Per court order, CDSS must modify the rule for determining CalWORKs cash aid and eligibility for otherwise eligible 18-year-olds (and their parent/caretaker relatives) who are attending school full-time and are not expected to graduate by age 19 from high school or vocational school because of their disability. Counties are to immediately cease denying, discontinuing or reducing the cash aid for all otherwise eligible 18-year-olds (and their parent/caretaker relatives) who are attending school full-time and are not expected to graduate by age 19. Counties must also rescind the discontinuance of aid or grant reduction for an otherwise eligible 18-year-old (and their parent/caretaker relative) who is attending school full-time and is not reasonably expected to graduate from high school or vocational school by age 19, regardless of the reason between July 7, 2004, (the date of judgment entry) and the date the CWD implements this change, and to issue retroactive payments back to July 7, 2004. Stand by for an ACL in November defining “disability.” [Download]
Summaries of select CalWORKs, CalFresh, Health and Housing Regulations
IRS Revenue Ruling 2004-82
In this ruling, the IRS confirms, citing the legislative history of the low-income tax credit statute (I.R.C. Section 42), that evictions or terminations of tenancy from tax credit developments must be based on good cause. The ruling also provides that with respect to certifying or re-certifying eligibility to reside in a low-income tax credit unit, a tenant may submit a sworn self-certification that she or he is not receiving child support. The ruling also contains a discussion of the “available unit rule” as it relates to tenants whose income increases to above 140 percent of the tax credit income limitation. [Download]
HUD Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS) Final Notice, Federal Register, Vol. 69, p. 45888 (July 30, 2004)
HUD published the final HMIS notice July 30, 2004. The final notice is effective August 30, 2004. HMIS is a computerized data collection application (intake system) that all homeless providers receiving HUD funds must use. In response to comments from homeless advocates, homeless providers and poverty law/legal services organizations, raising privacy, consent and quality of service concerns, HUD made some changes. For example, the final notice eliminates the requirement that providers collect certain health data, e.g. information on physical disability, mental health and HIV/AIDS, except if already required by eligibility statute or regulation. Additionally, providers have been given more flexibility with respect to how they collect data. [Download]
HUD Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS) Final Notice, Federal Register, Vol. 69, p. 45888 (July 30, 2004)
HUD published the final HMIS notice July 30, 2004. The final notice is effective August 30, 2004. HMIS is a computerized data collection application (intake system) that all homeless providers receiving HUD funds must use. In response to comments from homeless advocates, homeless providers and poverty law/legal services organizations, raising privacy, consent and quality of service concerns, HUD made some changes. For example, the final notice eliminates the requirement that providers collect certain health data, e.g. information on physical disability, mental health and HIV/AIDS, except if already required by eligibility statute or regulation. Additionally, providers have been given more flexibility with respect to how they collect data. [Download]
ACL 04-30 – Regulations to Implement Quarterly Reporting (July 26, 2004)
Effective July 1 (okay, so they weren’t issued until three weeks later), the QR regs are officially in place, with links in the ACL to the actual regs. What’s new since the ACL? A QR 7 report of a decrease of income shall be treated as a mid-quarter report (i.e. your bennies can go up), and any starting or increase in other income (like getting UI when you lose your job) doesn’t count till the next quarter; when seeing if adding a person to an AU/HH mid-quarter results in an increase in benefits, the county must use the AU/HH’s existing anticipated income, not recalculate it; when a change in exempt/non-exempt MAP status would occur under QR, and more! (Yes, Virginia, you DO need to read these.)
And while we’re at it: these regulations are open for public comment, due August 25th. [Download]
ACIN I-48-04 – CalWORKs 60-month Time Limit Notices of Action (NOA) Messages and Forms (July 14, 2004)
For better or worse, here are “new and improved” forms explaining time limit exception and extension rules to recipients, and the accompanying notices and forms. Not quite clear or complete, but an improvement. [Download]