Impact of Social Security COLA on CalWORKs and CalFresh

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The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has issued information to County Welfare Departments (CWDs) that Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients will receive a Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) effective December 30, 2022, and payable January 1, 2023. Depending on household composition, it will impact the CalWORKs grant and/or CalFresh benefit amount.

Social Security and SSI recipients will receive an 8.7% COLA effective January 1, 2023. Counties must give timely and adequate notice when the CalWORKs grant or the CalFresh benefit amount is adjusted because of a due to Social Security COLA.

For new CalWORKs and CalFresh applicants, the Social Security benefit amount, including the COLA increase, will be used to determine eligibility January 2023.

The Social Secuity COLA is considered reasonably anticipated income. The Social Security COLA is considered “known to the county” and shall be acted upon mid-period. Counties must take county-initiated mid-period action to adjust benefits effective January 1, 2023, for all cases in which Social Security benefits are being used to determine the CalWORKs grant or CalFresh benefit. For cases with a report due in December 2022, counties will include the COLA amount in the budget for the upcoming Semi-Annual Reporting (SAR) payment period.

CalWORKs cases subject to Annual Reporting/Child Only (AR/CO) rules, the amount of the SSA COLA will be considered “known to the county” and acted upon mid-period.

If counties do not decrease the CalWORKs grant or CalFresh benefit amount as a result of the increased January 2023 Social Security payment, they must reduce grant amounts in the month after they give timely and adequate notice.  In those cases, there will be an overpayment or overissuance for January.

SSI payments are exempt in CalWORKs; however, income should still be updated for excluded assistance unit (AU) members.  (ACIN I-72-22, November 8, 2022 and I-72-22E, January 4, 2023.)

 

CalWORKs for Humboldt earthquake victims and evacuees

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The California Department of Social Services has issued a reminder about policy for processing CalWORKs cases for victims and evacuees of state and/or federally declared disasters. On December 20, 2022, Governor Newsom issued an Emergency Proclamation for Humboldt County due to the effects of the 6.4 magnitude earthquake

For evacuees who apply for CalWORKs, if the applicant and the county make a good faith effort to obtain verification and are unable to do so, including identity, time on aid, and CalWORKs eligibility factors, the county must accept the evacuee’s statements signed under penalty of perjury in lieu of verification.

When an evacuee applies for CalWORKs, counties must establish that the evacuee was living in a county designated as a federal disaster and/or state-declared emergency zone and ask if the evacuee or anyone else in their family is receiving CalWORKs from that county or another disaster county.

Counties are reminded that COVID-19 flexibilities remain in place and apply to evacuees, including flexibility regarding pregnancy verification, in-person photo identification requirements, and signature requirements.

Disaster evacuees applying for or receiving CalWORKs aid must be informed of their semi-annual and annual reporting responsibilities. Counties must advise evacuees to try to get documentation of eligibility factors impacting for benefits, and to ask for help from the county in getting documentation if they need it.

CalWORKs recipients may be eligible for nonrecurring special needs payments because of emergencies from the fires, such as damage to or loss of shelter or belongings. Nonrecurring special needs funds can be used to repair or replace clothing or household equipment, to provide assistance for damages to the home, or to pay for interim shelter when the AU’s home was destroyed or made uninhabitable or inaccessible. The maximum nonrecurring special needs payment is $600 for each individual incident.

Disaster assistance from federal, state or local government or disaster assistance organizations is excluded from consideration as income.

For CalWORKs applicants, counties are encouraged to offer CalWORKs diversion to evacuees to address their specific crisis or item of need. Applicants in an emergency should be evaluated for Immediate Need Payments. Both applicant and recipient evacuees should be entitled to an exception to the once in twelve months limitation on receiving Homeless Assistance. Recipient evacuees may also be eligible the CalWORKs Housing Support Program.

A written statement from the applicant is sufficient to establish intent to establish residency in California and in the county of application for the foreseeable future. Receipt of benefits at an address outside of California for two months or longer is not apparent evidence of intent to reside outside of California when return to California is prevented by a disaster.

For income, it is expected that some evacuees will no longer have reasonably anticipated income because of the disaster. For property and resources, counties must consider the applicant’s ability to access, occupy or sell their property at the time of application because of the disaster.

For families temporarily separated because of the disaster, a family member is considered temporary absent if they expect to reunite within one full calendar month. CalWORKs recipients can maintain a home in a different county than the county they are physically residing in if they intend to return to that home within four months.

Most evacuated families will not be able to participate in welfare-to-work activities. Counties should make a good cause determination for evacuated families for nonparticipation in welfare-to-work activities. Counties should also determine if an applicant needs barrier removal services such as mental health services or housing stabilization program services and provide these services as expeditiously as possible.  (ACWDL, December 29, 2022.)

Extension of COVID-19 CalFresh waivers

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California has been granted waivers of the initial application and recertification interview (if certain criteria are met); and of the recording requirement for telephonic signatures (if certain criteria are met) because of COVID-19.  These waivers have been extended until March 31, 2023.

Approval of these waivers requires California to state that a State of Emergency or disaster declaration continues at the time of the request.  The federal Food and Nutrition Service will approve additional waivers for up to three months.  If the State wants to continue using a waiver for longer than three months, the State can submit an extension request in the third month of the waiver timeframe.  No waiver may continue beyond the end of the month after the month when the federal COVID-19 public health emergency declaration is lifted by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.  (ACWDL, December 21, 2022.)

CalFresh pre-release application process for incarcerated persons

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The California Department of Social Services has issued recommendations regarding processing CalFresh applications for incarcerated persons.  Currently, California does not have a statewide process for processing pre-release CalFresh applications.  California has requested a federal waiver to create such a process.  However, California has a waiver for a pilot project in Orange County from March 1, 2021 to February 28, 2023 that allows incarcerated persons to apply for CalFresh up to 30 days before their release date.

For verifying the identity of the applicant, counties must accept any readily available documentary evidence which reasonably establishes the applicant’s identity and, if documentary evidence is not readily available, counties may verify identity through a collateral contact.  For formerly incarcerated individuals, identification cards and booking sheets from the prison or jail are examples of acceptable forms of identification. Any documents which reasonably establish the applicant’s identity must be accepted, and counties cannot require a specific type of document.

For Social Security Numbers, applications should be filed using the exact name associated with the Social Security Number even when the applicant is incarcerated under an alias or other alternate name.

Counties must assist all households in getting mandatory verification. Counties must use existing verification when available including electronic sources when applicable to the household.

Counties must screen all CalFresh applicants for work registration requirements.  This includes formerly incarcerated individuals.  Counties must inform all applicants of available local employment services related to experience, training, and education that the individual has obtained before or during their incarceration.

Counties can partner with community based organizations to provide application assistance inside county jails.  (ACWDL, November 18, 2022.)

New two year waiver of ABAWD rule

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The United States Department of Agriculture has approved a new statewide waiver for California of the CalFresh Able Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWD) time limit.

The ABAWD rule limits CalFresh recipients between the ages of 18 and 50 with no children and who are not disabled to three months of CalFresh benefits every three years. The new ABAWD waiver is effective from November 1, 2022 to October 31, 2024.

Counties must continue to 1) Identify ABAWDs, screen for exemptions, and inform clients of ABAWD rules; 2) provide an information notice about the ABAWS rules, and 3) track and report work registrant, ABAWD, and Employment and Training data.  (ACL 22-103, December 16, 2022.)