Langston v. Carlson

Informing Notice

On September 11, 1991, the Superior Court for the County of Sacramento ruled that all current AFDC recipients must be informed that HA benefits will be available only once every 24 months. A warrant stuffer was mailed to all recipients on October 1, 1991. The language for the notice was as follows:

“If you got homeless aid you got a notice which said you could get it again after 12 months.
The law has been changed. Now you can get homeless aid only once every 24 months.
If you have any questions, ask your worker.”

This notice was provided in English and translated into Spanish and Vietnamese.

Affected Cases

The court order in Langston pertains to:

All cases pending from the effective date (August 15, 1991) of the Temporary Restraining Order, and
Any case which self identifies as having been denied Homeless Assistance (HA) between August 1 and August 15, solely because of the 24 month rule.

Applications Made After the Informing Notice

The application shall be denied, due to the 24-month time period, if the client applied for HA:

After the fifth working day from the date of the Langston informing notice (October 8, 1991), and
The HA is pending due to this court order.

Order

The court specified in its order that the 24-month rule would not be applied to an AU if that AU has relied on a Notice of Action (NOA) or a Statement of Facts (e.g., CA 42) that stated it would again be eligible after a 12-month period.

The client who voluntarily became homeless prior to October 8, 1991 with the clear expectation that HA would be available after a 12-month period is entitled to receive a determination of HA eligibility after 12 months. Therefore, the EW must determine whether potential class members (who currently have their HA application in pending status) relied on this prior 12-month notice.

Eligibility and Payment

Those who are eligible for HA under the 12-month rule because of the Langston Court Order will have their eligibility provided in the following ways:

Those AUs which continue to remain homeless will be eligible for current HA benefits as appropriate. The EW will evaluate the AU's current situation and provide temporary shelter HA benefits for up to 16 consecutive days anywhere from August 1, 1991 forward. The prior period and any ongoing eligibility may be combined as long as the period is consecutive and does not exceed 16 days. The period cannot precede the date of the request for benefits.
Those AUs which are no longer homeless will be offered reimbursement for eligible expenses (temporary and/or permanent) for a prior period covered by the Langston Court Order. The period cannot precede the date of the request for benefits.

NOA

HA approvals or denials must be made to AUs within 24 hours of the determination of eligibility under the Langston Court Order. The standard NOA form must be used to transmit the approvals. The EW must write or type in the message and the regulation cite.

All denials under Langston must be made using the attached language on the NA 290 with the NA 6 backer. There are so few of these cases that this NOA will not be available on shelf stock. The language is as follows:

“The county has denied your request for homeless aid for:
[ ] Temporary Shelter
[ ] Permanent Housing
Dated: ____________.

Here's why: You did not decide to leave your last home as a result of relying on what we told you before about being eligible for homeless aid after 12 months.”

Rules: These rules apply. You may review them at your welfare office: Langston v. Carlson Court Order