ACL 11-52: FY 2011-12 CalWORKs Child Care Programs – Update to ACL 11-38 re: Family Fees (7/19/11)

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This letter overrides the portions of ACL 11-38 impacted by of the  AB 114 budget bill.  AB 114 reestablished Stage One child care age eligibility for 11 and 12 year olds, to the extent funds are available, returning the program to the same procedures in place prior to the SB 70 budget cuts.  In doing so, it rescinds the first priority for enrollment (or wait lists) for a before or after school program, putting back in place the preferred placement rule.

AB 114 also eliminated the 10% family fees, but maintained lowering of the income eligibility limit to 70 percent of the State Median Income. Therefore, the family fee schedule will only be adjusted to incorporate the lower income eligibility limit.  AB 114 also lowered the CDE contract reductions from 15% to 11% for CalWORKs Stage Three and other CDE child care programs. These reductions do not affect CalWORKs
Stage One or CalWORKs Stage Two contracts.

CWDs must send an informing notice (suggested language provided) to CalWORKs Stage One Child Care clients regarding 11-12 year old changes. [Download]

 

ACL 11-47: CalWORKs Treatment of Adoption Assistance Program Payments (7/21/11)

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As a result of the Cadaret lawsuit, this ACL was issued to remind counties that Adoption Assistance Program (AAP) payments made to families applying for or receiving CalWORKs are to exempt as income.  Although “effectively immediately,” this instruction is based on a 1990 federal clarification that was implemented through ACL 90-101.  Additionally, if a CWD becomes aware of any cases in which AAP payments incorrectly included AAP as income when determining eligibility for an applicant or when calculating a cash grant for a recipient, the CWD must take corrective action to reevaluate the eligibility and recalculate prior cash grants excluding the AAP payment, and restore any lost benefits. [Download]

ACL 11-50: CalWORKs: Repeal Of The New Incremental Grant Reductions For Certain Child-Only Cases And Repeal Of The Expansion Of The Short-Term Changes (7/15/11)

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Ding-dong, the wicked witch is dead! Thanks to the budget bill, the SB 72 provisions to cut most child only grants was repealed.  All notices are to be rescinded and any households affected given a supplemental payment.  Although the CalWORKs budget will be recalculated, there will be no change (or overissuance) in CalFresh, due to the budgeting rules. The budget bill also did away with the county option to provide off-the-clock exemptions of caretakers of 24-35 months children.  (The 12-23 month exemption remains in place.) [Download]

ACL 11-48: The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, And Job Creation Act Of 2010 (P.L. 111-312) (6/28/11)

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PL 111-312 includes a provision that disregards tax refunds received after December 31, 2009 as income and as resources (for a period of 12 months) in programs funded in whole or in part with federal funds.  This letter clarifies that it applies to programs such as Title IV-E Foster Care, the Title IV-E Adoption Assistance Program and the Title IV-E Guardianship Assistance Program.

Tax refunds must be excluded from consideration as income in the month received and must be excluded from consideration as an asset for 12 months following the month in which it was received. The letter states that workers must ensure that income information being sought and that individuals are providing, does not include a federal tax refund received after December 31, 2009.

This also applies to assets, which are excluded a tax refund for 12 months after the month the refund was received. [Download]

 

 

 

ACIN I-40-11: Program Information Regarding AB 12 And The Extension Of Foster Care To Age 20 (7/1/11)

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AB 12 made two major changes to foster care. The first allows for Kin-GAP Program benefits to be eligible for Federal Financial Participation (FFP). This was implemented via ACL 11-15. The second major provision extends foster care up to age 21 for young adults who meet the federal participation criteria for continued eligibility after age 18, including those served under a State-Tribe IV-E agreement and supervised by probation.

Former foster youth who are in the Kin-GAP program and youth in the Adoption Assistance Program are also eligible for extended benefit payments provided the guardianship was established, or the initial adoption agreement, was signed when the youth was at least 16 years old and one of the eligibility criteria is met.

The extension of foster care and other payment benefits is effective January 1, 2012, up to age 19, and January 1, 2013, up to age 20. Extension of foster care and other payment benefits up to age 21 is effective January 1, 2014, contingent upon legislature appropriation.

The intent of this ACIN is to explain the basic framework of EFC, not to direct counties on how to implement it. Multiple ACLs and All County Information Notices (ACIN) will be released to further explain procedures for implementing AB 12. [Download]