Nonrecurring Special Needs

[EAS 44-211.3]

General

A payment for a nonrecurring special need shall be granted to an eligible AU when either of the following conditions exists:

There is a household emergency resulting from sudden and unusual circumstances beyond the AU's control.
Homelessness when the AU is seeking permanent housing. Refer to Financial Eligibility and Homeless Assistance for information about the Homeless Assistance program.

Resource Rule

An AU is ineligible to receive a nonrecurring special need payment if it has over $100 in nonexempt liquid resources. The EW must evaluate nonexempt liquid resources when an AU requests a nonrecurring special need payment.

Liquid resources of $100 or less shall not be considered for purposes of computing the nonrecurring special need payment.

Liquid Resources

Liquid resources, as referred to in this section, include those resources which are, or can be made, IMMEDIATELY available. This includes cash, negotiable stocks or bonds, bank accounts, etc.

The following are NOT considered liquid resources:

Cash surrender value of insurance policies.
Mortgages or trust deeds.
Household furnishings and personal effects.
Automobiles.
Real property.
Tools of trade, equipment, or materials necessary to implement and continue an approved employment plan.

Reminder: We cannot count the same monies as both income and a resource in the same month. Income in one month becomes property in the following months, if any of the funds remain.

Emergencies Resulting from Sudden and Unusual Circumstances

An AU is entitled to receive a nonrecurring special need payment to repair or replace clothing or household equipment; to provide assistance for damages to the home; OR to pay for interim shelter when the AU's home was destroyed or made uninhabitable or inaccessible.

The loss or damage must have been caused by sudden and unusual circumstances beyond the AU's control.
The payment is issued by Fiscal.
The EW determines if the payment is to be made and the amount paid for repair or replacement. This includes the provision of donated or used serviceable items. Possible questions you may want to ask the client:
- Have you checked all the wiring? Is it plugged in? Are the fuses working?
- Is there a family member, relative or friend who can repair or provide the item?

The total amount allowed for the payment for household emergencies can not exceed $600 for each incident resulting from the circumstances described above.

The amount of the payment for each item to be repaired or replaced or to assist with damage to the home is the actual cost, including sales tax, up to a total maximum not to exceed $600.
Payments are made to repair or replace clothing, household items or damage to the home belonging to and occupied by the AU. Payment cannot be made to repair or replace clothing or household items or the home which does not belong to a member of the AU, i.e., furniture in a furnished apartment.

Damage to the AU's Home

Within the $600 limit, payment may be made for the costs of essential repair or replacement resulting from damage to the home owned and occupied by a member of the AU.

The payment is allowed for the following costs:

Moving and/or storage costs necessitated by the damage to the home.
Labor and material costs for repair of the home in which the AU lives and which a member of the AU owns.

Clothing and Household Equipment

Within the $600 limit, a payment may be made for clothing and household equipment.

A payment made to replace clothing may not exceed $25 for each member of the AU. The cost of clothing does not need to be verified.

Items of household equipment which may be repaired or replaced include, but are not limited to the following (these require cost estimates):

Bedding, dishes, kitchen utensils—$12 for each person in the AU.
Cook stove—$142
Refrigerator—$190
Space heater—$73
Double bed including mattress—$143
Other essential furniture—$50

Example:

Client
1. Calls the EW to report there has been a fire in the home causing damage to the kitchen and bedrooms. This is a family of three. Items needing replacement are the stove, refrigerator, bed- ding and clothing, dishes, kitchen utensils and 2 beds.
EW
1. Notifies the client of:
  1. The allowable cost for replacement of items.
  2. The necessity of obtaining the cost estimate for replacement, not including clothing.
  3. Verification of the incident, i.e., fire, police or insurance reports.
Client
1. Client obtains estimates for needed items and provides to the EW.
EW
1. Calculates the total for needed items:
  1. $142 – stove
  2. 190 – refrigerator
  3. 286 – 2 beds (2 x $143)
  4. 75 – clothing (3 x $25)
  5. 36 – bedding, dishes and kitchen utensils (3 x $12)
  6. $729
2. Explains to the client that although the total amount is $729, the maximum amount that we can reimburse is $600.
EW
1. Refer to Processing the SCD 414 below to process the SC 414.
Fiscal
1. Processes the SCD 414 and issues the check.

Multiple Payments

The EW may elect to pay the nonrecurring special need allowance in multiple payments over a period not to exceed 3 months. Payments spread over 3 months are not considered to be recurring.

Interim Shelter

An AU may receive a nonrecurring special need payment for the costs of interim shelter when the AU's home has been destroyed, made uninhabitable or inaccessible.

An AU is NOT eligible to receive a nonrecurring special need payment for the costs of interim shelter if that AU is eligible to receive the payment through the Homeless Assistance program. Refer to Financial Eligibility and Homeless Assistance.

Note: If an AU has received Homeless Assistance and the AU's home is subsequently destroyed, made uninhabitable or inaccessible, the AU may qualify for interim shelter assistance. However, both interim shelter and Homeless Assistance cannot be paid for the same incidence of homelessness.

Example Example An AU was homeless. The AU moved into an apartment upon receipt of permanent housing on 2/10/95, after receiving seven days of temporary shelter. The AU cannot also be given an interim shelter payment for this incidence of homelessness. On 5/21/95, the apartment was destroyed by an earthquake. The AU would be eligible for interim shelter because this is a different incident of homelessness and there is no eligibility for Homeless Assistance.

Processing the SCD 414

The “Special Need Requisition” (SCD 414) shall be processed by the EW as follows:

Verify CalWORKs eligibility for the caretaker.
Request the nonrecurring special need items on the SCD 414, completing all necessary information (i.e., name, address, case number, etc.).
Enter the amount of available liquid assets. Must be $100 or less to be eligible.
Sign your name on the EW Signature line.
Obtain the approval signature of the Eligibility Work Supervisor.
Image the SCD 414 and all related documentation into case.

CalSAWS Entries for Non-Recurring Special Needs

Non-recurring special needs are entered in the Needs List page in CalSAWS:

Select "Other" in Type dropdown,
In the Need Detail page
- select "Special Needs" in Category dropdown,
- "Household Necessity" in Type dropdown, and date in Begin Date,
- Status-"Indicated",
- Status Reason-"Documented"
In the Arrangement Details page,
- Current date is Arrangement Period for both From and To dates
- Program Type-CalWORKs
- Aid Code-appropriate CW aid code
- Payee-Payee Name
- Sevice Type Description-appropriate description (i.e. Cook Stove),
- Number of People-1 (or number of people the service type description is for),
- Set Amount-amount limit per item, per person.
- Status-Approved,
- Status Reason-Eligible for service
- Status Date-current date

Here is an exampleexample of entries for the replacement of a stove that was destroyed in a fire: