|
|
Residency
Requirements [63-401]
The household must reside in Santa Clara County.
- There are no durational requirements.
- Intention to reside permanently in the county is not required.
- A fixed residence is not required.
Migrant camp sites or time-limited residency at publicly supported shelters for the homeless satisfy the residency requirements, regardless of the number of meals served. Shelters include but are not limited to:
- The Salvation Army on North 4th Street.
- The Housing Consortium
- Brandon House
- El Zocalo
- The Women's Alliance (WOMA)
- Mid-Peninsula Support Network, Inc.
- The Commercial Street Shelter
Participation Limits [63-401.2, 63-503.46]
No individual may participate in more than one CalFresh household in any one month or, in more than one county in any one month.
Exception: Eligible residents of shelters for battered women and children who were CalFresh participants in the dwelling of the abuser.
Vacations
Persons in a county solely for vacation purposes shall not be considered residents.
Visitors
A person who is applying for CalFresh benefits in California because they are visiting and will be staying for an extended amount of time, but states that they reside in a different state, must not receive benefits in California due to their stated residency in the other state. They may apply in their state of residence.
Applicant applies for CalFresh benefits in a California county. The applicant discloses that he/she is visiting friends and will be staying for several months with an unknown return date. The client is financially eligible for CalFresh, but states their residency is in Washington. The client’s application must be denied. The applicant should be instructed to apply in Washington.
Temporary Absences
Temporary absences refer to CalFresh recipients who are temporarily residing in another county for various reasons but intend to return to their initial county of residence. Temporary absences must not result in discontinuance unless they last longer than one year.
Out-of-County
Out-of-county refers to clients who are in a California county other than their established county of residence for various reasons but may intend to return to their county of residence at some point.
When the EW discovers a household may be residing in another county, the EW must send a CF 387, RFI to the household’s last known address to request the needed information to clarify eligibility.
- If the household provides the requested information within the 10-day time frame confirming it is now residing in another county and eligibility is maintained, the EW should initiate an ICT.
- If the household responds stating that it is temporarily in another county caring for a sick relative, or fleeing domestic abuse, or any other reason, but intends to return, they may still be eligible. As long as the household continues to meet its reporting requirements, no further action is required.
- If the household does not respond, the household’s CalFresh benefits must be terminated at the end of the month in which a 10-day notice can be provided for failing to respond to the RFI.
A household lives in County A but the husband has been temporarily relocated for three months to County B for this job. He intends to return to County A once his job in County B ends. In this instance, the household continues their residency in County A while the husband may use CalFresh benefits in County B.
County A receives an EBT usage report or a third party report indicating that a household has been accessing their benefits in another county for an extended period of time. The county must attempt to contact the client by sending an RFI to the last known address. The household responds stating that it is temporally in another county caring for a sick relative, or fleeing domestic abuse, or any other reason, but intends to return. As long as the household continues to meet its reporting requirements, no ICT shall be initiated and County A must maintain the case.
Out-of-State
Out-of-State refers to clients who are in a state other than their established state of residence for various reasons but intend to return to their state of residence within one year.
When the EW discovers a household may be residing in another state, the EW must send a CF 387, RFI to the household’s last known address to request the needed information to clarify eligibility.
- If the household responds stating that is it temporarily in another state caring for a sick relative, or fleeing domestic abuse, or any other reason, but intends to return to Santa Clara County, no further action is required.
- If the household provides the requested information within the 10-day time frame confirming it is now residing in another state, the EW must discontinue the benefits at the end of the month. No notice of action is required.
- If the household does not respond to the RFI, the benefits must be discontinued at the end of the month in which a 10-day notice can be provided for failing to respond to the RFI.
County A receives an EBT usage report or other reliable report indicating that a household has been accessing their benefits in another state for an extended period of time. The county must attempt to contact the client by sending an RFI to the last known address to determine if the household has moved to the other state or intends to return to County A. The household responds stating that it is temporally in another state caring for a sick relative, or fleeing domestic abuse, or any other reason, but intends to return to County A. As long as the household continues to meet its reporting requirements, County A must maintain the case.
County A receives an EBT usage report or other reliable report indicating that a household has been accessing their benefits in another state for an extended period of time. The county must attempt to contact the household by sending an RFI to the last known address. The household responds that they are residing in another state. No notice of action is required. The household’s benefits must then be terminated for loss of residency or for having moved out of state.
Homeless Households
Homeless recipients may move around and access their benefits in counties (or states) other than the county that they identify as their county of residence. Out-of- county or out-of-state EBT usage alone is not justification for the county to determine that the recipients are actually residing in that other county/state. The county may send an RFI, to the last know address (which may be a county PO Box or General Delivery address) to determine if the recipient has moved to another county/state or intends to return to County A.
If the recipient does not respond to the RFI within 10 days, the case must be discontinued. If the recipient responds to the RFI within the 10 day time period, the county must evaluate the recipient’s residency and determine if the case should be transferred, terminated, or if eligibility is to be maintained in the original county.
Returned Mail
- A discontinuance based on “whereabouts unknown” is not permitted in CalFresh. Therefore, if mail is sent to the household’s address of record and is returned as “undeliverable” or addressee unknown, the County should not assume a loss of residence in the county. The county may attempt to contact the household by sending an RFI to the last known address.
- If the household does not respond to the RFI, the county must discontinue the benefits at the end of the month with a 10-day notice for failure to respond to the RFI using the discontinuance type, “failure to provide verification.”
- If the recipient responds to the RFI within the 10 day time period, the EW must evaluate the recipient’s residency and determine if the case should be:
- Transferred to another CA county and terminated with the reason “Discontinue CalFresh-ICT-No longer County Resident,” or
- Remain in our county.
Related Topics