Definitions

Property can be categorized as one or more of the following:

Real property;

Personal property;

Excluded property;

Jointly owned property; and

Lump-sum income.

Real Property :

Real property is defined as land and improvements including immovable property attached to land, such as trees, fences, buildings, and/or property held for profit etc.

Real property is not cash, bonds, or similar assets.

Personal Property :

Personal property consists of all property excluding real property.

Cash assets which are a form of personal property consist of cash on hand and cash equivalent items, such as money in checking or savings accounts, savings certificates, trust deeds, notes receivable, stock or bonds, non-recurring lump-sum payments, funds held in Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA), and funds held in Keogh Plans.

Other personal property includes personal effects, household equipment and furnishings, tools, and equipment.

Excluded Property :

The following are excluded from determination of the AU’s property/resource:

Real property held in a trust if the child or parent does not have control of the trust of which they are the beneficiary.

Separate and community share of real property: Of a parent who has surrendered full custody of a child due to a court order; Of a parent who has relinquished their child for adoption; Of a father of a child who is not married to the mother and the parents are not maintaining a home together; Of a stepfather; or Of an absent parent which are unavailable to the CalWORKs family or child.

Native American Indians interest in land held in a trust by the United States (U.S.) government.

Vehicle (mobile home, camper, car, etc.) - May be excluded, even during periods of temporary absence, if it is determined that the AU is occupying these as a residence.

Survivors of Domestic Abuse - The personal property (e.g., vehicle, etc.) of an applicant with children who is temporarily residing in a Domestic Violence shelter is considered inaccessible if at the time of application, the personal property: Is jointly owned by the applicant and a member of the former household from which the applicant/participant fled; and The access to the resource/property requires the consent of both the applicant and the member of the former household.

Household items - The following household items may be excluded: Household goods (such as furniture); and Personal effects (such as clothing).

One burial plot per AU member;

The cash value of: Life insurance policies; and Pension plans/funds.

Home – The home that the AU resides in is excluded. Note: Only one home may be excluded from real property consideration, and if the property is not being used as the primary residence, the value must be included in the property limit.

Home – The applicant/participant leaves the home due to marital separation. The home is excluded from the evaluation as real property as follows: The usual home of an applicant is exempt when determining eligibility for three months following the end of the month in which aid begins; The usual home of a participant is exempt during the month of separation and for three months following the month in which the separation occurs; At the end of the three months, a determination as to the home’s availability to meet current needs must be made; and At the time the exemption is given, the applicant/participant is informed verbally and in writing that the: Home was not considered in determining eligibility; Home will be evaluated in three months; and Cash grant may be terminated if the home is treated as real property and the combined property exceeds the property limit.

Home – During periods of temporary absence.

The home is excluded from the property evaluation even during periods of temporary absence for reasons such as illness, seasonal employment, visits, extreme climatic conditions, etc. For additional information regarding temporary absence rules, refer to AR 82-812 Temporary Absence .

Therefore, the home that the applicant/participant is not living in can be excluded from property evaluation as long as the applicant/participant plans to return to the home when such circumstances no longer exist.

Note: Only one home may be excluded from consideration as real property.

When the home is not occupied by the AU for reasons other than marital separation or temporary absence and is not used as the primary residence, the property cannot be excluded , and the home must be included in the property limit evaluation.

Jointly Owned Property :

Jointly owned property is property acquired by the husband or wife during marriage. It includes property purchased with community funds, which include earnings of the spouses while married and living together, income derived from community property, and funds received from the sale of community property.

Each spouse is presumed to own one-half interest in community property.

All property held in the name of the spouse of a married person is presumed community property unless established otherwise.

When a child lives with their mother and stepparent, each spouse is recognized as owning one-half interest in the property held by either spouse. Note: Exceptions to community property are burial trusts and burial plots which are considered the separate property of a spouse or beneficiary.

Lump-Sum Income :

Lump-sum income (non-recurring) is treated as a resource in the month received. The SAWS 2 PLUS, Application for CalFresh, Cash Aid, and/or Medi-Cal Health Care Programs, RE, or SAR 7 are used to determine continuing resource eligibility for the family for the entire upcoming SAR or Annual Reporting/Child Only (AR/CO) Payment Period.

If the participant reports lump-sum income mid-period, the County cannot take any action to discontinue the case for exceeding the resource limit. Under SAR and AR/CO rules, resource eligibility is determined only once per Payment Period, based on the information reported on the application, SAR 7, or RE.

Some examples include:

Income tax refunds; Note : Effective January 1, 2013, both State and federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) payments and refund payments are exempt from resource consideration for CalWORKs applicants/participants for 12 months, starting with the month of receipt of the payment.

Rebates or credits;

Retroactive lump-sum social security;

Railroad retirement benefits;

Retroactive payments from the approval of any assistance program, even if it was due to a court order;

Supplemental or corrective payments received for a previous month assistance program;

Lump-sum insurance settlements;

Refunds of security deposits, rental properties, or utilities;

Lottery winnings received in single payments; and

Disaster relief payments.

Disability :

Adults

Adults are considered disabled if the disability significantly impairs their ability to be employed on a regular basis or to participate in Welfare-to-Work (WtW) activities and receive:

State Disability Insurance;

Workers’ Compensation Temporary Disability Insurance;

In-Home Supportive Services; or

Supplemental Security Income (SSI)/State Supplementary Payment (SSP).

Refer to AR 41-400 Deprivation for policy and procedures on determining the Deprivation due to Incapacity.

Children

Children are considered disabled if they meet any of the following:

Receive or have received SSI/SSP in the past;

Receive or have received services in the past through a Regional Center Program pursuant to the Lanterman Act;

Receive or have received services in the past at school in accordance with their Individual Education Plan (IEP) or Section 504 Accommodation Plan; or

Provide verification of a current or past disability by a health care provider or a trained, qualified learning disabilities evaluation professional, or authorize the County to obtain information to verify the child’s disability.

Refer to AR 40-105.5 School Attendance Requirement for policy and procedures on how to identify disabled students.

CalABLE Account

CalABLE accounts are federally known as ABLE accounts. A CalABLE account is a tax-advantaged savings account that allows individuals with disabilities to save and invest money for disability-related expenses called Qualified Disability Expenses (QDEs) without losing eligibility for benefits to public programs, such as CalWORKs, CalFresh, and SSI.

Individuals can open a CalABLE account through the CalABLE online portal.

Eligibility

CalABLE accounts are not considered resources , and any interest earnings from fund performance are not subject to federal income tax when used as a QDE.

Eligibility to open a CalABLE account is determined by the financial institution at the time the applicant applies for an account. An account can be opened if an individual is:

Eligible for, or currently receiving, SSI or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits as a result of their disability and the disability occurred before age 26;

Able to verify that they have been living with their disability for at least one year or they must expect their disability to last for at least one year;

Able to verify that their condition is listed on the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) List of Compassionate Allowances Conditions; or

Able to provide “self-certification” of their disability and diagnosis when opening the account. Self-certification means that the individual has a written, signed diagnosis from a licensed physician, and one of the following conditions was met: The individual is either blind, within the meaning of Section 1614(a)(2) of the Social Security Act; or The individual has a medically determinable physical or mental impairment that results in “marked and severe functional limitations which can be expected to result in death or has lasted or expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months.”

Limits

For CalWORKs purposes, the designated beneficiary of a CalABLE account is able to save up to $100,000 and a maximum yearly contribution of $15,000. Contributions can be made by the account owner, beneficiary, family member, or friends. The account owner/beneficiary can contribute more than $15,000 when the owner/beneficiary does not participate in an employer-sponsored retirement plan. The additional contribution must be whichever is lower between the following:

An amount equal to the annual gross salary; or

Federal Poverty Level of $15,650 in 2025.

Note: Each state determines the maximum contribution limits as well as the maximum annual contributions.

Reduction of Unearned Income

Participants can reduce their unearned income by making or increasing their contributions to a CalABLE account.

This decrease also applies to participants receiving SSDI and other disability benefits.

Examples of those disability benefits include:

State Disability Insurance benefits;

Private Disability Insurance benefits;

Workers’ Compensation Temporary benefits;

Social Security Disability benefits; and

Veteran’s Disability Compensation benefits.

Withdrawals

Each time a QDE withdrawal is made, the applicant/participant must inform Eligibility staff of the intended usage of the withdrawal and provide verification of how the disbursements were used. Any withdrawals used toward QDEs are not counted as income.

The Internal Revenue Service receives monthly disbursement records to use for audit purposes and the SSA receives monthly account balances of beneficiaries receiving SSA benefits, including SSI.

Note:

In California, the CalABLE online portal www.CalABLE.ca.gov was officially launched December 18, 2018, which allows individuals to open a CalABLE account .

California residents can open CalABLE equivalent accounts in any state offering a national plan. CalABLE equivalent accounts opened in other states must abide by ABLE requirements set in that state.

Staff can review the ABLE National Resource Center website to identify states where disabled individuals can open a CalABLE account or its state equivalent. Staff can also visit the California State Treasurer CalABLE website: www.treasurer.ca.gov/able/ for more information on the CalABLE Program.

Participant Outreach

The purpose of a CalABLE account is to help individuals with disabilities maintain or improve their health, independence, and quality of life. As such, staff must inform disabled participants that they can open a CalABLE account and save up to $100,000. Staff should refer disabled participants to the California State Treasurer CalABLE website: www.treasurer.ca.gov/able/ or the ABLE National Resource Center website: http://www.ablenrc.org/ .

CalKIDS Account

It is a college savings program for California children born on or after July 1, 2022, and low-income eligible students identified by LCFF who are enrolled in grades 1 through 12 as of July 1, 2022; this program is subject to availability of funding.

Households do not have direct access to the funds in the account. Instead, the funds are distributed directly to the higher education institutions on behalf of the participants to pay for qualifying higher education expenses.

The following two populations will benefit from CalKIDS:

Newborns SB 77 (2019): CalKIDS was created in 2019 which opens a college savings account for every newborn child in California as of July 1, 2022, regardless of income and provides an initial seed deposit of at least $25 in each account. Additional financial incentives are provided as follows: $25 for registering on the CalKIDS Parent Portal; and $50 when linking an existing or new ScholarShare 529 college savings account to a CalKIDS account.

Low Income Public School "or" State Special School Students: AB 132 and the passage of the American Rescue Plan Act (2021) : Established CalKIDS as an ongoing program to include low-income public school students in grades 1 through 12 who qualify for free or reduced lunch, are homeless, or are in foster care who will receive an initial seed deposit of $500 as long as they are identified by LCFF. If the child is identified as foster youth and/or homeless, an additional $500 for each circumstance is deposited in their account for a maximum deposit amount of $1,500 ($500 initial seed deposit, $500 if foster youth, and $500 if homeless).

SB 169 (2021) : Expanded eligibility for CalKIDS to include students attending State special schools.

Additional information on the program can be found on the CalKIDS Website .

Treatment of Income

Since the assets and money in these accounts are owned by the State, the funds are not counted as income or resources as the income is not available to the AU. Funds deposited and investment returns originating from a CalKIDS account are also not considered in the eligibility determination or grant calculation for CalWORKs applicants and participants.

Note: The same rules apply to all CalWORKs State and County Homeless Assistance Programs, and the CalWORKs Housing Support Program.

Owner of Real Property

The person(s) who has the right to possess, use, control, and dispose of the real property is considered the owner. The ownership of the property may be one individual or shared with others.

Fair Market Value (FMV)

The amount for which property (real or personal) would sell on the open market if put up for sale.

For purposes of real property addressed in this release, FMV is the applicant’s/participant’s choice of:

The assessed value; or

A valuation of the market value obtained by the applicant/participant from a licensed real estate broker.

Net Market Value – For Real Property Only

The net market value is the highest price that real property, less encumbrances, will bring in a sale by a willing seller to a willing buyer in the ordinary course of business.

Liquidated Sum

The amount of money that can be gained from the sale or disposition of real property.

Transfer of Property

A transfer of property is a change of ownership whereby an applicant/participant through such transfer has rid themselves in whole or part of a resource actually available to them.

Period of Ineligibility (POI)

A POI is applied when:

The participant/AU gives away or transfers, for less than the FMV, non-excluded property (including cash) to become eligible to receive cash aid. The POI is computed based on the amount that is added to other countable property and exceeds the property limit if the property was transferred at FMV.

There is an unallowable restricted account withdrawal.

See the Procedures Section for detailed information on how to compute a POI.

Minimum Basic Standard of Adequate Care (MBSAC)

The POI can be shortened when there has been an increase in the MBSAC (cost-of-living increase) or the participant/AU is eligible for a special need.

Conversion of Property

When an applicant/participant changes an existing resource from one form to another.

Separate Property – General

Separate property includes:

Property acquired by the husband or wife prior to marriage.

If either spouse acquires property by gift or inheritance, after marriage, the property is the separate property of that spouse.

Property acquired during marriage remains separate property if purchased with funds which are the separate property of the owner, such as funds received from the sale of separate property or property received by gift or inheritance.

Separate Property – Derived from Income

If the spouses are living apart from each other, the income of each spouse is the separate income of that spouse in the month of receipt and separate property if retained past the month of receipt.

Marital Separation

Spouses are considered separated if they:

Have obtained a temporary court order;

Have a final judgment of marriage dissolution;

Are legally separated; or

Are living separate and apart from each other, and they consider their marital relationship to have ended.

Restoration (Reapplication) of Aid

A restoration (reapplication) of aid is when a former participant who was a participant of the same category of aid in the same county reapplies for aid. This is also referred to as a “reapplication” of aid.

Aid is considered restored only if CalWORKs has been discontinued for 12 months or less at the time of the current application.

The reapplication is still considered a new application as long as there has been a valid break-in-aid of at least one day and is subject to the Applicant Test.

The applicant should not be required to furnish any documentation previously provided to the County except under the following conditions:

The documentation is missing from the case record; and

The documentation affects eligibility or amount of aid for the month of restoration.

Note: For purposes of this AR the term “restoration” is different than the restoration of aid following discontinuance due to non-receipt or incomplete SAR 7.