County welfare department access requirements

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The California Department of Social Services has issued guidance on county welfare department access requirements.  County welfare departments must implement procedures that ensure members of the public, including those with disabilities, are notified of and have access to county welfare department programs.  Counties must conduct an annual review of the hours of operation of public offices to ensure that the needs of recipients, including those who work, are adequately met.

Regular business hours are defined as a minimum of 8 hours per day, except Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.  Counties maintain an office that is open to the public that offers basic certification services during regular business hours, including accepting applications, interviewing applicants, and accepting notice of change in household circumstances. Counties can implement risk reduction measures because of COVID-19 in accordance with local county health orders, such as limiting capacity in lobbies and social distancing.

If counties must close for health and safety reasons during regular business hours, counties must

  • Make applications available and provide the opportunity to file applications for and receive benefits within legally mandated time frames, including expedited CalFresh, immediate need CalWORKs, and homeless assistance. This includes availability of application in all threshold languages for that office.  Counties must maintain sufficient staff to accept and act upon all applications, and/or maintain a local telephone service with sufficient staff to accept and act upon all applications as if the request had been made in person at the county welfare department office.
  • Provide a drop-box, mail slot or other means to file applications. Applications are assumed to be filed on the date the office is closed.  The county must have a method to give a receipt on request.
  • Inform callers to the county main telephone line of the working days or hours of the regular working day, when offices will be closed, procedures for obtaining and filing applications when offices are closed, and procedures for applying for expedited CalFresh, immediate need CalWORKs, and homeless assistance while offices are closed.
  • Post notices in prominent locations within the county welfare department offices and in the public areas, including the doors immediately outside of the office, which inform the public when offices will be closed, procedures for obtaining and filing applications when offices are closed, and procedures for applying for expedited CalFresh, immediate need CalWORKs, and homeless assistance while offices are closed and the right to a receipt of hand delivered documents. (ACIN I-83-21, October 5, 2021.)

COVID-19 CalFresh emergency allotment for October, 2021

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California has been approved to issue an emergency allotment of CalFresh for October, 2021.  All households will receive at least the maximum CalFresh allotment.  Households eligible to receive the maximum allowable allotment based on household size are now eligible to receive an emergency allotment of $95 per month. Households who are not eligible to receive the maximum allowable allotment based on household size, but whose emergency allotment would be less than $95 per month to receive the maximum allotment, will receive additional CalFresh benefits to raise their emergency allotment to the new $95 minimum.

The emergency allotment will be issued on November 14, 2021.  The emergency allotment can be issued manually if a household should have received the emergency issuance through the batch process but did not.

Moving forward, emergency allotments may be approved by FNS on a month-to-month basis until the Secretary of Health and Human Services rescinds the public health emergency.  There will be a one-month phase out of emergency allotments after the public health emergency is rescinded.  (ACWDL, October 14, 2021.)

Disaster CalFresh

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The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has issued guidance regarding Disaster CalFresh approval for Lassen, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Tehama and Trinity Counties.  People can apply for Disaster CalFresh from October 18 to 21, and October 25-26.

To be eligible for Disaster CalFresh, a household must have lived or worked in the disaster area at the time of the disaster, purchased or planned to have purchased food during the benefits period, experienced adverse effects because of the disaster, and meet the Disaster CalFresh income guideline. Households are eligible even if they are temporarily residing outside of the disaster county.  Adverse effects include food loss, loss of income, inaccessible resources or incurred disaster-related expenses.

The benefit period for people affected by the Dixie Fire in Lassen, Plumas, and Tehama Counties is July 14, 2021 through August 13, 2021. The benefit period for people affected by the Monument Fire in Trinity County is July 30, 2021 through August 29, 2021. The benefit period for people affected by the River Fire in Nevada and Placer Counties is August 4, 2021 through September 3, 2021.

Interviews should be in person when possible, but interviews for this round of Disaster CalFresh can be by telephone.  For online applicants, counties must make three attempts to reach the applicant for an interview, and provide a reasonable amount of time between each attempt.  The 72-hour period for counties to issue benefits begins when the telephone interview is completed.  All documents can be signed by telephonic signature.

A Disaster CalFresh household includes people who lived together, and purchased and prepared food together, on the start date of the disaster. A Disaster CalFresh household can include individuals who had been excluded from an ongoing CalFresh household at the time of the disaster such as ineligible students.

Disaster CalFresh has three verification requirements: identity, residency and loss or inaccessibility of resources if possible, and household composition and food loss when questionable. Verification of residency should be done from other sources such as a rent or mortgage billing statement, utility billing statement or identity document.  No specific type of documentation is required for verification.  Counties should assist households in obtaining necessary verification.

Authorized Representatives may be used for Disaster CalFresh following the same policy as regular CalFresh.

Ongoing CalFresh households are not eligible for this round of Disaster CalFresh because they are already receiving the maximum allotment for their household size because of the Emergency Allotment.  (ACWDL, October 13, 2021.)

CalWORKs eligibility for victims of the Fawn Fire in Shasta County

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The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) reminded counties about CalWORKs regulations and policies for processing applications and documents on behalf of disaster victims and evacuees.  An emergency proclamation has been issued for Shasta County because of the Fawn Fire.

Some evacuees will apply for CalWORKs in disaster counties or counties other than the county in which they live because of disaster related-relocation.  Counties will need to establish whether evacuees are from a county that has been designated a federal or state disaster, and whether other family members are receiving CalWORKs in that county.

Many evacuees will not have documentation.  If the applicant and the county make a good faith effort to obtain verification of identity, time on aid, and linking and non-linking conditions of CalWORKs eligibility and are unable to contact the evacuee’s financial institutions or necessary entities or institutions, the county must accept the evacuee’s statement signed under penalty of perjury.

CalWORKs recipients may be eligible for nonrecurring special needs payments because of emergencies such as damage to or loss of shelter because of fires.  Funds can be used to repair or replace clothing or household equipment, to provide assistance for damage to the home or to pay for interim shelter.  Nonrecurring special needs payments are a maximum of $600 for each incident.  An assistance unit is eligible if it has less than $100 in nonexempt liquid resources.

Federal disaster and emergency assistance, and comparable disaster assistance from state or local governments, and disaster assistance organizations, is exempt from consideration as income or resources.

Counties are encouraged to explore diversion eligibility for fire evacuees.

Fire evacuees are in an emergency and should be evaluated for an immediate need payment.

Because of the disaster, some income that evacuees had will no longer have income that can be reasonably anticipated.

Many evacuees will not be able to access, occupy or sell their property.  The county shall consider the ability to access or sell property and make a good faith effort to obtain needed verification or accept a statement signed under penalty of perjury.

A family is considered temporarily absent from their county if they expect to reunite within one calendar month.  Evacuee recipients can maintain a home in a different county if they intend to return to their home county within four months.

Counties should make a Welfare-to-Work good cause determination for evacuees.  Counties are encouraged to exercise flexibility in this regard.  Counties should determine if an applicant or recipient needs barrier removal services such as mental health services, housing support program, or temporary homeless assistance.  For homeless assistance, disaster is an exception to the once-every-12-month limit. (ACWDL, September 29, 2021.)

Extension of CalFresh Standard Medical Expense Deduction

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The California Department of Social Services has provided policy guidance regarding extension of the CalFresh Standard Medical Expense Deduction (SMD).  The SMD waiver was scheduled to expire on September 30, 2021 and has been extended to September 30, 2025.

The SMD is a standard $120 per month deduction for households with an elderly and/or disabled member with verified medical expenses of at least $35 per month.  Households with more than $155 per month in verified medical expenses can deduct all expenses from their income.

If a household voluntarily reports and verifies an increase in medical expenses mid-period, and the report of a new or changed medical expense results in an increase in benefits, the change must be effective no later than the first allotment issued 10 days after the date the change was reported.

Failure to verify medical expenses is not a basis to deny or discontinue a case.

Countable medical expenses include the cost of health insurance premiums; co-payments for appointments or prescriptions; acupuncture, chiropractic or herbal treatments; health care supplies and equipment, incontinence supplies; maintaining care attendants, home health aides, homemakers or child care services that are necessary because of age, disability or illness; over the counter drugs, ointments, or other treatments recommended by a licensed health care practitioner (excluding nutritional drinks, other dietary supplements, and medical marijuana); eyeglasses, contact lens solution, hearing aids, batteries, dental care, dentures; costs of public or private car transportation to health care appointments or pharmacies at the federal mileage reimbursement rate; and any paid or outstanding medical bills for which there is no third party reimbursement (a bill can be averaged over the remaining months in the CalFresh certification period or claims in one month, whichever is better for the household).  (ACL 21-117, September 30, 2021; ACL 21-117E, January 11, 2022.)

Extension of COVID-19 exceptions to IHSS program requirements

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The California Department of Social Services has provided guidance regarding extension of COVID-19 related exceptions for self-attestation of In Home Supportive Services (IHSS) forms.  County IHSS offices should begin transitioning back to in-person initial assessments and reassessments when possible.  When initial assessments and re-assessments are in person, required forms should be presented signed and collected at the assessment.

However, when the applicant or recipient or someone in their household has been infected with, has symptoms of, or has been exposed to COVID-19 in the two weeks prior to the assessment or re-assessment, the county should use telephone or video-conference to conduct the assessment. In such cases self-attestation of documents is acceptable.  This policy will continue until the end of the COVID-19 state of emergency.  However, some forms cannot be self-attested.  Original signatures may be mailed to the county IHSS for the Request for Order and Consent—Paramedical Services (SOC 321), IHSS Designation of Authorized Representative (SOC 839); and the IHSS Recipient’s Request for Provider Waiver (SOC 862).

When the COVID-19 state of emergency ends, the county must require original signatures on new forms at the recipient’s next annual reassessment.

Counties could accept copies of provider identity verification documents until September 30, 2021. However, when closure of county IHSS offices is required by their local Board of Supervisors, counties can continue to accept mailed in copies or fax copies of identity verification documents until the end of the COVID-19 state of emergency.  When the state of emergency ends, all applicant providers will again be required to present original identity verification documents.  Providers who provide copies of their identity verification documents will not be required to present original documents.  (ACL 21-112, September 29, 2021.)