Homeless Assistance Payment Information

[EAS 44-211.5]

Rules

An otherwise eligible Assistance Unit (AU) that has received a Homeless Assistance (HA) payment at any time on behalf of an eligible child is not eligible for future HA payments during the established 12-month period, except under the following conditions:

There is a new caretaker relative who was not living with the AU at the time the payment was issued, AND
The new caretaker has not received temporary and permanent homeless assistance within a 12-month period on behalf of or as part of another AU, AND
The former caretaker relative is no longer living in the home with the AU.

Any adult living with an AU at the time HA is authorized who later becomes the caretaker for that AU is not eligible for additional HA during the 12-month period, unless the AU qualifies under an exception.

Example Example The parent of the mother in the AU (i.e., the grandmother of the child) resides with the AU at the time when the AU becomes homeless and receives Temporary Homeless Assistance (THA) and Permanent Homeless Assistance (PHA) payments. After locating and moving into permanent housing, the mother leaves the home, and the grandmother becomes the caretaker relative; the AU once again becomes homeless. Since the grandmother lived with the AU at the time HA was received, she is not eligible for further HA benefits until the 12-month period has exhausted, unless the AU qualifies under one of the exceptions.

Example Example Both parents are in the home and receive HA. The mother leaves the home and becomes the needy caretaker relative in another AU/case for her two nephews. She cannot receive HA again until the 12-month period has exhausted, unless the HA payment is made based upon an exception.

Eligible Providers

Part of the criteria to receive HA is that the provider of the housing must be one of the following:

A commercial establishment, or
A shelter, or
A publicly funded transitional housing place, or
A person or establishment with whom the AU has executed a valid lease, sublease, or shared housing agreement.

Note: The provider must have the legal right to do so, and the renter must have the same legal protections granted to all renters in the state of California. Refer to the Need for Housing section of Homeless Assistance Program Eligibility.

If the AU fails to pay an eligible provider as defined above, issue any further payments as restricted (vendor) payments.

Housing Provider on CalWORKs

When a housing provider is on CalWORKs, receipt of Permanent Homeless Assistance (PHA) and/or Temporary Homeless Assistance (THA) payments would be considered non-recurring lump-sum payments, which are considered property and do not impact financial eligibility or the Income Reporting Threshold (IRT). Refer to Lump Sum Income (Earned or Unearned).

Client's Choice of Payee

The AU has a choice of receiving payments directly or having a vendor payment, unless the Social Services Benefits Specialist (SSBS) determines a mismanagement of funds.

If the client requests a vendor payment for a non-contract shelter provider, the SSBS must obtain an Authorization to Release Information (SCD 1029) from the applicant/recipient and contact the provider to get agreement to the mail process.

Mismanagement of Funds

Mismanagement of funds exists when:

The recipient's homelessness is the result of failure to pay rent, other than for the following:
- A rent increase that results in the AU's rent, or share of the rent, being over 80% of the Total Monthly Household Income (TMHI), without the special needs for an AU of that size.
- Reasonable exercise of a tenant's right to withhold rent for cause.
- Domestic abuse (DA) by a spouse, partner, or roommate.
The SSBS determines that the HA payment was not used for shelter.
The client fails to provide verification that the THA payment was spent on shelter and/or the PHA was spent appropriately.
The AU provides verification which shows that the HA payment was not paid to an appropriate provider.

Mismanagement does not exist if the client spent all the HA payment for shelter or if the client paid for temporary shelter for each night of the payment period.

Restricted Payments

HA payments will be restricted and made payable to the provider when the SSBS determines that a mismanagement of funds has occurred. The client must be given an adequate Notice of Action (NOA) advising that their payment will be issued to the provider, including the reason for this action.

Vendor payments due to the presumption of mismanagement of CalWORKs must be computer-generated and mailed to the provider. Vendor payments due to the presumption of mismanagement SHALL NOT be given to the client to hand carry.

Once it is determined that restricted payments are to be issued, the remainder of a client’s HA payments for that incident of homelessness will be issued in this manner. If the AU received THA as a restricted payment, any PHA must also be issued as a restricted payment.

Note: If it is not possible to issue a restricted (vendor) payment, or no providers will accept them, issue the benefits directly to the client, as they will remain entitled to their remaining days of benefits, despite a finding of mismanagement.

ExampleExample The AU receives seven days of THA in the amount of $595. On the eighth day, the AU returns to the SSBS for continued benefits. The AU provides a receipt that shows payment was made for two nights at the Penguin Motel in the amount of $150. The AU provides a receipt that shows on the third night the AU stayed with a friend who they do not have a lease, sublease, or shared housing agreement with. The SSBS determines that for the third night, the AU failed to pay an appropriate provider and establishes that a mismanagement of funds exists, and makes any subsequent payments as restricted payments. However, if the client is unable to find a provider that would accept the payment, issue the benefits directly to the client, as they will remain entitled to their remaining days of benefits, despite a finding of mismanagement.

ExampleExample The AU receives seven nights of THA in the amount of $595. The AU returns on the eighth day to request further benefits. The AU provides a receipt showing that they stayed in a shelter for seven nights at a cost of $140. The AU has met the requirement of staying in a commercial establishment, and there is no restricted payment requirement.

Exceptions

There are exceptions to this rule, as listed below. If the SSBS uses one of these exceptions, it must be thoroughly documented in the Journal Detail page.

Hand Issue THA Vendor Payments

THA vendor payments may be hand carried by the client for delivery to the HA provider under the following situation:

The client has found an eligible provider who has temporary housing available, and
The eligible provider will not let the client move into their facility (motel/hotel/homeless shelter/campgrounds/fairgrounds) until they receive the HA payment, and
The SSBS cannot meet the requirement to issue the initial THA payment within the same workday.

Hand Issue PHA Vendor Payment

PHA vendor payments may be hand carried by the client for delivery to the HA provider under the following situation:

The client has found an eligible provider for permanent housing, and
The eligible provider will not hold the house, apartment, or room for the client unless the security deposit is received.

Procedure to Hand Issue HA Payments

When it is necessary to allow the client to hand carry the HA payment to the eligible provider, District Office Check Cashing Card procedures must be followed:

Issue the HA payment in the name of the eligible provider and the client. When the warrant is issued in this manner, it will require the signatures of both the provider and the client to cash the warrant. ExampleExample Motel 6 and Mary Smith
Put the hand-typed warrant in an envelope addressed to the eligible provider.
Seal the envelope and stamp the seal with the District Office address stamp.
Instruct the client to deliver the envelope to the provider, unopened.

Note: If the client manages to get someone other than the provider to cash the restricted payment, even though it is issued in the provider's name and the client's name, all further restricted payments must be mailed.

Overpayments

The HA paid must be considered an overpayment when:

The AU is paid HA in excess of the amount to which that AU is entitled. This would occur when the AU was paid for too many days of HA or when an HA payment was made in error.
A determination is made that the recipient was never homeless. This would occur in conjunction with a Special Investigations Unit (SIU) determination that the recipient was not homeless and did not tell the SSBS the truth when applying for HA.

ExampleExample The client applies for THA and is determined eligible. The SSBS issues payments for 19 days rather than 16 days. The SSBS must declare the three days to be an administrative overpayment and take appropriate action.

ExampleExample The client applies for HA and is determined eligible. Payments are issued for THA. It is later determined that the client was never homeless. The SSBS must declare the THA payments an overpayment and take appropriate action.

The SSBS must take appropriate action to:

Record the overpayment,
Notify the AU, and
Begin adjustment as soon as possible.

Recipients who receive aid paid pending may receive HA. However, if the recipient loses the hearing, the HA payment is considered an overpayment.

If either the THA or PHA benefit is determined to be an overpayment, then that THA or PHA payment is considered not to have been made. The AU can, therefore, reapply for that part of the benefit which was determined to be an overpayment.

Note: An overpayment is not to be declared when there is a mismanagement of funds. The SSBS must issue any remaining HA as a restricted payment.

Inter-County Transfer (ICT)

[40-190.31; 44-211.515]

In ICT cases, the county where the AU is physically located and intends to reside is responsible for the HA eligibility determination and issuance of the HA payment from the date of the request.

When a client applies for benefits in the receiving county and does not have a permanent or temporary address, the receiving county will initiate an ICT request to the sending county. The receiving county will enter the appropriate homeless address for the client in the receiving county and include the homeless status of the client in the ICT comments section.

For PHA, if the AU locates housing in another county, it is the responsibility of the county in which the projected residence is located to make the eligibility determination. The Maximum Aid Payment (MAP) amount for the responsible county is used to determine the amount of PHA payment.

Example Example An AU consisting of a child and the child’s caretaker relative moves from County A, a Region 1 county, to County B, a Region 2 county. The AU requests a transfer, and County A initiates an ICT. During the transfer period, the AU requests an HA payment. Since the request is for a THA payment, the request goes to the county where the AU is physically present. If the request were for PHA, County B would determine eligibility for and make the PHA payment based on the County B MAP amount.

CalSAWS Functionality in the Receiving County

Homeless-Temporary (HT) EDBC

HT EDBC will evaluate benefits when:

The Source of the CalWORKs (CW) program is ICT.
The ICT Status is Complete, and
- CW for the current month is denied due to being eligible in the Sending County, and
- CW for a future month is active in the Receiving County.

Important: The ICT Status Date must be within 90 days for HT EDBC to evaluate benefits.

Homeless-Permanent (HP) EDBC

HP EDBC will evaluate benefits when:

The Source of the CW program is ICT.
The ICT Status is In-Process, or
The ICT Status is Complete, and
- CW for the current month is denied due to being eligible in the Sending County, and
- CW for a future month is active in the Receiving County.

Important: The ICT Status Date must be within 90 days for HP EDBC to evaluate benefits.