Expansion of Emergency Child Care Bridge Program

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The Emergency Child Care Bridge Program provides short-term child care vouchers or payments for approved resource families and parents under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court.  This program has been expanded in two ways.

First, the Bridge Program now covers when a resource family is unable to provide care in addition to when a resource family is not at home.  This means that the Bridge Program now covers families engaging in telework or online classes.

Second, counties can now extend eligibility for the Bridge Program beyond 12 months for a compelling reason.  These reasons include inability to transition to other subsidized child care, loss of eligibility would disrupt stability for the child, and loss of eligibility would jeopardize a permanency plan or successful reunification.

In addition, counties must have a process to pay benefits within 21 calendar days of receipt of a complete attendance record or invoice for payment.  (CCB 22-27, September 26, 2022.)

Implementation of 24 month child care eligibility

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Effective January 1, 2023, the minimum eligibility period for certain child care programs is extended to 24 months.  The effected programs are:

  • General Child Care and Development Programs (CCTR)
  • California Family Child Care Home Education Networks (CFCC)
  • Migrant Child Care and Development Programs (CMIG)
  • Migrant Child Care Alternative Payment Programs (CMAP)
  • California Alternative Payment Programs (CAPP)
  • Child Care and Development Services for Children with Special Needs (CHAN)

The 24 month eligibility does not apply to CalWORKs Stage 1, 2, or 3 child care.

The 24 month period is not retroactive to before January 1, 2023.  Certifications entered into prior to January 1, 2023 remain in effect.

Child care and development programs remain available until age 13.  If a child turns 13 within the first 12 months of the eligibility period, eligibility is only for 12 months.

Families enrolled on or after January 1, 2023 must receive services for at least 24 months before recertification and are not required to report most changes.  However, families must report income that exceeds the threshold for ongoing income eligibility.  Families can voluntarily report changes that extend their eligibility.

If a family’s 24-month eligibility ends before the end of a California State Preschool Program program year, eligibility extends to the end of the program year, as long as age eligibility requirements are met.

The California Department of Social Services must develop implementing regulations by December 31, 2024.  (CCB 22-37, December 30, 2023, and 22-37E, March 10, 2023

Requirements for truncating Social Security Numbers

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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.)

End of child care flexibility for COVID-19

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The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has issued guidance regarding the end of child care flexibilities for COVID-19 effective June 30, 2023.

Effective July 1, 2023, provider will no longer be able to bill for non-operational days because of COVID-19 closures.

The statewide waiver of family fees expires on June 30, 2023.  Contractors must resume collecting family fees effective July 1, 2023.

Effective July 1, 2023, providers and contractors will be reimbursed in accordance with pre-COVID-19 attendance and reporting requirements.

Contractors must issue notices of action to the parent when changes are made to the service agreement, including an increase or decrease in family fees.  Due process requires suspending any action while an appeal is pending.  (CCB 23-09, April 13, 2023.)

Disaster Unemployment Assistance for February and March storms

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Residents of Kern, Mariposa, Monterey, San Benito, Santa Cruz, Tulare and Tuolumne Counties can now apply for Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA).  DUA is available to workers business owners, and self-employed persons who lost their job or business, or had their work hours reduced or interrupted because of impacts of the severe storms that began on February 21, 2023.

DUA applies to losses beginning the week of February 26, 2023.  Eligible full-time workers and self-employed persons can get between $171 and $450 per week for up to 32 weeks.  Part-time workers and part-time self-employed persons may be eligible.  The last payable week of DUA ends October 7, 2023.

DUA is available to storms victims who meet any of the following criteria:

  1. Worked or were a business owner or self-employed, or were scheduled to begin or resume work or self-employment, in the disaster area and lost work or had their hours reduced or interrupted because of the disaster.
  2. Cannot reach work because of the disaster or can no longer work or perform services because of physical damage or destruction to the place of employment or self-employment as a direct result of the disaster.
  3. Live in the major disaster area and cannot reach their place of work or self-employment outside the major disaster area because of the disaster.
  4. Cannot perform work or self-employment because of an injury caused by the disaster.
  5. Became the major support for their household because of the death of their head of household caused by the disaster.

Persons must have applied for and used all regular unemployment insurance benefits, or be ineligible for regular unemployment benefits, and remain unemployed, to be eligible for DUA.  In addition, the work or self-employment that the person can no longer do must have been their primary source of income.

Applicants must submit all required documentation within 21 days of applying.  Required documentation includes the most recent federal tax form or check stubs, or other documentation to support that the applicant was working or self-employed when the disaster happened.

Applications for DUA must be filed by May 15, 2023 unless the applicant has good cause.  (EDD News Releases 23-15, April 14, 2023.)

Disaster CalFresh April 2023

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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.

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 April, 2023, is April 17, 2023 through April 21, 2023, and April 24, 2023 through April 25, 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 14, 2023.)