Property

General

The following property rules apply to:

The Foster Care child’s property determination, and
The property of the child’s parent/caretaker relative when making the federal linkage determination. After the initial determination of eligibility for Foster Care has been made, only the property belonging to the child is considered.

The SW/PO must request assistance of the County Counsel to secure appropriate court orders necessary to obtain the child's unavailable property.

Note: A stepparent is responsible for the support of his/her children from another union living outside the home; and his/her children, natural and adopted, living in the home; and his/her spouse. The stepparent's income, after allowable deductions, is deemed available to aided stepchildren living in the home.

Property Limit

The child’s property limit is $10,000. This is in addition to the $1,500 vehicle property limit.

If the child's available property exceeds this maximum, the child is ineligible.
All available evidence of ineligibility must be shared with the child’s SW/PO.

Note: The $10,000 property limit plus the additional vehicle limit of $1,500 also applies when making the determination of federal eligibility (linkage). In addition, the family may also have up to $10,000 in property for purposes of determining whether the child would have been eligible for AFDC in the petition month [EAS 45-202.33].

Property of Parents/Guardians

The personal and real property of the absent parent(s), guardian or any other person (ie., step parent) is excluded from consideration of the Foster Care child if:

The child does not have access to it to meet current needs, and
The property is held by or in the name of the absent parent(s), guardians or other person.

An availability determination for such property must be made as part of the initial eligibility determination or as is warranted by a change in circumstances.

Note: This exclusion applies regardless of whether the child's parents are maintaining a home together.

The personal and real property of the parent(s) is considered in the federal eligibility determination.

Independent Living Program (ILP)

The cash savings and interest of a foster care child, AGE 16 OR OLDER, accumulated through participation in the ILP is:

His/her own money and must be deposited by the child or on behalf of the child in any bank or savings and loan institution up to $10,000.

Used for purposes directly related to the emancipation of that child.
Kept separate from other types and sources of cash savings.
Withdrawn only with the written approval of the SW/PO and used for purposes directly related to the goal of emancipation.

Trust Funds for a Foster Care Child

[EAS 42-211.256]

Availability to Child

Trust funds established for a Foster Care child, including court ordered trusts and non-court ordered trusts, such as savings funds established through the Uniform Gifts to Minors Act /Uniform Transfers to Minors Act, must be included in the child’s property limit when the funds are actually available. The individual who is in control of the trust must be requested to make the funds available to the child.

Trustee Must Petition the Court

If the trust has been established by court order, providing that such money be used only for and on behalf of the child and be withdrawn from the account only by order of the court, and that fund in combination with other nonexempt personal property would exceed property limits, the trustee must petition the court to make the trust fund available for the support of the child. Verification of the petition must be provided within 30 days.

Trustee Refuses

If the trustee refuses to make the funds available or refuses to petition the court, the county must petition the court on the child's behalf.

The child’s SW/PO must make a request to County Counsel.
Verification that the County Counsel has been requested to petition the Court must be on file in the eligibility case.
The EW must monitor the case to ensure that the trust petition is pursued and must take appropriate action when the court decision is reached.
During the time the court is being petitioned, or if the court refuses to issue a final order making the fund available for the support of the child, the fund shall NOT be considered as personal property for eligibility determination or grant computation.

Real Property

The current CalWORKs rules pertaining to real property are the same rules that applied to the AFDC program on July 16, 1996; therefore, they also apply to Foster Care. [Refer to CalWORKs Handbook, “Real Property,” page 16-1 for real property information.]

Restricted Accounts (CalWORKs Only)

A “restricted account” is only an available option for CalWORKs recipients. Up to $5,000 per AU can be exempted under the CalWORKs program if the account is specifically designated for the purchase of a home, education, or, to start up a new business. It cannot be used for reasons other than the declared purpose.

Restricted accounts are NOT exempt for Foster Care. They must be counted when determining federal eligibility (linkage) or the property of foster care child.

During the time the court is being petitioned, or if the court refuses to issue a final order making the fund available for the support of the child, the fund shall NOT be considered as personal property for eligibility determination or grant computation.

Child Sub-Payee Account

In the event a child’s income exceeds the cost of placement, a child sub-payee account is established by the Social Service Agency Financial Management Services, Accounts Receivable Unit.

The amount paid to the provider is paid from the child’s Sub-Payee account and any balance is retained for future needs of the child. Individual child sub-payee accounts are maintained by Fiscal.

Both the social worker and assigned fiscal clerk monitor the child’s sub-payee account. Fiscal disburses funds as authorized by the SW and SWC. The SW and SWC monitor the funds to ensure the child’s trust fund account does not exceed the property limits.