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Type of Income Situation
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Guidelines
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SSI/SSP or CAPI APPLICANTS/PARTICIPANTS (44-133.2)
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AU resides with an SSI/SSP or CAPI recipient
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The aid payment and income is not included in the AU’s income and grant computation.
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Lump Sum Retroactive Payments
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SSI/SSP and CAPI retroactive payments are exempt; they are not countable income to the AU.
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Voluntary contributions made by the SSI/SSP or CAPI recipient
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Income to the AU.
Note: A voluntary contribution is not a requirement for the SSI/SSP or CAPI recipient.
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Interest accumulated from community or joint property of an SSI/SSP or CAPI recipient and a CalWORKs participant
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The interest income is prorated between all the owners and the CalWORKs applicant/participant’s share is countable income to the AU.
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FOSTER CARE, ADOPTION, AND KIN-GAP PAYMENTS (CW 44-133.3)
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Foster Care and Kin-GAP Income
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The income received by or on behalf of the children is considered income to the child and is not considered available to meet the needs of the AU.
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Adoption Assistance Program (AAP)
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Payments are:
· Made to parents who adopt “hard-to-place” children;
· Intended to facilitate the adoption of children who have exceptional needs that make adoption difficult.
The payments are considered “complimentary program” assistance and are not considered income to the AU when determining need and grant level.
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SANCTION/PENALIZED INDIVIDUALS (CW 44-133.4)
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Sanctions and Penalties
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Income
Income of sanctioned and penalized persons living in the home who are required to be in the AU, is available to the AU.
Needs
The needs of a sanctioned and/or penalized individual noted within this section (44-133.4) are not considered when determining the CalWORKs grant. Exception: Reference the child support penalties section below.
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Sanctioned
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Sanctioned individuals:
· Are removed from the AU;
· Are not considered AU or non-AU members for purposes of calculating the grant; their needs are not considered; and
· Income is counted.
Examples of sanctioned individuals are, but not limited to individuals who failed/refused to (Refer to 82-832 for further examples):
· Comply with Greater Avenues for Independence (GAIN) requirements without Good Cause;
· Cooperate in the verification of his/her citizenship or alien status;
· Provide or cooperate in securing a Social Security Number for himself/herself; or
· Assign child/spousal support rights;
Note: An individual who fails to assign support rights is sanctioned as he/she failed to indicate on the CW 2.1 that he/she does not want to assign support rights to the absent parent. Refer to the child support penalties section below which provides a definition of a child support penalty.
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Penalized
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The individuals who have the following types of penalties, but not limited to, remain in the AU and their needs are not allowed:
· Immunization;
· School attendance requirements; or
· Found guilty of fraud (Intentional Program Violation).
Although they are considered AU members, the aid payment cannot be increased by their needs.
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Child Support Penalties
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Individuals who are penalized for failure/refusal to cooperate with the Child Support Services Department (CSSD) for child support/paternity establishment purposes:
· Remain in the AU; and
· Continue to have their needs and income considered in the Maximum Aid Payment (MAP) for the AU.
Note: These individuals indicated on the CW 2.1 that they agree to assign child/spousal support rights, but failed to cooperate with the interview with the CSSD representative.
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Maximum Family Grant (MFG)
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MFG children remain in the AU, but their needs are not allowed in the MAP and the aid payment is not increased.
Applications: When determining eligibility, the MFG child is considered in the Minimum Basic Standards of Adequate Care (MBSAC).
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Unconditionally Available Income
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Any individual is sanctioned (removed from the AU) if he/she refuses to take actions necessary to obtain unconditionally available income.
These individuals:
· Are not part of the AU;
· Income is counted; and
· Needs are not considered in the CalWORKs grant computation.
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EXCLUDED PERSONS (44-133.5)
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Excluded Persons
(44-133.51)
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Income
The income of a parent is considered when that parent is:
· Living in the home; and
· Excluded from the AU. Individuals excluded from the AU are listed in CalWORKs policy 82-832.
Needs
An excluded parent’s needs are only considered if he/she has income, unless the parent is an undocumented individual. Refer to 44-133.521 below for further information.
The excluded persons section does not apply to parents excluded for the following reasons:
· A sanction;
· Being a recipient of another aid program; or
· Being a member of a different AU.
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Parents whose needs and income are considered include, but not limited to (44-133.511 - .515)
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· A stepparent who is the spouse of the applicant and/or participant and is not the parent of any of the children who are required to be in the AU.
· Natural or adoptive parents who are excluded by law.
· Fathers of unborn children in Pregnant Women Only cases.
· Spouses of aided children in their parents AU when the spouse does not have a child in the AU.
· Fleeing Felon.
· Violation of probation or parole.
· Convicted drug felon.
· Sponsored non-citizenss whose needs are being met by a sponsor’s deemed income.
Note: The needs of the above individuals would only be considered if they have income.
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The Applicant (MBSAC) and Participant Financial Eligibility Test (MAP) considers the needs of the following persons
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· Undocumented individuals as noted within section 44-133.521 below;
· Needs of AU members other than those noted within 44-133.4 (Sanctioned and Penalized Individuals);
· Needs of persons excluded from the AU as noted within 44-133.51 whose income is being considered;
· Needs of any excluded children of the persons noted within 44-133.51 and .521 whose income is considered or other dependents living in the home who could be claimed by the person for tax purposes; and
· Needs of any excluded spouse of the persons noted within 44-133.51 and .521 whose income is being considered.
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Undocumented Individual
(44-133.521)
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The needs of the following persons are considered in the MBSAC (applicant cases) and MAP (recipient cases) as long as they are related to the AU and who would otherwise be eligible for aid if it were not for their alien status:
· Undocumented spouse of an AU member.
· Undocumented parent of a child in the AU.
· Undocumented parent of an undocumented child in common who is deprived of parental support and care.
· An undocumented child of an AU member.
· An undocumented child who is the sibling or half sibling of a child in the AU.
Example:
Household consists of father (undocumented), eligible mother with one common child who is a United States (U.S.) citizen. The mother has another child (undocumented) who receives direct child support in the amount of $85 per month from the child’s absent parent. The mother receives $500 earned income per month and the father has no income.
Applicant Financial Eligibility Determination (MBSAC computation)
$500 Earned Monthly Income of Mother
- 90 Applicant Earned Income Disregard
$410 Subtotal
+ 85 Unearned Income of Undocumented
$495 Total net Non-exempt Income
$495 Less than MBSAC for four
*Family passes the Applicant Financial Eligibility Test
Participant Financial Eligibility Determination
$500 Earned Monthly Income of Mother
-225 Earned Income Disregard
$275 Subtotal
-137 50% Earned Income Disregard
$138 Net Non-exempt Earned Income (round down)
+85 Unearned Income of Undocumented child
$223 Total Net Non-exempt Income
$223 Less than Non-exempt MAP for four
*Family passes the Participant Financial Eligibility Test
Grant Computation
$800 Non-exempt MAP for four which consists of the eligible and undocumented individuals since the needs of undocumented individuals are considered.
-223 Total Net Non-exempt Income
$577 Potential Grant
1. What is the MAP for the eligible persons in the AU?
$542 for the two eligible individuals: Mother and citizen child.
2. Compare the Potential Grant to the MAP for the AU. In this instance the MAP is for two in the amount of $542 (Non-exempt).
The aid payment is the less of the Potential Grant in the amount of $577 or the MAP for the AU in the amount of $542.
3. The family is eligible to $542.
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Excluded Children
(44-133.53)
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Income
The income of excluded children not required to be in the AU is excluded unless the needs of the child are considered as specified within section 44-133.521.
Reference 44-111.22 for student exemption disregard for earnings of a child.
Needs
Needs of excluded children are considered when computing the applicant and participant financial eligibility tests (MAP/MBSAC).
Example:
A non-minor dependent (NMD) receives extended foster care benefits and lives in an approved Supervised Independent Living Placement (SILP) with his girlfriend and the NMD’s child-in-common who are both receiving CalWORKs. The NMD is working part-time with earnings of $500 per month. Is the earned income of the NMD used in the CalWORKs grant calculation for the child and mother?
Answer:
The NMD’s earnings are not counted when determining eligibility and grant amount for the girlfriend and child because the NMD is a recipient of another aid program (44-133.51) and the income received by children in foster care is income for the child not the AU (44-133.3).
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Excluded family member whose needs must be considered shares the same familial relationship with more than one AU and the members of both AUs live in the same home
(44-133.55)
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The parents shall determine in which AU the needs of the non-AU family member shall be included.
Example:
A mother with one child (AU #1) has an ineligible undocumented child in common with the unmarried father who receives aid for his separate child (AU #2).
The ineligible undocumented child has deprivation. Mother has earned income and the father who is the principal earner is unemployed and receives Unemployment Income Benefits (unearned income).
Parents will decide in which AU to include the ineligible undocumented common child’s needs.
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NON-NEEDY CARETAKER RELATIVE (44-133.6)
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Income of a Non-needy Caretaker Relative, Other than the Parent, Who is Willing and Able to Meet the Child’s Needs
(44-133.6)
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Is considered income available to the AU.
Note: If the non-needy caretaker relative is not willing and able to meet the child’s needs, then the non-needy caretaker relative’s income is not considered available to the AU.
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SPONSOR’S INCOME (44-133.7)
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Sponsor’s Income
(44-133.7)
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The income (earned/unearned) of the sponsor and the sponsor’s spouse is deemed to be the sponsored non-citizen’s income.
The above does not apply if the sponsor and his/her spouse receive cash assistance such as General Relief, Social Security Income, Refugee Cash Assistance, etc.
Income is deemed until the sponsored non-citizen:
· Becomes a U.S. citizen;
· Has worked 40 qualifying quarters;
· Leaves the U.S.; or
· The sponsor dies.
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Income determination for sponsored non-citizen
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Determine the total amount of earned and unearned income of the sponsor and his/her spouse, such as wages or salary, or net earnings from self-employment.
(Reference 44-113.212)
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If the sponsor is the sponsor for more than one non-citizen
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The total gross income is divided by the total numbers of sponsored non-citizens who are applying for or receiving CalWORKs, including the number of sponsored non-citizens in the applicant’s AU.
Note: The number of sponsored non-citizens receiving CalWORKs and/or who are in the AU must be reported on the SAR 22, Sponsor’s Statement of Facts Income and Resources.
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When the sponsored non-citizen is not included in the AU based on CalWORKs policy 82-832
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The portion of his/her income which has been deemed from the sponsor is not used in determining his/her contribution to the AU unless such income is actually available to the AU.
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When the sponsored non-citizen is a member of the AU
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The deemed income from the sponsor shall be treated as unearned income as noted within CalWORKs policy 44-113 and 44-315.4.
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If the sponsor is either an excluded parent or stepparent
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His/her income is determined using the excluded parent or stepparent deeming computation.
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TIMED-OUT ADULTS (44-133.8)
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Income and needs of timed-out adults living in the AU
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Timed-out adults have been removed from the AU as he/she exceeded the 48-month CalWORKs time-limit.
The income and needs are treated as follows:
Parents (44-133.81)
Income: The net non-exempt income is available to the AU as the timed-out parent is otherwise required to be in the AU and living in the home.
Needs: The needs are not considered when calculating the grant for the aided AU members.
Non-needy caretaker relatives
Timed-out non-needy caretaker relatives living in the home are no longer eligible to be optional AU members.
Income and Needs
The income and needs are not considered for non-needy caretaker relatives when calculating the grant for the aided AU.
Stepparents
Timed-out stepparents who are not required to be in the AU and living in the home are no longer eligible to be optional AU members.
Income and Needs
The net non-exempt income and needs are treated in accordance with 44-133.511 and 44-133.511.
For detailed regulations for Timed-Out adults, reference 42-301 and 82-833.1.
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