Item 96-10-01A

California Department of Social Services - State Hearings Division
Notes from the Training Bureau - October 23, 1996

Item 96-10-01A
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) (Public Law 104-193) -- Impact on Food Stamp (FS) Program

On August 22, 1996, President Clinton signed PRWORA, a major welfare reform bill, which made many changes to welfare programs. Most provisions of PRWORA which impact the FS Program became effective September 22, 1996. The legal resident alien provisions pertaining to ongoing FS cases will not be implemented until April 1, 1997. Counties must then apply the new legal resident alien provisions to all ongoing cases no later than August 22, 1997. Counties are implementing legal resident alien provisions of PRWORA for new applications made on or after September 22, 1996.

This Notes discusses those changes affecting the FS Program. No state regulations are in effect as yet. California Department of Social Services (CDSS) All-County Letters (ACL) 96-51 and 96-54 address PRWORA. The regulations cited below are those sections that are changed by PRWORA. Subject to the Department’s final implementation of regulations, the following outline summarizes these changes:

Note: A class action lawsuit has been filed in Melgar v. Anderson seeking to enjoin the state from implementing FS provisions of PRWORA until regulations are adopted in accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act. Oral arguments will be heard in Sacramento Superior Court on Thursday, October 31, 1996.

I. HOMELESSNESS

A. Persons whose nighttime residence is a temporary accommodation in the residence of another may only be considered homeless for a maximum of 90 days.

Previously, there was no time limit for an individual in these circumstances being considered homeless.

§MPP 63-102h.(2)(c)

B. Homelessness is not a basis for expedited service.

Previously, homelessness was a basis for expedited service.

MPP §63-301.513 and .531(a)

II. HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION

A. Children under 22 years of age living with their parents must be in ONE FS household.

Previously, children under age 22 could have separate household status from their parents if they lived with a spouse or child(ren) or exercised parental control over a minor, and purchased and prepared meals separately from their parents.

MPP §63-402.142(a)(2)

III. CITIZENSHIP AND ALIEN STATUS

A. The general rule is that permanent resident aliens are ineligible for FS benefits.

Exceptions:

(1) Refugees admitted under §207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA);

(2) Asylees admitted under §208 of the INA;

(3) Aliens whose deportation has been withheld under §243(h) of the INA;

Refugees are eligible for FS benefits for five years after their date of admission to the United States. Asylees are eligible for FS benefits for five years after asylum is granted. An alien whose order of deportation is stayed is eligible for five years after the order of deportation under §243(h) is stayed.

(4) Legal permanent aliens who have worked ten years (40 qualifying quarters as defined by Title II of the Social Security Act);

(5) Veterans or persons on active military duty (or their spouse or dependent child).

Numbers (4) and (5) above are eligible to receive FS benefits for an unlimited period.

Previously, all legal resident aliens could be eligible for FS benefits.

B. Qualifying quarters include:

(1) Those worked by a parent or a stepparent of an alien while the alien was under age eighteen; OR

(2) Those quarters worked by a spouse during the marriage if the alien remains married to the spouse and is living with the spouse or if the spouse is deceased.

(3) Effective January 1, 1997, a quarter in which an alien received federal means tested public benefits, such as AFDC, is not a qualifying quarter.

§MPP 63-403, 63-300.51

IV. INCOME, EXCLUSIONS AND DEDUCTIONS

A. Vendor payments for transitional housing for the homeless are no longer excluded as income.

Previously, such payments were excluded as income.

§MPP 63-502.2(b)(2)(D)

B. The income exclusion for elementary and secondary students is limited to students under age 18.

Previously, the exclusion was available to those under age 22.

§MPP 63-502.2(i)

C. Households may switch between using actual utility costs and the standard utility allowance (SUA) only at recertification.

Previously, households could switch at recertification and one additional time during the FS certification period.

§MPP 63-502.353(c)

V. PRORATION

A. FS benefits are prorated when a household reapplies after a break in aid, no matter how long the break in aid lasted, except for migrants and seasonal worker households.

Previously, proration occurred only after a break in aid of one month or more.

MPP 63-503.13

VI. CALCULATING BENEFITS

A. The income and resources of an alien's sponsor and the sponsor's spouse are counted as income to the alien until the alien becomes a citizen or has worked forty qualifying quarters.

Previously, income and resources of a sponsor and the sponsor's spouse were only counted as income to the sponsored alien for three years.

Note: PRWORA deeming procedures will not be implemented until the state receives further instructions from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. For now, the sponsored alien deeming procedures set forth in MPP §63-503.49 remain in effect.

§MPP 63-503.49

B. If the household's income is reduced because of any penalty imposed due to a household member's failure to comply with a means tested public assistance program (e.g., currently a GAIN sanction in AFDC), FS allotments cannot be increased as a result of the reduced income caused by the penalty.

Previously, the only cases where counties could not increase FS benefits was where a penalty was imposed for an intentional failure to comply (i.e., an Intentional Program Violation (IPV)) with a means tested public assistance program.

§MPP 63-503.51 and .512

VII. CLAIMS AGAINST HOUSEHOLDS

A. An earned income deduction is not allowed when computing an FS overissuance due to the household's failure to timely report income.

Previously, earned income disregards were disallowed only for IPV cases.

MPP 63-801.311

B. States may collect any FS overissuance, including administrative error (AE) overissuances by allotment adjustment or any other means.

§MPP 63-801.431

C. Counties may recoup AE and inadvertent household error FS overissuances by allotment adjustment by the greater of 10 percent of the allotment or $10 monthly.

Previously, households were able to negotiate the amount of repayment in an AE overissuance and could not be required to repay an administrative error overissuance by allotment adjustment.

§MPP 63-801.737

Note: Per Lopez v. Espy, counties may not offset AE overissuances against underissuances. Until further notice, disregard CDSS ACL 96-51 which states counties may offset AE overissuances against underissuances.

An injunction against recouping AE overissuances still exists per Aktar v. Anderson.

VIII. INTENTIONAL PROGRAM VIOLATIONS

A. The penalty for the first IPV is one year. The penalty for a second IPV is two years.

Previously, IPV penalties were six months, and one year, respectively.

§MPP 20-300.311

IX. FS WORK REQUIREMENTS

A. Sanctions for noncompliance with FS work requirements, or for voluntary quit, are a minimum of one month for a first instance of noncompliance, a minimum of three months for a second instance, and a minimum of six months for a third or subsequent instance. The above sanctions are for the amount of months stated or until compliance is achieved. Sanctions last until compliance is achieved or the minimum number of months required by PRWORA, whichever is longer.

Previously, the sanction for each noncompliance with FS work requirements was the lesser of two months or until compliance was achieved.

§MPP 63-407.55

B. Only the noncomplying individual is sanctioned for failure to comply with FS work requirements.

Previously, if the noncomplying person was the principal work registrant or head of household, the entire household was sanctioned.

§MPP 63-407.5 and 63-408

C. Reducing work hours to fewer than 30 hours per week is added as a sanctionable action.

§MPP 63-407.4 and .8