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All County Letter No. 14-100 Page Five

CWDs shall refer to the offense code within the FFM report to determine recipients who are in violation of probation and/or parole and therefore ineligible for CalWORKs and/or CalFresh benefits. CWDs should continue the practice of verifying the violation with the issuing law enforcement agency before making an eligibility determination. Recipients found to be ineligible for benefits shall be removed in accordance with reporting system rules pursuant to MPP section 44-316.32.

Change in the Level of CalWORKs Tier 2 Income Reporting Threshold

MPP section 44-316.324(a)(2) defines the Tier 2 Income Reporting Threshold (IRT) as the level of income likely to render the AU ineligible for CalWORKs benefits. For cases that are subject to the Tier 2 IRT, when the size of the AU changes, the level of the AU's IRT changes. Therefore, when individuals with a prior felony drug conviction are added to a case with a Tier 2 IRT, the AU will need to be notified of a change in the AU's IRT. CWDs shall notify AUs of a change in the IRT, as applicable, pursuant to MPP section 40-173.8. NOTE: Further instructions regarding an increase in the levels of all three tiers of the IRT effective April 1, 2015, based on the increase in the Maximum Aid Payment (MAP) levels will be released under separate cover.

Transition between Reporting Systems

The inclusion of adults with a prior felony drug conviction in a CalWORKs AU will impact cases currently subject to the AR/CO reporting system. In AR/CO cases, once an individual with a prior felony drug conviction is determined eligible for CalWORKs and is added to the AU, the case will transition to the SAR. Pursuant to MPP section 40- 107(j), CWDs shall notify the AU of the change in reporting system from AR/CO to SAR. CWDs are reminded that they may notify the AU of the change in reporting systems by using the CW 2212 form. CDSS encourages CWDs to send the CW 2212 along with the Notice of Action (NOA) indicating the adult is added to the AU and approved for CalWORKs effective April 1, 2015. AR/CO cases that aid an adult with a prior felony drug conviction will transition to SAR effective April 1, 2015. CalFresh cases will continue to be assigned to the appropriate reporting system according to existing CalFresh rules, based on HH circumstances.

Change in Aid Codes for CalWORKs Cases

CWDs were previously instructed in ACL No. 13-70 to move certain cases that contained an excluded individual with a prior felony drug conviction to aid codes K1 or 3F for single parent or two parent cases, respectively. Cases in which the excluded person is determined eligible for CalWORKs shall be changed to the aid code applicable to the new AU composition. Effective April 1, 2015, there will no longer be any identifying information pertaining to those with prior felony drug convictions; these