DPSS ePolicy

Revision of existing policy and/or forms. 

What Changed?

This release is to:

• Remind staff that absent parent information must be completed in CalSAWS any time there is an absent parent for the child(ren) at Intake (application), Renewal (RE), and when a child with an absent parent(s) is added to the case;
• The updates to CalSAWS ensure an electronic child support referral is sent to the Child Support Services Department (CSSD).  Some of the benefits of the child enforcement process are:
  • Child support collected by CSSD helps repay time-on-aid received by the CalWORKs participant which results in a reduction to the participant’s CalWORKs 48-Month Time Clock; and
  • Families receive a $100 child support disregard payment that is not counted in the CalWORKs grant computation.
• Provide further details regarding the process when paternity has not been established.

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

A child must be deprived of parental support or care to be eligible for CalWORKs. 

Deprivation exists when any of the following factors are met:  

1. Either parent is deceased;
2. Either parent is physically or mentally incapacitated for at least 30 days;
3. The Principal Wage Earner (PWE) is employed less than 100 hours per month at application, or when there is an inter-program status change, e.g., the PWE returns to the home or is no longer incapacitated; or
4. Either parent is continually absent from the home.

When the child is deprived of parental support or care for more than one reason, eligibility may be established on any basis of deprivation listed above.  So long as one of these deprivation factors are met, the child is considered to have deprivation.  

The following factors must also be considered when conducting a deprivation evaluation: 

• A family leave from employment is not considered a deprivation factor; and
• Deprivation of an adopted child is based on the status of the adoptive parents(s), not the natural parents.
  
  

N/A

Absent Parent

The natural or adoptive parent who is physically away from the home in which the child is living and meets the definition of continued absence. 

Continued Absence

Continued absence exists when the parent is physically away from the home and the nature of the absence results in an interruption or termination of the parent functioning as a provider of maintenance, physical care or guidance of the child. 

Examples of continued absence:

• Parents who are not married to each other and have not maintained a home together;
• A parent is an alternatively Sentenced Parent;
• A dissolution, annulment or legal separation action has been filed;
• The absent parent is incarcerated, committed to an institution, deported or has voluntarily left the county because of threat of or the knowledge that they are subject to deportation;
• There is a court injunction forbidding the absent parent from visiting the spouse or children;
• The remaining parent has signed the Notice and Agreement for Child, Spousal, and Medical Support, (CW 2.1 NA) and declared on the Statement of Facts (SAWS 2 PLUS)
  that the other parent has left the family and continued absence exists;
• Both parents are physically absent from the home and/or their whereabouts are unknown;
• The child was adopted by a single parent; or
• The child lives for alternate periods with each of their parents who are separated or divorced. 

Continued absence does not exist when the parent in a two parent case:

• Is absent on a temporary basis such as visits, trips, or short assignments undertaken in connection with employment;
• Is absent due to incarceration with release scheduled for less than one month;
• Is absent for the sole reason of being on active duty in the military service; or
• Is absent due to seeking employment.

Alternatively Sentenced Parent

A parent who is a convicted offender that is permitted to live at home while serving a court imposed sentence that precludes them from providing support through paid employment.

CSSD

The agency responsible for assigning and collecting child support payments. 

Employment Hours

The hours a participant spends providing a service product, whether the participant is an employee or self-employed.  Any hours spent working to acquire earned income, whether the participant receives the income or not, is considered toward the 100-hour limit (e.g., hours spent distributing catalogues, delivering products, making phone calls or completing paperwork related to a business). 

Four Week Period

A period of 28 consecutive days. It does not specifically relate to four calendar weeks (Sunday through Saturday).

The four-week period must end the day prior to the CalWORKs application date.  If the first four-week period does not contain less than 100 hours worked, staff must continue to move the four-week period and the date of eligibility forward one day at a time, until there are less than 100 hours worked during the new four-week period.  See the “Requirements” section,‘100-Hour Evaluation’ for further details. 

PWE

The PWE is the parent who earned the greater amount of income in the 24-month period preceding:

• The latest application/request for CalWORKs; or
• The date of an inter-program status change when a family’s circumstances changed that now eligibility is established under the unemployed parent program.

Examples: A parent returns to the home or is no longer incapacitated.

When both parents earned an identical amount, the Eligibility Worker (EW) in consultation with the parents, must designate which parent is the PWE who: 

• Is not employed;
• Is employed fewer than 100 hours per month; or
• Is employed 100 hours or more in a month and work is intermittent and temporary (employment was less than 100 hours in the two prior months and expected to be less than 100 hours in the following month).
  

Week

A period of seven consecutive days. It does not specifically relate to a calendar week (Sunday through Saturday).

Deprivation due to Death

Deprivation due to death exists when either parent is deceased. 

Deprivation due to Incapacity

Incapacity is based on either parent in the home who has a physical or mental illness and all the following are met: 

• The physical or mental illness substantially reduces or eliminates the parent’s ability to support or care for an otherwise eligible child because of the parent’s incapacity;

Note: The parent’s ability to care for the child involves the ability to provide a safe home environment, prepare meals, keep child(ren) properly clothed and supervised.

• The parent’s incapacity is expected to last at least 30 days; and
• The incapacity is documented by acceptable medical evidence. 

Re-evaluation of Incapacity

The participant’s condition is re-evaluated at each of the following times:

• When the condition is expected to end;
• When there is a reason to believe the condition has changed; and
• At the yearly RE, only if the condition is acute/permanent or expected to last more than a year.

Deprivation due to Absence

Deprivation due to absence exists when either parent is continuously absent from the home.

The following factors are considered to determine continued absence, but not limited to:

• Does the parent provide day-to-day care/control of the child(ren)?
• Do the parents maintain separate homes?
• Do the parents have separate mailing addresses?
• Do the parents have access to each other’s income and/or resources?
• Is the parent absent due to hospitalization, attendance at school, visiting, vacationing, or moving or trips made in connection with current/prospective employment?
• Other similar factors may also be considered.

Deprivation due to Unemployment

Deprivation due to unemployment exists when the PWE in a two-parent case:

• Is not employed; or
• Is employed less than 100 hours during the four-week period (28 days) prior to the CalWORKs application or date of inter-program status change.

The PWE may be an adoptive or biological parent or included or excluded from the Assistance Unit (AU).

100-Hour Evaluation

The 100-hour evaluation must be completed to determine if the principal earner was employed less than 100 hours during the four-week period (28 days) prior to the CalWORKS application date, return of the PWE to the home or change in deprivation from incapacity to unemployment.

• The evaluation is only conducted when the two parents of an eligible child are living together; and
• Does not apply to the parent who is not the PWE.

Example:

The CalWORKs application is submitted on December 2.  The principal earner was laid off on November 21, who was working a total of eight hours per day (40 hours weekly) Monday – Friday in the month of November. 

The principal earner worked 112 hours during the first four-week period, thus a new four-week period needs to be identified.  

The qualifying four-week period is November 6 through December 3 as it is the period where the PWE worked less than 100 hours.  The unemployment deprivation is established as December 4, which is the beginning date of CalWORKs aid, if otherwise eligible.   

Evaluating Deprivation – Semi Annual Reporting (SAR)

Under SAR, deprivation is evaluated at application, RE, and once per Payment Period based on the Data Month information in the SAR 7. Any change in deprivation is effective the first of the SAR Payment Period following the RE or SAR 7. 

Changes in deprivation should not be acted upon mid-period.  

Evaluating Deprivation Annual Reporting (AR)

Under AR for Annual Reporting/Child Only (AR/CO) cases, deprivation is evaluated at application, RE and when processing mandatorily reported changes in family composition.

A change in deprivation is effective the first of the month following the reported change at RE or mandatorily reported change in family composition.

Reminder: Changes in Household (HH) composition for AR/CO must be made within ten days of the change.  In addition, a change in HH composition means someone who moved into or out of the home.  

Changes in deprivation not due to a HH composition change are effective the first day of the next AR/CO Payment Period.    

When the change in HH was reported timely but there is insufficient time to provide a ten-day Notice of Action (NOA), an overpayment is not established in the
month following the change.

Deprivation Ends

When a basis for deprivation ends and the family is still needy, the EW must evaluate if any other basis for deprivation exists.

Relevant verification should be obtained from the participant based on the deprivation factor reported.  When the deprivation is due to absence, the participant’s statement, verbal or
written, is sufficient.   

Transitional Subsidized Employment (TSE)

Former Welfare-to-Work (WtW) GAIN participants who participated in TSE who apply for CalWORKs within three calendar months of leaving the subsidized employment are considered current participants when determining eligibility at Intake. This means that:

• The $450 applicant earned income disregard is not applied to determine financial eligibility, only the $600 and 50 percent earned income disregard will be applied to determine financial eligibility;
• For two-parent cases, the 100-hour rule is not applied to this population as long as they applied within three calendar months of leaving the TSE Program; and
• A restricted account, Individual Retirement Account, 529 College Savings Plan and Educational Savings Accounts are excluded as resources. 

The following are the three types of subsidized employment:

• Paid Work Experience - Offered to traditional WtW participants;
• Specialized Work Experience (SWE) - Offered to participants who are receiving specialized supportive services such as domestic violence, mental health, and/or substance abuse; and
• On-the-Job Training (OJT) – Offered to participants who receive job skills from an employer.
  

Paid Work Experience and SWE participants are placed in a public or non-profit organization in which the salary is funded by the DPSS.  South Bay Workforce Investment Board is the
employer of record for Paid Work Experience/SWE. 

Under OJT, the employer hires the participant and receives partial reimbursement for wages paid during the training period.  The duration of the activity is for six to twelve months.  It is expected that the employer will retain the employee at the end of the training period.  

The following are individuals who are eligible for TSE:

• Currently not employed;
• Traditional CalWORKs WtW families;
• Individuals in the Safety Net Program;
• Individuals in WtW sanction status; and
• CalWORKs families whose earnings from SWE exceed regular CalWORKs income limits remain eligible for up to 12 months.
      
  

Verification of Death

The following documents can be used to verify the death of either parent:

• Death certificate;
• Award letter (Social Security Administration based on the parent’s death);
• Newspaper clipping/funeral card;
• PA 853-1, Affidavit verified via the PA 230 process; or
• Other reliable documentation. 

If no acceptable documentation of death exists, the parent is considered an absent parent and is subject to the child support requirements. 

Verification of Absence

The applicant’s/participant’s statement, verbal or writing, is sufficient proof of deprivation due to absence. 

Verification of Incapacity

Incapacity is documented by: 

• A finding of eligibility for Old Age Survivors and Disability Insurance, Social Security Income/Supplemental Security Payment, Workers Compensation or State Disability Income benefits based on the parent’s disability (physical/mental) or blindness;
• CW 61 – Medical Report or other written statement from a physician or licensed/certified psychologist; an authorized member of their staff with access to the patient’s medical records; or
• Verbal statement from a physician, licensed or certified psychologist, or an authorized staff member with access to the patient’s medical records verifying incapacity.  This option could only be used up to a maximum of 60 days when a written statement cannot be obtained due to reasons beyond the applicant/participant’s control.  

When a written statement is accepted, the following information must be on the document:  

• Description of the illness and to what extent it prevents them from working or caring for the child(ren);
• Expected duration of illness/disability and the date of the next examination/appointment; and
• Doctor’s name, address and telephone number.

When a verbal statement is accepted, the following information must be documented:

• The above information; and
• The name of the person who provided the verification to the County representative; and
• The name of the County person who obtained verification.  

Verification of Unemployment

The following types of verification could be provided as evidence of the principal earner’s circumstances:

• The SAWS 2 PLUS – Application For CalFresh, Cash Aid, And/Or Medi-Cal/Health Care Programs;
• PA 1672-1 - Request for Employment or pay stubs documenting the number of hours of employment/earnings/training records;

Note: As interim, a statement from the current/previous employers can be recorded in the Case Journal pending written verification such as a returned PA 1672-1.

• A statement from the Employment Development Department, an actual check, etc., which documents the application/receipt of UIB; and
• CW 2201 - Unemployment Insurance Benefits Referral Form.