A bit of a roundabout way of passing on info that Regs@LSNC has not seen before. Turns out when the county wants to deny a Food Stamps application for failure of the household to attend the application interview, it must send a notice stating that the household must schedule a new meeting. This letter reminds counties that the DENIAL is incorrect if they cannot document that they sent this notice, and will count as an error rate. Sounds like a defense to the denial, too, if the household doesn’t get the notice and reapplies after the 30 days … [Download]
Summaries of select CalWORKs, CalFresh, Health and Housing Regulations
ACL 06-46 – TANF Reauthorization and CalWORKs WTW County Plan Addendum (October 5, 2006)
Just a heads up what’s coming down the pike. Per AB 1808 and TANF reauthorization implementation, all counties must amend their CalWORKs plans on file with the state. They must describe. This letter also summarizes the TANF changes. The ACL lists the information that, at a minimum, must be in the plans (How the county will address increased participation (up-front engagement); re-engaging noncompliant or sanctioned individuals; sanction prevention; full engagement of those partially or not participating; increasing work participation; how the county spend its money; anticipated outcomes resulting from county program improvements; how the county will measure progress in achieving the anticipated outcomes; how the county will collaborate with local agencies).
Counties have 90 days from the date of the letter to file the plan addendum with the state. The ACL also includes a self-diagnostic (optional) tool for counties to assist them in assessing their current programs with an eye towards improving participation.
Counties are also reminded that they cannot require applicants to participate in WTW activities, including WTW orientation, appraisal, and job search, but they may participate on a voluntary basis. Counties also cannot make such participation a condition of eligibility for aid, deny an application for failing to participate during application, or impose WTW sanctions on an applicant, regardless of the applicant’s consent to participate in the activities. [Download]
Administrative Notice 07-01 – Gift Cards and Food Stamps
Good for them. FNS decided that gift cards, which can be used as cash, but generally only at specific businesses, will not count as a resource. [Download]
ACL 06-45 – CalWORKs Change in Funding of the Separate State Program for Two-Parent Families (October 3, 2006)
Well, since the Deficit Reduction Act counts separate state funded programs (SSP’s) that count for MOE purposes for the work participation rate, California’s SSP for 2-parent families will now no longer be an SSP. It will be a TANF program effective October 1, 2006. (Yup, 2 days prior to the letter being issued). And though the SSP was supposed to be to allow creative programming to serve the 2-parent families, they are now in TANF to make sure they participate. These families will now be under aid code “35” (with some exceptions for those that really care). This impacts these families, who will be using their federal 60 months of TANF aid now. [Download]
ACL 06-42 – Implementation of CalWORKs WTW Pay For Performance (P4P) Program (September 28, 2006)
This baby’s been more than 9 months in the making, temporary sidetracked (sideswiped?) by TANF reauthorization. Learn what the counties get paid bonuses for doing, including partial bonuses for partially doing. Big bonus for clients: there is a “super bonus” for counties that place recipients into higher paying jobs. [Download]
ACIN I-44-06 – New Processes for the Automated Statewide Allocation of Child Support Payment Disbursements and the Redirection of Payments (September 28, 2006).
Only time will tell if this latest automation step will help or hurt, but read how child support wage assignment payments will now all go to the State Disbursement unit (SDU) instead of to the local child support agency or the custodial parent. This change is intended to correct the problem of the employer sending the payment to the local county, when the non-custodial parent (NCP) actually owed support to more than one household, especially when the children lived in different counties. This may impact the CalWORKs 60 month time limit (for better or worse) as disbursements get distributed to all the NCP’s children subject to a collection order. [Download]