63-1301 JONES V. YEUTTER RETROACTIVE COURT CASE 63-1301

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.1 Background

The Jones v. Yeutter lawsuit challenged the policy which required the retrospective budgeting of county welfare department (CWD) paid grants when the CWD was unable to budget them prospectively in the beginning months of Food Stamp Program participation. On June 19, 1989, the plaintiffs amended the lawsuit to challenge the treatment of all additional or corrective payments from AFDC and general assistance/general relief (GA/GR) (i.e., assistance payments from state and local programs). A court-approved Partial Settlement Agreement among all parties to the lawsuit was signed on February 1, 1990. The Partial Settlement Agreement provides that during the Food Stamp household's beginning months, additional or corrective payments that cannot be budgeted prospectively are not to be budgeted retrospectively. In addition, the partial settlement agreement requires that all initial PA payments and any subsequent regular monthly PA payments shall not be budgeted retrospectively when received by ongoing Food Stamp households.

A second issue developed as a result of the lawsuit. FNS informed California that there is no authority for a state to prospectively count assistance payments from state or local funds in a monthly reporting/retrospective budgeting system. This includes county GA/GR payments as well as State-only AFDC payments. SDSS requested a waiver to allow the state to continue budgeting these payments prospectively. On October 20, 1989, FNS approved California's waiver to continue budgeting these payments prospectively and to exclude GA additional and corrective payments as income when unable to budget these payments prospectively. The Partial Settlement Agreement requires SDSS to adopt emergency regulations and requires that CWDs restore benefits to affected Food Stamp households.

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CALIFORNIA-DSS-MANUAL-FS

MANUAL LETTER NO. FS-90-04 Effective 8/1/90

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FOOD STAMP REGULATIONS

63-1301 (Cont.) COURT CASES Regulations

63-1301 JONES V. YEUTTER RETROACTIVE COURT CASE (Continued) 63-1301

.2 Definitions

For the purposes of these regulations:

.21 "Claim form" means that portion of the Informing Notice/Claim Form [TEMP 1770 (6/90)] designed by SDSS. The form must be completed, signed, and returned to the appropriate CWD for determination of a claimant's eligibility for retroactive benefits.

.22 "Class members" means all food stamp eligible households receiving PA, State-only AFDC, and/or GA/GR which are or have been subject to reduction or suspension of food stamps as a result of the application of the additional/corrective payment policy. The class is further defined to include a subclass, defined as all such households which, during the initial months of their participation in the Food Stamp Program are or have been subject to reduction or suspension of food stamps as a result of the budgeting in the same month of the grant for the current month and the grant for a prior month, which previously had been disregarded because of uncertainty as to amount or time of receipt.

.23 "Claim period" means the two-month period of time which begins two calendar months after the effective date of these emergency regulations.

.24 "Retroactive period" means:

.241 The period of time between December 2, 1988 and February 17, 1989, when food stamp benefits were reduced or suspended because a PA payment received in a beginning month was budgeted retrospectively or when households were assessed an overissuance because a PA payment was not budgeted retrospectively; or

.242 The period of time between June 16, 1988 and April 1, 1990, when food stamp benefits were reduced or suspended because a State-only AFDC or GA/GR payment was budgeted retrospectively or when households were assessed an overissuance because a State-only AFDC or GA/GR payment was not budgeted retrospectively.

CALIFORNIA-DSS-MANUAL-FS

MANUAL LETTER NO. FS-90-04 Effective 8/1/90

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FOOD STAMP REGULATIONS

Regulations COURT CASES 63-1301 (Cont.)

63-1301 JONES V. YEUTTER RETROACTIVE COURT CASE (Continued) 63-1301

.3 Restoration Requirements

.31 Any food stamp household receiving PA payments, which may have sustained an actual reduction, suspension, or were assessed an overissuance of food stamp benefits between December 2, 1988 and February 17, 1989, due to implementation of a federally-mandated policy requiring retrospective budgeting of PA payments received in the beginning months but that were not budgeted prospectively, shall be entitled to the restoration of food stamp benefits under the same terms and conditions specified by the Partial Settlement Agreement reached in the Jones v. Yeutter lawsuit.

.32 CWDs shall restore food stamp benefits to any class member who, from June 16, 1988 to April 1, 1990 sustained an actual reduction, suspension or were assessed an overissuance of food stamp benefits as a result of the application of the additional/corrective payment policy to such class member's receipt of State-only AFDC or GA/GR payments.

.4 Informing Potentially Eligible Households of the Availability of Retroactive Benefits

.41 All CWDs shall display the informing posters [TEMP 1773 (6/90)] in conspicuous locations in all CWD offices and food stamp issuance outlets on or before the first day of the claim period. The poster shall remain on display during the two-month claim period.

.42 On or before the first day of the claim period, CWDs shall duplicate and send by first class mail the informing notice/claim form [TEMP 1770 (6/90)] to all Food Stamp households which are subject to retrospective budgeting.

.43 Each CWD shall establish its own mailing list based on the information as of the last day of the month prior to the day the claim period begins. The informing notice/claim form shall be mailed no later than the first day of the claim period.

.44 Each CWD shall give or mail such informing notice/claim forms to anyone upon request.

CALIFORNIA-DSS-MANUAL-FS

MANUAL LETTER NO. FS-90-08 Effective 12/27/90

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FOOD STAMP REGULATIONS

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63-1301 JONES V. YEUTTER RETROACTIVE COURT CASE (Continued) 63-1301

.5 Application for Retroactive Benefits

.51 Claimant Responsibilities

.511 The claim form shall be considered complete when the claimant has answered all the questions, provided a name, address, social security number (SSN), and signed and dated the claim form.

.512 The claimant shall submit the claim form to the CWD in the county where food stamp benefits were reduced, suspended or where an overissuance was assessed during the time period(s) for which retroactive benefits are being claimed.

.513 The claim form shall be submitted within the two-month claim period. Unless the evidence indicates otherwise, the date the claim form is submitted shall be determined as follows: