Reporting Changes Affecting Eligibility and Grant Determinations/Mid-period Changes

[EAS 44-316]

Eligibility Workers must take action on specified changes that occur mid-period or outside of the SAR 7 reporting process. Mid-period changes include changes that result from mandatory reports, certain voluntary reports, and county-initiated actions. These specific changes that occur mid-period must be acted on separately and sequentially under quarterly reporting/prospective budgeting and include:

Voluntary mid-period reports
Mandatory mid-period reports
County-initiated mid-period actions

Voluntary Mid-Period Reports

Clients may voluntarily report verbally or in writing, changes in income and circumstances that may increase benefits at any time during the payment period. A “Mid-Period Report Form” (SAR 3) may be provided to clients who wish to report a mid-period change in writing. If the recipient chooses not to report a mid-period change in writing at the time of the change, the EW will document the verbal report on the Journal Detail page.

The EW must take action on voluntary reports that increase cash aid or if the recipient requests voluntary discontinuance of aid. A report of decreased income on the SAR 7 is also treated as a voluntary mid-period report. Action to increase the grant and/or allotment based on voluntary reports is based on when the change is reported, not when the change actually occurred. Voluntarily reported changes may result in an increase in benefits for one program, while decreasing benefits for the other program. For instance, an increase in CalWORKs could result in a decrease in CalFresh benefits.

When a voluntary report is made by the client regarding changes in income and/or circumstances during the payment period, the EW must request verification in writing. The AU must provide all verification within 10 days of a voluntary report prior to county action.

If the client...	Then the EW must...
Provides verification within 10 days,	Determine how the grant will change. If the grant would decrease or not change based on the voluntary report, no action is taken to change the grant, and a "No Change" NOA must be sent to the AU. If the grant increases due to decreased income, the effective date is the first of the month in which the change occurs or is reported, whichever is later. If the grant increases due to the addition of new household members, the effective date is the first of the month following the report of the changes.
Does not provide the necessary verification within 10 days,	Send a "No Change" NOA to the AU.
Provides verification after 10 days,	Use the date the verification is provided as the date of the voluntary report.

ExampleExampleAn AR/CO case has an RD/RC due in April 2013. The recipient reports a decrease in income on December 28, 2012, and provides verification of the decrease. The EW will redetermine the benefit amount for the current month (December) and the remaining months in the 12-month period. Because there is not enough time to issue the higher benefit amount on January 1, the county will issue a supplemental payment for December and January and issue the correct, higher benefit beginning in February.

ExampleExampleAn AR/CO case has an RD/RC due in August. On August 3, the recipient reports a decrease in income and provides verification of the decrease. The EW would use this information to redetermine the benefit for August and issue a supplement for August, if appropriate. The EW would also take this decreased income into account when determining the benefit amount for the upcoming 12-month period. The recipient would not have to reverify the change of income as part of the RD/RC.

ExampleExampleA CalWORKs AR/CO case has an RD due in November 2013. In April 2013, the recipient voluntarily reports a $110 increase in earned income, which is not over the CalWORKs IRT. The EW may not take any action based on this voluntary report and must issue a “No-Change” NOA.

Determination of Aid Based on Mid-Period Changes

When a client’s mid-period report or a county-initiated action changes the amount of cash aid, (except for decreased income occurred in the month in which it was reported), the EW must determine the grant amount by adding the new reasonably anticipated monthly income for the remaining months of the SAR payment period. The income must then be divided by the number of months remaining in the SAR payment period.

If a decrease in income occurred in the month in which it was reported, the cash aid must be recalculated for the month in which the change was reported and for the remaining months of the SAR payment period.

Decreases in Reasonably Anticipated Income

When an AU reports a decrease in income from the amount that was reasonably anticipated to be received, take action as follows:

If an AU...	Then only the...
Receives income from more than one source,	Income that decreased must be recalculated for the current and remaining months.
Consists of more than one person with income and one person experiences a decrease in income,	Changed income must be recalculated.

The EW must use the new reasonably anticipated income for the month in which the decreased income occurred or the month it was reported, whichever is later. The reasonably anticipated monthly income for the remaining months of the SAR payment period must also be used in recalculating cash aid for the month in which the change was reported and the remaining months of the SAR.

The EW must issue a supplement within ten days of receiving verification. The supplement must be based on the difference between the recalculated cash aid and the cash aid that was paid for the month the decrease in income is reported or for the month the change actually occurs, whichever is later. The supplement can only be paid after all verification has been provided.

Example Example The AU receives a grant of $192 per month for the payment period. The grant was based on the mother having reasonably anticipated earned income of $1,200 per month. On April 15, the mother reports that she lost her job and will only receive a $600 paycheck for the month of April. She anticipates no income for the remainder of the payment period. When the client provides the necessary verification of the job loss by April 20, the EW must recalculate aid for April and change the remaining SAR payment months' income to zero.

If a decrease in earnings resulted from a loss or reduction in hours of employment and the client does not have good cause, a sanction is applied to the AU. However, the EW should not wait to increase cash aid due to a voluntary report of decreased income while determining if good cause exists before imposing the sanction.

Adding Persons to an Existing AU

When an AU voluntarily reports a new person in the home, the following determinations must be made:

If the new person is CalWORKs eligible,
If the new person were added to the AU, that the AU would still meet all eligibility conditions; and
If the addition of the new person would increase or decrease the grant amount or make the AU ineligible.

If adding a new person would...	Then the EW must...
INCREASE the cash grant for the AU,	Add the new person effective the first of the month following the report of the change, as long as all verification is provided and all eligibility conditions are met.
DECREASE the grant for the AU,	NOT add the new person until the first day of the next SAR payment period.

Note: When adding a new person would result in an increase in aid, but the new person does not meet all eligibility conditions before aid is authorized, the EW must not add the person nor discontinue the existing AU mid-period.

Example Example An AU of 3 (mother and two children). Father, who is disabled and has a part-time job, returned to home on January 10 and the AU reported in the same month. The EW recalculates aid for the SAR payment period and determines the addition of the father will decrease the grant amount for the existing AU. The EW will send a No Change NOA and remind the AU to report the father on the next SAR 7. If the father is still living in the home, meets all eligibility conditions, and the AU remains eligible, the father will be added into the AU effective the 1st month of the new SAR payment period and his income will be used in the grant calculation for the same SAR payment period.

If adding a new person would render the existing AU ineligible, the EW must not take action mid-period to discontinue the existing AU. The EW must discontinue the existing AU, with timely and adequate notice, at the end of the SAR payment period in which the new person is mandatorily reported on the SAR 7.

Request Discontinuance for Aid to Existing AU Members

If a voluntary request for discontinuance is made verbally, a 10-day notice of discontinuance of aid at the end of the month must be sent to the AU.

If a voluntary request for discontinuance is made in writing, the EW must discontinue cash aid at the end of the month with adequate notice (10-day time limit does not apply).

If an individual requests discontinuance from an existing AU, the EW must discontinue the individual even when that individual’s request results in a decrease in aid for the remaining AU members.

The EW must not presume that a mid-period report of an individual leaving the home is a voluntary request for discontinuance of that individual. The EW must confirm with the AU if the AU is requesting discontinuance of the person, and must inform them that such a discontinuance will result in decreased cash aid to the AU.

Note: If an individual AU member who left home requests aid to be discontinued, but the AU has not voluntarily reported the departure, the individual’s request for discontinuance takes precedence over the AU’s decision to not make this voluntary mid-period report.

Request for Recurring Special Needs

Recurring special needs requested mid-period, verified, and approved will be issued for the first of the month in which either the need was reported or the verification is received, whichever is later, and must remain in effect until the end of the payment period in which the special need is expected to end except for the pregnancy special need.

When a pregnancy of an AU member is reported mid-period, the EW must issue payment according to existing pregnancy special need rules. Payments of the special need will continue until the end of the payment period in which the child is expected to be born.

If the pregnancy is verified to extend beyond the estimated date of confinement and extends into the next SAR payment period, the pregnancy special need payments will be paid until the end of the SAR payment period. This will be paid through the date the new estimated date of confinement is established or until the newborn is added to the AU. Refer to Special Needs [EAS 44-211].