AU Composition, Federal Eligibility Determination

Overview/Usage

When determining federal eligibility for Foster Care, EW must follow 7/16/96 AFDC rules. A summary of the AFDC AU composition rules are provided for your reference, as needed, to determine who to include in the AFDC AU.

The CalWORKs rules for AU composition, including “mandatory inclusion”, “optional inclusion” and the rules for combining AUs are the same as they were under the AFDC program on 7/16/96. Therefore, if the family received CalWORKs in the month of petition, there is no need to reevaluate AFDC AU Composition when determining federal eligibility.

However, other factors of AFDC eligibility must be reviewed, (i.e. property, income, etc.), to determine if, in the month of petition, the family “would have been eligible under 7/16/96 AFDC rules had an application been made”. When determining federal eligibility, follow this process:

Determine if there is deprivation.
Determine who is included in the AFDC AU. (mandatory persons/optional persons)
Determine if the total nonexempt property of the AFDC AU is within the $10000 personal property limit.
Determine income eligibility.

Minimum Requirement

The EW must determine who in the family is mandatorily included and excluded from the AU and whether or not an optional person is included in the AU.

An AU must have at least:

One eligible child, or
A needy caretaker relative of an otherwise eligible SSI/SSP child or a child who is eligible to receive federal Foster Care (Aid Code 42), or
A pregnant woman, or
A relative of a child who is sanctioned by Employment Services/GAIN.

Note: Only one needy caretaker relative, who is not the parent of the eligible child, can be aided. For example: if the grandmother is the needy caretaker relative of her grandchild, she and the grandchild will be in the AU. The grandfather will not be included. If he is the needy caretaker relative for other eligible children who are non-siblings, then the two AUs would be combined for payment.

Mandatory Persons

The following persons must be included in the AU when they are living in the same home and are eligible:

The applicant child.
Any eligible sibling or half-sibling of the applicant child who meets the age requirement.
Any parent of the applicant child or the applicant child's siblings or half-siblings with deprivation who meet the age requirement, except for an ASP.

Optional Persons

The following persons who are not otherwise required to be in the AU must be included upon the request of the applicant/recipient:

Any nonparent relative who has been determined to be an appropriate caretaker relative (i.e. aunt, uncle, grandmother, etc.).
Any essential person, who meets the necessary requirements (e.g., the stepparent or an alternatively sentenced parent).
Any other eligible children, including but not limited to a niece or nephew.

Combining Assistance Units

Two or more AUs in the same home must be combined into one AU when:

A caretaker relative is married to another caretaker relative in another AU, or
There is only one caretaker relative, or
Two caretaker relatives in the home have separate children and also have an eligible child in common.

Note: An eligible child in common is a child who meets all linking and non-linking eligibility factors (i.e., deprivation, age, residence, property, etc.) and who is not excluded by law.

Stepparent Households

Refer to Stepparents, Federal Eligibility Determination for AFDC AU and Stepparent Unit composition rules, and, deemed income computation.

AU Determination, Steps

The EW must establish who is in an eligible AU by determining:

Who provides the basis for the AFDC AU.
Who must be mandatorily included in the AU.
If the entire family is ineligible due to a lump sum income computation or due to strike status.
Which optional persons may choose to be included in the AU.
If there are persons who must be excluded either by law or due to a sanction.
Eligibility and the grant level for the AU.