VERIFICATION OF INCOME

Monthly, gross nonexempt income shall be verified prior to initial certification, unless the household is entitled to expedited service and postponed verification for one month. Income is also verified at recertification when a household reports that the amount of income has changed more than fifty dollars

($50), or the source of income has changed. A. Responsibility 1. Clients are primarily responsible for furnishing income verification documents, a collateral contact, or the authorization needed to secure sufficient information to allow written or verbal verification by the eligibility technician. For PA recipients, the PA case record will normally be used as the source of verification. 2. Means of income verification include pension award letters, check stubs, employer letters, and collateral contacts with employers, agencies, or other persons having knowledge of the household’s circumstances. 3. When a collateral contact designated by the household cannot be expected to provide accurate third-party verification, the local office shall ask the household to designate an acceptable collateral contact, provide an alternative form of verification, or substitute a home visit. 4. In some instances, however, all attempts to verify income may be unsuccessful because the person or organization has failed to cooperate with the household. A cooperating client shall not be denied solely because a third-party refuses to provide verification. The eligibility technician shall, in consultation with the client or other sources, arrive at a figure to be used for certification purposes and annotate the household’s case record with information used to make an eligibility determination. B. Continuing Employment When the client has continuing employment, the previous month's income is the best indication and source of verification of the amount of income the household may expect to receive. If information, such as probable salary raise, overtime pay, or layoff supplied by the household or collateral contact reveals that future income will differ substantially from the previous month's income, a reasonable estimate of income shall be made based on information obtained from the household members and/or collateral contacts. The method of determining and computing income shall be fully annotated in the case record. C. Self-Employment A household’s statement of self-employment income shall be accepted unless questionable. Should verification be requested, no specific verification shall be required. Self-employment verification may consist of tax documents, self-employment ledgers maintained by the household, receipts, or other documents used for verifying and documenting the household’s self- employment income and expenses. If at the time of initial certification, a household is recently self-employed or does not have adequate documentation of the household’s self-employment income and expenses, the eligibility technician shall use the best information available to determine the household’s monthly income. The household shall be encouraged to keep records of income and expenses for subsequent certifications. D. Educational Assistance All educational income and financial aid are considered exempt income and does not require verification to determine a household’s monthly income. E. Verification of Terminated Employment 1. If information regarding the termination of employment is questionable, verification is necessary. The primary responsibility for providing verification rests with the household. If it is difficult or impossible for the household to obtain documentary evidence in a timely manner, the local office shall offer assistance. 2 Acceptable sources of verification include, but are not limited to, the previous employer, employee associations, union representatives and grievance committees, and the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). Whenever documentary evidence is not available, a collateral contact shall be used. 3. If the household and the local office are unable to obtain verification for a questionable claim of resignation from employment due to discrimination practices or unreasonable demands by an employer because an employer cannot be located, the household shall not be denied. F. Cases of No Reported Income The existence of resources, unpaid bills, and/or credit might be an explanation of how the household exists with no income or income so low as to place them at the maximum benefit level without consideration of deductible expenses. The client’s statement of no income is acceptable, unless otherwise questionable.