44-211.555 Housing Relocation Program

.Purpose

Policy

Background

Release Date:

8/15/17

Definitions

Requirements

Verification Docs

CalWORKs

44-211.555 Housing Relocation Program

Purpose

( ) To release a new policy

( ) To release a new form

( ) To convert existing policy to new writing style only – No concept changes

(X) Revision of existing policy and/or form(s)

What Changed?

Effective August 1, 2017, the Housing Relocation Program (HRP) will be suspended due to the State’s reduction in Single Allocation funding for Fiscal Year 2017-18.

Note: Changes shown are highlighted in grey throughout the document.

Policy

The HRP is designed to provide a one-time only relocation payment of up to $1,500 to eligible CalWORKs Welfare-to-Work (WtW) participants. The HRP is available to CalWORK participants who are meeting the WtW requirement by either being full-time employed or enrolled in GAIN and have a documented offer of employment of 20 or more hours per week. The HRP assists CalWORKs WtW families who need to relocate so that they can accept a job offer of 20 or more hours per week or keep a job they already have.

The HRP provides up to $1,500 that can be used for moving expenses, i.e., truck rental, security deposits (including last month's rent and any legal payment, fee, deposit or charge that is required by a landlord as a condition of assuming occupancy), and utility deposits.

In addition to the moving expenses, participants in need of a stove and/or refrigerator, may be eligible for an additional $405 to purchase one or both appliances. Participants may purchase a stove and/or refrigerator that costs more than $405; however, the participant would be responsible for any amount exceeding the $405. The total payment for the HRP cannot exceed $1,905 (moving expense - $1,500 + appliances - $405). The appliance amount is based on the appliance replacement expenditure authorized by the California Department of Social Services.

In addition to relocating within Los Angeles County, CalWORKs WtW participants can use the HRP to relocate to a permanent residence in another city or state, as long as they meet all eligibility requirements for the HRP.

The HRP is only available to CalWORKs WtW families once-in-a-lifetime, with no exceptions.

The Eligibility Worker (EW) is required to contact the landlord/property manager to verify rental/lease information when processing payments under the CalWORKs Housing Relocation Program.

Effective August 1, 2017, the Housing Relocation Program (HRP) will be suspended due to the State’s reduction in Single Allocation funding for Fiscal Year 2017-18. Staff should suspend accepting applications for HRP, effective July 31, 2017. Any application received on July 31, 2017, or prior, must be processed (approved or denied) by August 15, 2017. Staff will be notified should the program be reinstated.

Background

The HRP is one of the 46 Long-Term Care Family Self-Sufficiency Plan projects identified by DPSS to assist CalWORKs WtW participants who have identified housing, child care, and transportation as barriers to sustaining or obtaining gainful employment.

Definitions

Term

Description

Total Monthly Household Income (TMHI)

The TMHI:

Can include the income of all Assistance Unit (AU) members and of any other persons whose income is currently used in calculating an AU's grant, including but not limited to sanctioned and penalized household members and persons who are excluded by law for their undocumented noncitizen or drug felon status; and

Includes gross earned and unearned income, including the CalWORKs computed grant, but does not include CalFresh, CalWORKs Special Needs or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and State Supplementary Payment (SSP). If an SSl/SSP recipient living in the home contributes toward the monthly rent, the family's total monthly rent amount to which the 60 percent standard is applied would be reduced by the amount contributed from the SSl/SSP recipient.

Requirements

To be eligible for the HRP payment, the CalWORKs WtW family must meet the

following eligibility requirements.

Requirement	Limit/Condition
1.	Be CalWORKs approved.
2.	Be enrolled and actively participating in a WtW activity through GAIN.
3.	Be currently employed full-time or enrolled in GAIN and have a documented offer of employment of at least 20 hours per week.
4.	Must have a need to relocate to access employment, child care, or transportation (based on the documented one hour one-way travel time/distance to/from work, child care, or both).
5.	Must have located affordable housing in which the rent does not exceed 60 percent of the families TMHI.

Verification Documents

Category	Acceptable Documents
Offer of Employment	A signed letter from the employer with expected salary amount, hours, and tentative start date. Note: In instances where a participant claims that the employer refuses to complete or provide written verification of expected earnings/hours/start date of employment, the EW can contact the employer (with the participant’s written permission) by phone to obtain verbal verification and document the information on the case record.
Current Employment	Pay stubs or a letter from the employer that verify the salary amount and hours.
Other Income	Pay stubs, bank statement or award letter.
Affordable Housing	Proof of intent to rent from the landlord or a completed PA 956, Housing/Utility Verification Form. Once the participant secures housing, he/she must provide a rental/lease agreement within ten days of the move.
Appliances	If a stove or refrigerator is needed, the participant must provide a store estimate of each item prior to the HRP being issued. Once the participant has purchased the appliance(s), the participant must submit receipt(s) of the purchase of the appliance(s) within ten days of the purchase.