Utility Expenses
When a General Assistance (GA) applicant/recipient incurs utility costs that are not included in their shelter costs, they may be eligible to receive payment for their utility expenses, provided they are not receiving the maximum allowable GA grant. Utility refers to gas, electricity, water, garbage, sewage, and basic telephone. The average amount of these utilities may be added to the personal needs but must not exceed the monthly maximum allowable GA grant for the household.
Verification of Utility Expenses
To determine eligibility for utility expense payments, a bill from the utility company must be submitted as verification and must be in the applicant’s/recipient’s name. If the bill is not in the applicant’s/recipient’s name, it must be in the landlord’s name. If the applicant/recipient is unable to provide a utility bill in either their name or the landlord’s name, the claimed utility expense will be disallowed, and the applicant/recipient will be ineligible to receive a payment for utility expenses.
Requesting Verification
When a client includes in their application, SAR 7, or shares with the Social Services Benefits Specialist (SSBS) that they have utility expenses that are not included in their shelter costs, the SSBS must refer to the table below to take the appropriate steps:
| If... | Then... |
| It is determined that a client has utility expenses that are not included in their shelter costs, | The SSBS must manually complete a Request for Verification (CW 2200) in CalSAWS. The SSBS selects, “Housing and Utility Costs” in the Proof Of field and enters “Please submit a bill from the utility company in the recipient's name.” in the Details/Example field. The SSBS sets the due date for 10 days out and documents in the CalSAWS Journal that a CW 2200 was provided to the client. |
| If the client provides the requested verification by the due date, | The SSBS will enter the verified utility expenses in CalSAWS (refer to Chewable Byte 2023-31 for instructions on entering utility information), submit the utility bill to Imaging, and document the action in the CalSAWS Journal. |
| If the client does not provide the requested verification by the due date, | The SSBS will not add the utility expenses to CalSAWS, and the client will not receive payment for those utility expenses. |
For various examples of utility expenses for GA clients, please refer to Resource Document-Examples of GA Utility Expenses.
Adding Utility Expenses in CalSAWS
Once utility expense verifications are received, the SSBS must enter the utility expenses into CalSAWS. CalSAWS will calculate the amount of utility expenses, if any, that will be issued to the applicant/recipient through the personal needs portion of the GA grant. CalSAWS will not allow the combined total of the personal needs amount and the shelter amount to exceed the household’s monthly maximum allowable GA grant.
For instructions on how to add utility expenses into CalSAWS, please refer to Chewable Byte 2023-31.