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Restoration of Aid Waiver
Effective October 1, 2010, discontinued NA CalFresh households may have their eligibility and benefits restored within the month following termination without the need for a new application or an interview, should the household resolve the reason(s) for the discontinuance within 30 days following the effective date of discontinuance. AB 959 extended this opportunity to CalWORKs and PACF households. CalFresh households must provide the necessary documentation/verification or satisfy any other condition of eligibility that prompted the termination in order to have the case restored. Before restoring benefits, the household MUST meet all other eligibility conditions.
Note: The CDSS has been authorized by the USDA, FNS to continue implementing the Reinstatement Waiver for a period of five years effective July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2027. This waiver does not make changes to the required information and verification needed to maintain CalFresh eligibility.
Approval of this waiver is based on the following conditions being met before the case is reinstated:
- The household's case must be in closed status;
- The household’s eligibility can only be reinstated without a new application or interview, if the missing report, information, or verification is received by the local office within 30 days of the date the household became ineligible for program benefits;
- The household has at least one month remaining in the certification period after the effective date of ineligibility;
- The household must fully resolve the reason for the case closure and re-establish eligibility which may include reporting and verifying any changes in household circumstances;
- The household must be eligible for benefits during the reinstatement month and the remaining months of the certification period;
- Benefits for the initial month of reinstated eligibility must be prorated from the date the household took the required action to re-establish eligibility;
- For households other than those that submit a new application, the county must retain the current certification period.
Proration of Benefits
Once the missing information is provided by the HH and verified by the EW, eligibility must be reinstated and benefits pro-rated from the date the HH resolves the discontinuance.
Reminder: A determination must be made of whether the household had good cause for failure to submit a complete and timely SAR 7 for the previous semi-annual period. Current good cause rules for failure to submit a completer and timely SAR 7 continue to apply. If the household is determined to have good cause for not submitting a complete and timely SAR 7, the County is still required to rescind the discontinuance and restore full benefits back to the first of the month following discontinuance.
Refer to Discontinued Households for more information about good cause.
Exceptions
Households that are terminated for the following reasons are not eligible for restoration and MUST reapply for CalFresh:
- Terminated for failure to complete recertification,
- Terminated for returning to a county of residence after moving out of the county,
- Disqualified from the CalFresh program.
Reapplication / Recertification
Restored HHs are considered continuing cases. Therefore, the HH is NOT REQUIRED to submit a new application or participate in any application interview. In addition, the HH will be allowed to retain their original certification period.
However, if it would be more advantageous and convenient for the HH to file a new application instead of being restored (e.g., the date of the HH’s recertification is approaching), the EW must provide this option to the HH.
Wrongful Termination
During the restoration process, if it is discovered that a HH has been mistakenly terminated, the EW MUST rescind the discontinuance and restore eligibility and benefits at the prior level without proration.
Expedited Services
HHs who have had their eligibility restored under this waiver are not considered applicants and are, therefore, NOT entitled to expedited services.
Transitional CalFresh
When the CalWORKs Program is restored for the household receiving TCF, regular CalFresh benefits will be restored effective the first of the following month, providing the county issues a timely NOA prior to the termination of TCF benefits. Therefore, if there is no time to send the termination NOA (i.e., CF 1239) within the 10 day timeframe, TCF benefits must be continued.
A PACF household is terminated on March for income over IRT and begins receiving TCF in April. The household submits a new income below IRT on April 7 and continues to receive TCF for April. The county must send a timely NOA terminating the TCF effective April 30. Regular CalFresh benefits are restored effective May 1.
In the same scenario as above, a PACF household is terminated on March 31 for exceeding the income limit and begins receiving TCF in April. The household submits a complete SAR 7 on April 23. The TCF has already been issued for April and it is too late to send a timely NOA to stop the TCF allotment for May. The county must send a timely NOA terminating TCF effective May 31. Regular CalFresh benefits are restored effective June 1. There is no overissuance May.
Data Month Information
If a SAR HH is discontinued due to missing SAR 7 information or failure to submit a SAR 7, but resolves the issue under the guidelines of this waiver, the EW will determine eligibility and benefit amount based on the information reported on the SAR DATA MONTH.
A HH is in a January through June SAR cycle. The HH fails to submit their SAR 7 and the case is discontinued June 31. On July 15, the HH submits their SAR 7. The EW must determine eligibility and benefits for the next SAR Period (i.e., July to December) based on information reported on the May SAR 7. If the HH is eligible based on information on the SAR 7, the EW must restore eligibility and benefits effective July 15. The EW must also issue a “CalFresh Notice of Restoration Approval” (CF 388) notice to the HH.
SAR Cycle/ Recertification
When a HH is discontinued due to issues related to SAR 7 but resolves the discontinuance and has eligibility restored under the guidelines of the waiver, the HH’s SAR cycle and recertification WILL NOT CHANGE.
A HH applied for and was approved for CalFresh benefits on February 26. The EW used the application date to establish the SAR cycle. The HH is put into the February/March/April SAR cycle with a 12-month certification period. The HH is discontinued on April 30 for not providing proof of earnings as reported on the SAR 7. Subsequently, the HH provides the necessary documentation of earnings to the EW on May 7. The EW restores eligibility and benefits to the HH effective May 7. The SAR cycle and the existing certification date for the HH are NOT changes.
Ineligible Determination
If a discontinued SAR HH resolves the discontinuance by providing the missing information/verification, and the information/verification renders the HH ineligible, the original discontinuance will remain in effect. The EW is not required to restore the HH’s CalFresh case and then establish an overissuance.
A HH is in a January through June SAR cycle. The HH did not submit their SAR 7 by June 5 and the EW discontinues the case effective July 1st. On July 15, the HH submits their SAR 7. The EW determines eligibility and benefits for the July through December SAR period based on information from the month of May SAR 7. The May SAR 7 information renders the HH ineligible for benefits due to income. The discontinued HH is NOT restored and the July 1st discontinuance remains intact. The EW MUST send a “Notice of Denial of Restoration” (DFA 389) notice to the HH.
Voluntary Report
During the restoration process, if the HH voluntarily reports or provides updated information in the SAR 7, the EW must treat this information as a voluntary mid-period report and act accordingly. SAR HHs are still responsible for adhering to SAR reporting rules by notifying the EW of any required mandatory changes.
Reestablish Eligibility
If a SAR HH has already been discontinued, but circumstances have changed that could reestablish eligibility, the EW may use the guidelines of this waiver to restore the case or have the HH file a new application if it is determined to be more advantageous and convenient for the HH.
A HH is in a March through August SAR cycle. The HH submits their SAR 7 timely in August. The HH reports anticipated income that will exceed income limits. The EW correctly discontinues the HH August 31 for income over the limit. On September 10, the HH reports and provides proof of the loss of income that was reported on the SAR 7. The EW must determine eligibility and benefits based on the new information and restore the HH effective September 10. The SAR cycle and existing certification date remain unchanged.
Good Cause
This waiver does not amend the criteria for determining good cause. The EW will still determine if the HH had a good cause for failure to submit a complete and timely SAR 7. If the HH does not meet the good cause criteria, the conditions of this waiver will be applied.
Refer to Discontinued Households for information on good cause determination.
Notices of Action
EWs are required to send the following approval or denial NOA to HHs requesting restoration of aid. Since restoring discontinued benefits is considered a positive action, issuing an adequate approval NOA is sufficient.
- “CalFresh Notice of Restoration Approval” (CF 388)
- “Notice of Denial of Restoration” (CF 389).
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