New IHSS medical accompaniment for COVID vaccines

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In Home Supportive Services recipients age 16 to 64 are now eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.  IHSS recipients who need assistance from their provider to get a COVID-19 vaccine can use medical accompaniment hours for that purpose.  Recipients who need additional hours for this purpose, or who do not have medical accompaniment time but need it to get their vaccine can get a one-time payment for providers for up to four hours (two hours per vaccine appointment) per recipient.

CDSS is sending informing notices to IHSS recipients.  IHSS recipients aged 16 to 64 will get a letter which they can use to verify that they are IHSS recipients and the Vaccine Medical Accompaniment Claim Form.  IHSS recipients age 65 or older will only get a copy of the Claim Form.

No adjustment to existing service hours is needed, and hours for vaccine medical accompaniment will not be counted towards the provider’s weekly hours.  (ACL 21-31, March 15, 2021.)

Treatment of Pandemic Unemployment Compensation and other Unemployment Insurance for CalWORKs

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The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has issued guidance regarding how Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (PUC) and other Unemployment Insurance programs are treated for purposes of CalWORKs.  PUC is the additional $300 per week in Unemployment Insurance benefits in the December, 2020 stimulus package.  For CalWORKs, PUC payments are now exempt for both applicants and recipients.  For CalFresh, PUC payments are exempt from consideration as income or resources for nine months following receipt.

Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), which is for self-employed workers and independent contractors, is considered income for CalWORKs applicants and recipients.  Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), which is extension benefits after regular Unemployment Insurance or PUA expires, also is considered income for CalWORKs applicants and recipients.

FED-ED is an additional extension of Unemployment Insurance benefits during periods of high unemployment for people who have sufficient earnings.  FED-ED is considered unearned income.  FED-ED benefits are considered income for CalWORKs applicants and recipients.

Mixed Earners Unemployment Compensation (MEUC) is an additional $100 per week in Unemployment Insurance for individuals eligible for Unemployment Insurance and who have at least $5,000 in self-employment income.  MEUC will be considered unearned income when it is issued.  MEUC will be considered unearned income.  MEUC benefits will be considered income for CalWORKs applicants and recipients.

Refugee Cash Assistance, Entrant Cash Assistance and Trafficking and Crime Victims Assistance Program follow the same CalWORKs rules for PUC, PUA, PEUC, FED-ED and MEUC.  (ACL 21-22, February 26, 2021.)

COVID-19 CalFresh emergency allotment for March 2021

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California has been approved to issue an emergency allotment of CalFresh for March, 2021, so long as the COVID-19 public health emergency remains in place at some point in the month of March.  The emergency allotment will be issued on April 18, 2021 to raise each household’s monthly CalFresh allotment to the maximum allowable for the household size.

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. (ACWDL, February 25, 2021.)

CalWORKs Home Visiting Program questions and answers

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The California Department of Social Services has issued questions and answers about the CalWORKs Home Visiting Program.  A few of the questions and answers address services to clients.

Diapers and wipes can be considered a material good that the $500 Material Goods allowance can be used but only when diapers are not already being provided by the CalWORKs program.  Home Visiting Program finds cannot be used to supplant services already being provided through Welfare-to-Work.

Home Visiting Program services can be transferred to another county when requested by the client.  Home Visiting Program services can be terminated in the first county and the client can request services in the new county.  Counties may work collaboratively to continue services for a client upon notification that a client is moving to a new county.  If a county Home Visiting Program is at capacity, they will not be able to take on new clients.  Services will terminate if the client moves to a county that does not have a Home Visiting Program.

Non-needy relatives of foster children are eligible for CalWORKs Home Visiting Program services.

KinGap recipients are not eligible for Home Visiting Program services.  (ACIN I-80-20, November 17, 2020.)

CalWORKs overpayments during COVID-19

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The California Department of Social Services has issued reminders of CalWORKs overpayment policies in consideration of COVID-19.  In recognition of the pace of policy changes, and the impact COVID-19 had on county operations and CalWORKs recipients’ inability to complete required reports such as gross monthly income over the IRT, counties must consider these circumstances when establishing overpayments as it is very likely there will be an increase in administrative error overpayments beginning with April, 2020.

Federal individual stimulus payments are excluded from counting as income in the month of receipt and as an asset for 12 months following receipt.

Semi-annual reporting was suspended for March, April, and May, 2020.  However, assistance units who did not make mandatory mid-period reports may be subject to overpayments.  Mandatory mid-period reports are income exceeding the income reporting threshold, fleeing felon status, violation of conditions of probation or parole, and address change.  Unearned income must be paired with earned income to be considered over the income reporting threshold.  Failure to report an address change cannot be based on failure to report an address change.

The $600 per week Pandemic Unemployment Compensation provided through July 31, 2020 is exempt from being considered income for recipients, but not for applicants.  If a family had Pandemic Unemployment Compensation in its possession when they applied and it was not used in determining eligibility there could be total ineligibility and an overpayment.

The Lost Wage Assistance Program issued for the period July 26, 2020 to September 5, 2020 does not count as income for CalWORKs because it is Stafford Act disaster benefits.

Administrative Error overpayments are caused when the county has all information in its possession necessary to make a correct grant determination.

For current CalWORKs recipients, collection can be made by grant adjustment, offset of an underpayment with the overpayment, action on a civil judgment, voluntary cash recovery and voluntary cash offset.

For former CalWORKs recipients, the county cannot demand collection of a nonfraudulent overpayment if the balance is less than $250.  When the claim is more than $250, collection can be made by action on a civil judgment, voluntary cash recovery and voluntary cash offset. (ACIN I-14-21, February 17, 2021.)