Bringing CalFresh and CalWORKs rules into alignment, CalWORKs families can have $250 more in assets effective October 2014. The new maximum asset amount is $2,250 for most assistance units and $3,250 for assistance units that include a person who is disabled or 60 years of age or older. CDSS instructed counties in December 2014 to re-evaluate eligibility for assistance units who were denied or had cash aid discontinued due to excess resources and to restore benefits that would have been authorized under the new limits. Similarly, counties should have re-evaluated overpayments related to excess resources to determine if they were correct and return amounts collected or stop collection where the overpayment determination was in error. ACL 14-107.
Summaries of select CalWORKs, CalFresh, Health and Housing Regulations
CDSS instructs counties on Social Security process
CalWORKs eligibility rules require applicants and recipients to seek and accept potentially available income, such as other public benefits. Due to a lack of understanding regarding the Social Security and SSI disability determination and appeals processes, some counties have required CalWORKs applicants and recipients to submit (or attempt to submit) new applications to Social Security when another application was already pending or on appeal. Citing a July 2011 Social Security ruling (SSR 11-1p) that bars subsequent applications for benefits when a prior application is under review, CDSS now prohibits counties from requiring CalWORKs applicants and recipients from filing new claims for Social Security and SSI when an appeal is pending. ACL 14-109.
IHSS provider enrollment orientation rules change next month
Beginning April 1, 2015, prospective IHSS providers must attend an in-person provider enrollment orientation that includes training and materials detailing the applicable federal and state minimum wage, overtime, travel time and wait time laws. Counties must provide the orientation in English and any language spoken by five percent or more non-English speakers in the county. The county’s recognized employee organization must be permitted to make a presentation at the orientation. These changes are pursuant to SB 878. In addition, prospective providers may no longer use printouts from the Social Security Administration as original documentation of identity. However, Social Security cards, state driver’s licenses or identification cards and tribal identification cards are still accepted. ACL 14-102.
New IHSS time sheet and reimbursement processes implemented
IHSS providers who provide services to different recipients at different locations on the same workday are now eligible to be paid for up to 7 hours of travel time per work week in accordance with Welf. & Inst. Code §12300.4(f). Such providers, effective January 1, 2015, must now submit the IHSS timesheet with travel (SOC 2262) and the travel claim form (SOC 2275) to be paid for their travel time. ACL 14-103.
2015 child care reimbursement rates for CalWORKs
Effective January 1, 2015, CDSS issued new regional market rate ceilings, or caps on the amount child care providers can be reimbursed for subsidized childcare under CalWORKs Stage One child care. The changes increased the reimbursement rate for some assistance units and none received a reduction under the revised ceilings. Counties were required to issue notices of action for any changes (NA833) that included a right to hearing to challenge the subsidy or grant computation. ACL 14-94.
DHCS provides an overview of backlog batch processes
In this letter, DHCS walks through the various efforts the state has made to expedite processing and eligibility for applicants waiting for eligibility determinations throughout the ACA era. Of the described batches, the state is still processing the following batches:
- Processing applications for short term negative actions due to the absence of such functionality in CalHEERS;
- Transition to Medi-Cal cases from Covered California annual redetermination period; and
- Accelerated enrollment for cases that have not been processed within 45 days since the second open enrollment period.
The letter includes a graph describing each batch process and relevant state instruction letters. DHCS MEDIL I 15-05 (3/5/15).