Income

[EAS 44-101]

Income is any benefit in cash or in kind which is reasonably anticipated to be available to the family members or is received by them as a result of current or past labor or services, business activities, interests in real or personal property, or as a contribution from individuals, organizations, or assistance agencies. To be considered in determining for CalWORKs payments, income must be reasonably anticipated to be available to the Assistance Unit (AU) members in meeting their needs during the SAR payment period. All income except exempted or excluded is counted in evaluating the need of the AU and in determining the amount of cash aid to which the AU is entitled.

If the client is employed or self-employed, refer to Chewable Byte 24-111: How to Complete Employment Detail Page and CalSAWS Reference Material How to Add New or Edit Existing Income for CalSAWS entries.

Family Income

[W & I Code 11450 and 11451.5]

When determining the eligibility and grant amount for an AU, the Social Services Benefits Specialist (SSBS) must look at the income of the family.

A family is defined as the members of the AU as well as certain persons living in the home who are related to the AU members by blood or marriage. Those persons who are not receiving CalWORKs are considered “non-AU members”.

The income of the “family,” AU members and non-AU members living in the home, must be counted in the budgeting process. The needs of these persons are also considered. This includes the following persons:

Ineligible non-citizen parents
Ineligible non-citizen children
Stepparents
Senior Parents
Minor parents excluded from the AU due to excess senior parent income
Parents excluded by law, such as the father of the unborn
Spouse of an aided child
Unmarried adult male who has an eligible child in common with the aided parent, his separate child(ren), if any, and the common child.

There is only one budgeting method, regardless of why certain persons are excluded from the AU. It is no longer required that the budgeting computation be based upon the reason for the excluded person budgeting (such as stepparent, ineligible non-citizen parent, senior parent, excluded parent, etc.).

ExampleExample Living in the home are a CalWORKs mother, her two separate children, the fully employed stepfather, and his one separate child. The stepparent and his separate child do not receive CalWORKs benefits. The “family” consists of all 5 individuals. Use the income of all these individuals when determining the eligibility and grant amount for the AU.

Reminder: There is no change in the Sponsored Non-Citizen process.

Evidence of Income

Verification of income must be on file at:

Application,
Periodic report (SAR 7),
When adding an AU member mid-period, and
Redetermination (RD).

The verification must establish:

The gross and net amounts of income received,
The date(s) and frequency of receipt of income, and
Whether it is separate or community income.

The Work Number (TWN)

For all AU and non-AU members whose income must be counted, a 3-month TWN report must be requested and saved to the case file in the instances above, whether or not income and employment are reported, or relevant verification is submitted by the AU. Refer to Common Place Handbook The Work Number (TWN) and Truv for more information.

Separate Income

Separate income is:

Income derived from an interest in separate property.
Income resulting from employment or military service which occurred before the present marriage.
Income received after a decree of separate maintenance has been issued, as distinguished from a decree of dissolution.
Income received when one spouse is living apart from the other spouse, as well as income received after dissolution.
Funds awarded to a married person from their spouse in a civil action for personal injuries are considered that spouse's separate income during the month of receipt, and separate property if retained past the month of receipt. If these funds are paid as a nonrecurring lump-sum payment, the funds must be treated as property. Refer to Lump Sum Income.

Community Income

Community income is: