Ok, Regs@ missed this one, but in honor of the the ACIN’s year anniversary…. What’s a county to do when a child gets CalWORKs by living with a relative, who then dies? If the child is now living with a non-legal guardian non-relative, the county is required to tell the non-relative caretaker that 1) the child may be eligible for Foster Care benefits and 2) the local legal aid office or county bar association may be able to provide additional information and assistance in pursuing such benefits. If interested, the county is then to refer the household to apply for Foster Care benefits.
Summaries of select CalWORKs, CalFresh, Health and Housing Regulations
ACIN I-37-08: Policy Clarification Regarding The On-Line Application E-Signature Requirements In The Food Stamp Program (5/29/08)
Just a note to clarify e-signatures for applicants who apply online without a paper application. Per FNS, counties may request additional personal identifying information in order to validate an electronic signature. Whether a paper or electronic application, the county must “provide the means for an applicant to immediately start the application process” with just a name, address and signature. (MPP Section 63-300.3.) This includes the requirement to accept an incomplete application. (Presumably this means that if the e-signature is not validated, the county is to accept it and pursue validation.) [Download]
ACL 08-21: Certification Process For Out-Of-State Group Homes (5/27/08)
Out with the old and in with the new: throw out I-69-00, and effective immediately, use this letter for certifying out-of-state group homes… (All such homes must either be certified, or have the state waive certification.) [Download]
ACL 08-23: Child Welfare Training Regulations Effective July 1, 2008 (5/19/08)
Proving change can be slow: this letter contains regulations promulgated in response to a 2002 Child and Family Services Review, which resulted in an HHS-required Program Improvement Plan (PIP) effective July 1, 2003 through June 30, 2005. The PIP addressed findings that California did not have sufficient statewide requirements for the initial and ongoing training of new child welfare workers and supervisors, and the lack of necessary child welfare requirements for probation officers and supervisors who are working with Title IV-E placement wards. The new regs go into effect July 1, 2008, and list what training topics must be completed by which staff and at what frequency. [Download]
ACIN I-32-08: Extension Of Food Stamp Income Exclusion For Deployment To a Combat Zone (5/19/08)
The 2008 federal appropriations bill extended the exclusion of Combat pay as income for Food Stamps. Of note is that this letter clarifies that a household’s access to a service person’s bank account, under certain circumstances, ALSO is excludable as a resource. The bank account does not count as a resource if the household can document “to the satisfaction of the County” that it’s access is solely for the purpose of paying the service person’s bills, etc., and the household cannot use the funds for its own purposes. The letter lists as possible verification a written statement from the service person, a statement from the involved financial institution, or “other means attesting to the fact.” (The funds are excluded under the provision for jointly held resources that are inaccessible to the Food Stamps household.) [Download]
ACIN I-34-08: Intercounty Transfer Coordinator List For CalWORKs, Medi-Cal And Foster Care (5/16/08)
The “go to” list for who to contact about ICT problems. [Download]