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April 24, 2013 ALL COUNTY LETTER (ACL) NO. 13-32 TO: ALL COUNTY WELFARE DIRECTORS ALL CALFRESH COORDINATORS ALL CalWORKs PROGRAM SPECIALISTS ALL CONSORTIUM PROJECT MANAGERS ALL QUALITY CONTROL PROGRAM COORDINATORS SUBJECT: MODIFIED CATEGORICAL ELIGIBILITY/BROAD-BASED CATEGORICAL ELIGIBILITY AND ELDERLY/DISABLED CALFRESH HOUSEHOLDS REFERENCE: WELFARE AND INSTITUTIONS CODE (WIC) SECTION 18901.5, ACL NO. 12-62 DATED NOVEMBER 2, 2012, ACL NO. 11-11 DATED JANUARY 27, 2011, ACL NO. 09-24 DATED MAY 27, 2009 The purpose of this ACL is to provide County Welfare Departments (CWDs) with clarification regarding Modified Categorical Eligibility (MCE), known federally as Broad- based Categorical Eligibility (BBCE) for Elderly or Disabled (E/D) households. Assembly Bill (AB) 433 (Chapter 625, Statutes of 2008) required the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) to establish a program of categorical eligibility “…to improve nutrition and promote the retention and development of assets and resources for needy households who meet all other [CalFresh] eligibility requirements.” As stated in 7 CFR 273.2(j)(2)(ii)(B), the United States Department of Food and Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) allows states the option for households to have gross income up to 200 percent of the Federal poverty level (FPL) in order to have categorical eligibility conferred. E/D households are not subject to a gross income test for actual program eligibility and therefore, to comply with AB 433, E/D households, with gross income at or below 200% of the FPL, must be conferred MCE/BBCE status if they are issued or have online access to the “Family Planning - PUB 275” brochure. CWDs should refer to ACL 12-62for MCE/BBCE examples of households that are non- E/D. REASON FOR THIS TRANSMITTAL [ ] State Law Change [ ] Federal Law or Regulation

Change [ ] Court Order [ ] Clarification Requested by One or More Counties [ X ] Initiated by CDSS