County of Payment Responsibility

County of Payment Responsibility

A child placed in Foster Care may be eligible to receive cash assistance through CalWORKs or Foster Care. The county with payment responsibility will depend upon the child’s circumstances at the time of the placement in foster care or when a change in programs is necessary.

Reminder: When a child’s aid was discontinued in the month PRIOR to the month of petition, intercounty transfer rules DO NOT APPLY.

Foster Care Child Placed Out-of-County With Relatives

If a child... AND the child is... THEN...

Is NOT federally eligible for Foster Care, is a dependent of Santa Clara County (SC Co.) placed out-of-county with relatives,

Not receiving CalWORKs in SC Co. when placed

 Payment is made by the county in which the child lives with the relative. Application for CalWORKs shall be made in that county.
Note: If SC Co. takes a courtesy application, it is to be forwarded to the other county for processing.
Is NOT federally eligible for Foster Care, is a dependent of Santa Clara County (SC Co.) placed out-of-county with relatives,

Receiving Foster Care in SC Co. when placed with the relative in the other county,

SC Co. must set up an intraprogram status change to CalWORKs and initiate an ICT.
 
Federally eligible for Foster Care, is a dependent of SC Co., placed out-of-county with relatives, Receiving Foster Care in SC Co., The child continues to received Foster Care. DO NOT initiate an ICT.

 

State Child Receiving CalWORKs, Placed Out-of-County With Relatives

Relatives IF a child is... AND the child is... THEN...
Not federally eligible for Foster Care, is a dependent of SC Co. placed out-of-county with relatives Receiving CalWORKs in SC Co. at the time of placement with the relative in the other county, Payment is made by SC Co., who initiates an ICT to the other county.
Not federally eligible for Foster Care, is a dependent of Santa Clara County
(SC Co.) placed out-of-county with relatives		 Receiving a CalWORKs payment made by the other county and SC Co. terminates the relative placement and places the child in a state Foster Care eligible group/foster home in that same county,

SC Co. will NOT require the other county to do an intraprogram status change to Foster Care and to initiate an ICT if the other county agrees to provide the essential documentation to support eligibility. For SC Co.’s policy and require forms [Refer to “Child Receiving CalWORKs in Another County, Made a Dependent of Santa Clara County”]

 

IMPORTANT: If the other county chooses to do an intraprogram status change and an ICT, SC Co. must assists in making the Foster Care determination by providing all pertinent documents such as the SOC 158A, FC 2, court orders, and any other documentation to support case eligibility or ineligibility. If the child remains eligible, aid is changed from CalWORKs, to Foster Care.

 

Child Not Receiving Aid Prior to Out-of-County Placement With Relative

If a child... AND... Then...
Was physically residing in SC Co., is made a dependent of SC Co. and is placed with a relative in another county,
 		 The child was not receiving any assistance prior to dependency or placement,
 

SC Co. must determine federal or state eligibility.
Federal:
If the child is federally eligible and the relative chooses the Foster Care option, SC Co. makes the Foster Care payment.
State:
If the child is State eligible, the EW must do the following so that the original application date can be used when the other county determines eligibility for CalWORKs:

  • Send an SC 1413 (coverletter) and the original SAWS 1 to the other county’s ICT clerk.
  • Send a copy of the SC 1413, a copy of the SAWS 1 and a Foster Care denial NOA to the relative.
  • Retain a copy of the SC 1413, SAWS 1 and Foster Care denial NOA in the case.

Child Living in/Receiving Aid from One County and Made a Dependent of Santa Clara County

If a child... AND... Then...
Who was living in another county is taken into protective custody in SC Co., made a dependent of SC Co., and placed in SC Co., The child is receiving CalWORKs with this parents in the other county and now appear to be eligible for Foster Care, 

SC Co. will NOT require the other county to do an intraprogram status change to Foster Care and to initiate an ICT if the other county agrees to provide the essential documentation to support eligibility. for SC Co.'s policy and required forms (Refer to "Child Receiving CalWORKs in Another County, Made a Dependent of Santa Clara County]

Important: If the other county chooses to do an intraprogram status change and an ICT, SC Co. must assist in making the Foster Care determination by providing all pertinent documents such as the SOC 158A, FC 2, court orders, and any other documentation to support case eligibility or ineligibility. If the child remains eligible, aid is changed from CalWorks to Foster Care. 

 

Jurisdiction Transfers to Another County, When to Initiate an ICT

If... And.. Then...
A child is a dependent of the court and receives Foster Care from SC Co.,  An order to transfer jurisdiction to another county is filed,  The other county accepts responsibility for the child when it receives and files the order to transfer jurisdiction to the court in their county
The other county refuses to accept jurisdiction at a subsequent hearing The other county refers the matter back to SC Co., 

If the ICT period has EXPIRED and the other county  has assumed the Foster Care payment responsibility that county shall initiate an ICT to SC Co. 

OR

If the ICT transfer period has NOT EXPIRED, the other county shall notify SC Co. that it is refusing the transfer, by completing the FC 18. SC Co. shall continue the Foster Care payment, as jurisdiction of the child remains with SC Co.

Child Receiving CalWORKs in Another County, Made a Dependent of Santa Clara County

State regulations require that when a child who is receiving CalWORKs in another county is made a dependent of Santa Clara County, the other county must do an intraprogram status change from CalWORKs to Foster Care, and then initiate an intercounty transfer to Santa Clara County. This provision exists because the child is entitled to “continuity of aid”. This requirement can result in a delay in the Foster Care Payment. However, state regulations also allow counties, by mutual agreement, to transfer payment responsibility earlier, as long as continuity of aid is preserved.

In these situations, if the child appears to be eligible for Foster Care AND the other county agrees to provide essential documentation to support eligibility, Santa Clara County will NOT require the other county to do an intraprogram status change to Foster Care and then initiate an ICT.

  • The PAC EW will contact the other county and explain that SC Co. will accept responsibility for Foster Care IF the other county agrees to provide essential documentation for the eligibility determination, including:
    • SAWS 2 Plus
    • Birth Certificate
    • SSN
    • Any other appropriate supporting documentation that can be used for the determination of federal eligibility, i.e. CA 2. 1Q.
  • The application will be assigned to SC Co. Foster Care Intake.
  • If the other county agrees, they will discontinue the child(ren)’s CalWORKs.

This is an internal policy and does NOT apply to other counties, unless the other county offers us this option.

Related Topics

County of Responsibility