 48-month time on aid clock.

For CalWORKs applicants, when evidence concerning eligibility does not exist, the applicant’s sworn statement under penalty of perjury is sufficient except for verification of U.S. citizenship or immigration status, and medical verification of pregnancy.  Written statement is also acceptable to establish residency for the forseeable future.  The photo identification requirement is unchanged, meaning that if the applicant cannot present photo identification within 15 days of application, aid shall continue if the applicant presents evidence of good faith efforts to obtain photo identification.  Income rules remain the same.  Some persons impacted by school or work closures will no longer have an income that is reasonably anticipated.

For CalWORKs, counties can conduct interviews telephonically or by electronic means.  Counties that want to implement electronic/telephonic interviewing now because of COVID-19 can contact CDSS for immediate approval, and must submit a plan to CDSS within one week of implementation.

Counties may provide welfare-to-work good cause or exemptions in response to COVID-19. Good cause determinations should be made on a case-by-case basis.  However, counties can implement county-wide good cause to avoid face-to-face interactions to mitigate COVID-19.

Child care providers may not be reimbursed for days on which the provider is not operating unless that provider has a paid day of non-operation and can provide documentation that contractual terms require parents to pay for days of non-operation.  Reimbursable days of non-operation are limited to 10 days per fiscal year.  Payments to alternative providers when regular providers are not operating are limited to 10 days per child per fiscal year.  Counties must pay for child care on behalf of the client when the child is ill for during excuses absences for illness or quarantine.

For CalFresh, counties should promote online, phone or mail-in applications.  Counties should conduct as many interviews as possible by phone.  Counties should fulfill EBT card replacement requests by phone or mail as often as possible.

Counties must ensure that they are granting maximum allowable CalFresh certification periods.  Counties should maximize use of existing databases for verification.  If a household cannot provide required verification because of unusual circumstances, self-certification can be used.

Counties can exempt households from certain requirements for good cause.

If county offices close during regular business hours, they must make it possible for individuals to apply for and receive CalWORKs and CalFresh, including emergency benefits, within time frames required by state and federal law.  Counties must also provide notice of hours of operation, and procedures during closure hours for applying for and receiving benefits.  These procedures must include making applications available and providing a drop-box or mail slot for filing applications.  Such applications must be deemed to have been filed on the date of the county closure.  Counties must maintain sufficient staff to accept and act upon all applications, and telephone staff to accept and act upon all applications as if they were made in person.  This includes making immediate need available no later than the third calendar day following the application date.

Refugee Cash Assistance and Refugee Support Services will use the CalWORKs guidance.  (ACWDL, March 12, 2020.)

Medi-Cal public health crisis or disaster reminders

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The Department of Health Care Services has issued a reminder regarding Medi-Cal processes during a public health crisis for disaster.  For all populations affected by a public health crisis or disaster, counties must continue to provide benefits beyond the certification period, as needed, to provide additional time to submit renewals or verifications.

Counties must also modify eligibility requirements at application or renewal to allow for self-attestation.  Counties can accept an affidavit under penalty of perjury to verify residency, income and property when individuals are not able to provide necessary verification because of a public health crisis or disaster.

Counties may receive urgent intercounty transfer requests when beneficiaries need to relocate to be with friends or family in another county.  Beneficaries may contact either the sending county or the receiving county to assist with either a permanent or a short-term transfer of their case.   (MEDIL I-20-06, March 12, 2020.)

CalWORKs time limit extenders for two parent families

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The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has issued guidance about eligibility CalWORKs time limit extenders for two parent families.  Former CalWORKs recipients who have used 48 months of time on aid can ask to be evaluation for an exception to the time limit to receive additional months of cash aid.  The family may be eligible for an exception to the 48-month time on aid limit when all parents, aided stepparents and/or caretaker relatives meet the exception criteria.  However, not all adults in the household must be timed out of CalWORKs.  In a two-parent household, if all adults in the household meet the exception criteria, then the timed out adult can be added to the assistance unit.  The exception criteria are:

▪ Advanced age (60 or older)

▪ Providing care for an ill or incapacitated family member, or a nonparent caretaker relative for a dependent child of the court, a child receiving Kin-Gap or child at risk of dependency,

▪ Disabled, defined as receiving benefits from State Disability Insurance, Worker’s Compensation Temporary Disability Insurance, In-Home Supportive Services, or the State Supplementary Program, and the disability significantly impairs the ability to participate in welfare-to-work activities,

▪ Unable to maintain employment or participate in welfare-to-work activities, and the individual has a history of participation and full cooperation in welfare-to-work activities.  An individual is assumed to to have met participation and cooperation requirements unless the county has documented evidence otherwise.

▪ Unaided

The 48-month time limit can be waived for past or present domestic violence victims and these individuals are eligible for a time limit extender.  All adults in the home do not need to meet extender criteria to add the timed-out individual under a domestic violence waiver.  (ACIN I-14-20, February 6, 2020.)

EDD benefits eligibility for Covid-19

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The Employment Development Department (EDD) has issued a statement on its website about benefits eligibility for people impacted by Covid-19.   People certified by a medical professional as unable to work due to having or being exposed to COVID-19 are eligible for State Disability Insurance.

People unable to work because you are caring for an ill or quarantined family member with COVID-19  as certified by a medical professional are eligible for Paid Family Leave, which is up to 6 weeks of benefits.

People who have reduced work hours because the employer has reduced hours or shut down operations due to COVID-19, can file for Unemployment Insurance.

In addition, employers experiencing a slowdown in their businesses or services as a result of the coronavirus impact on the economy may apply for the UI Work Sharing Program which allows employers to retain their trained employees by reducing their hours and wages that can be partially offset with UI benefits.  (EDD Coronavirus-2019.)

 

Clarification of definition of “own home” for In-Home Supportive Services eligibility

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The CDSS has provided clarification regarding the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program definition of “own home” as it relates to alternative living arrangements and IHSS eligibility.  Welfare and Institutions Code Section 12300(a) defines “own home” as “homes or abodes of their own choosing.”  Homeless applicants and recipients often do not have a permanent dwelling that can be viewed as their “own home” because they do not have permanent housing.  However, based on new Welfare and Institutions Code Section 18999.8, the definition of “own home” has been reevaluated to include certain alternative living arrangements.  County staff will evaluate each alternative living arrangement to ensure that authorized services can be delivered in a safe manner considering necessary universal precautions.  While deciding if a location will be eligible, the county should provide all necessary support to the applicant or recipient so that they may remain in the alternative living arrangement or transitional housing and be able to receive IHSS. 

An RV may meet the definition of an “own home” if utilities needed to provide authorized IHSS in a safe manner are available, and the RV can be situated in a single location for a “period of time” sufficient to assess the individuals needs and deliver those authorized services to the recipient.  Such locations include a campground, RV park or other private property where the RV has been authorized to stay for a period of time.  

IHSS recipients living in remote or rural areas, including Native American tribal lands, would be eligible for IHSS even without local utilities services if they have access to alternate resources. In these situations, county social workers should evaluate the specific circumstances of the recipient’s dwelling. 

A homeless shelter could be considered an “own home” if the management of the homeless shelter allows the IHSS recipient to remain there for a “period of time” and allows IHSS staff to perform an IHSS assessment and the IHSS provider to be present in the shelter to provide needed services. An IHSS recipient who moves into the residence of a family member or friend may be considered to be living in his/her “own home” if the family member allows the recipient to remain in the home for a specified “period of time.” Recipients are responsible for notifying the county IHSS office whenever there is a “substantive change in living arrangements.” which would require a reassessment.

If a recipient cannot be located, county IHSS staff should make a good faith effort to communicate with the recipient, including making telephone calls to all known recipient numbers, direct mail, email, in-home visits, and contact with known family or friends of the recipient. All attempts should be documented, and copies of returned mail should be maintained in the recipients case file. After the county staff has attempted to contact the recipient, the county may terminate the case and send a Notice of Action to the recipient’s last known address ten days prior to the termination date of the case.

Certain extraordinary situations may cause an IHSS to lose access to his/her home, but the IHSS recipient can continue to receive IHSS while living in a temporary “alternative living arrangement.” Emergency situations such as these should be considered an “unexpected extraordinary” change in circumstance. County social workers may perform a reassessment at the emergency shelter to determine if a temporary adjustment in the authorized weekly hours of a recipient is necessary. If the recipient is moved from the emergency shelter into temporary housing, the social worker must assess the temporary housing as well. If local utility services have not yet been re-established, the county social worker will need to evaluate the alternative resources to determine if the recipient is still allowed to receive his/her authorized services. 

Welfare and Institutions Code Section 18999.8 authorizes counties to create homeless adult and family interdisciplinary teams to assess homeless individual’s living accommodations and service needs.  Counties that have multidisciplinary teams are developing protocols to assist in transitioning homeless individuals to transition to permanent housing. One of the goals of multidisciplinary teams is to move homeless individuals who need IHSS to a safe and stable living situation where they can receive authorized services.  IHSS social workers should provide all adequate referrals to assist the applicant or recipient in arranging for a safe living environment before denying an IHSS applicant or terminating an IHSS recipient for not meeting the definition of “own home.”  (ACIN I-19-20, February 25, 2020.)

 

CalFresh Expedited Service Entitlement and Application Timeframes

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The California Department of Social Services has issued guidance for County Welfare Departments (CWDs) clarifying the timeframes for processing CalFresh applications and the circumstances  when a household is entitled to expedited service (ES).

All CalFresh applications must be screened to determine if the household meets the criteria for ES entitlement at the time the application is filed or at any time during the application process. Households found entitled to ES must have access to their CalFresh benefits by the third calendar day following the date of application. This three-day processing timeline includes screening the application, scheduling the interview, processing the application, collecting mandatory verification of the applicant’s identity, and issuing benefits onto the Electronic Benefit Transfer.

A household’s entitlement to ES is not lost due to a delay in meeting the expedited processing timeframe. If a household is entitled to ES, and the CWD cannot schedule the initial interview within the three-day expedited processing timeframe, the CWD must make every effort to meet the federal seven-day expedited processing timeframe. If the CWD cannot meet the federal seven-day expedited processing timeframe, the CWD must process the application as soon as possible.

A household may re-request expedited service at any time prior to approval. If the household is found to be entitled to ES, the three-day timeframe to issue benefts must start on the date the household is found entitled to ES. 

The only way a household can lose ES entitlement is if (1) the household’s circumstances change and the household no longer meets the criteria for ES entitlement or (2) the household is scheduled for an initial interview within the three-day expedited processing timeframe and the household misses the scheduled interview. Under these circumstances the household’s application will be processed under the normal CalFresh processing timeframe. (ACIN I-11-20, February 3, 2020.)