3.605.1 Income A.

For Colorado Works grant payments, all countable gross income that members of the assistance unit and budgetary unit have received or expect to receive shall be used to determine eligibility. 1. Consideration of income - for purpose of determining need, all countable gross income received in the month prior to, if available, and in the month of application shall be used to determine eligibility of members of the assistance unit. 2. Availability of income - income shall be countable when actually available, when the client has a legal interest in a sum, and has the legal ability to make such sum available for support and maintenance. Income, in general, is the receipt by a client of a gain or benefit in cash or in-kind during a calendar month. Received means the date on which the income becomes legally available. 3. Securing potential income - a client must make every reasonable effort to secure potential income. a. The time required to make income available shall not be used as a basis for delaying the processing of an application. b. When the client is taking appropriate action to secure potential income, the assistance unit shall continue without adjustment until the income is available. c. If the client refuses to make a reasonable effort to secure potential income, such income must be considered as if available. Timely and adequate notice must be given to the assistance unit regarding a proposed action to deny, reduce, or terminate assistance, based on the availability of the income. d. If, upon the receipt of the prior notice, the client acts to secure the potential income, the proposed action to deny, reduce, or terminate assistance shall be withdrawn and assistance must be approved and/or continued without adjustment until the income is, in fact, available. 4. Income of a non-participant stepparent and a non-participant parent of an unmarried minor parent a. A stepparent’s countable income is considered available to stepchildren included in the assistance unit as dependent children. The countable income of a non- participant parent(s) of an unmarried minor parent who is living in the same home as the minor parent, shall also be deemed to the assistance unit. The countable income equals gross earned income minus the employment disregard of $90, minus the maintenance or child support paid to others outside the assistance unit, minus the amounts actually paid by the individual to other individuals not living in the home and who could be claimed by the individual for federal income tax purposes, plus any unearned income received by the stepparent or non-participant parent. The needs of the stepparent or parent of the minor parent, and the needs of individuals living in the home for whom the stepparent or parent are responsible shall be deducted from the result to determine the amount attributed to the assistance unit. b. Income of parents living in the same home as the unmarried minor parent shall be attributed to the assistance unit of the minor parent. 5. Sponsored non-citizens a. It shall be presumed that an affidavit of support demonstrates the sponsor's ability to make income available to a non-citizen whom he or she sponsors at a minimum of one hundred twenty-five percent (125%) of the Federal Poverty Level. Therefore, the net income of a non-citizen’s sponsor and the sponsor's spouse shall be deemed to the assistance unit. b. Sponsor net income equals gross earned income minus twenty percent (20%) or $175, whichever is less, minus support paid to dependents not living in the sponsor's home, plus any unearned income. The remaining income shall be considered available as unearned income to the non-citizen for the purpose of establishing eligibility and payment for Colorado Works. The client may rebut the county department's determination that the income of the sponsor is available. If such a determination is made, the sponsor’s income will not be deemed to the assistance unit. c. The income of the sponsor will not be deemed to the assistance unit if any of the following are true: 1) The non-citizen is a qualified non-citizen who is not a legal permanent resident (i.e. refugees, asylees, parolees and Cuban and Haitian entrants). 2) The non-citizen adjusted their status to legal permanent resident from refugee or asylee status. 3) The non-citizen’s sponsor signed the sponsorship agreement prior to December 19, 1997. 4) The non-citizen is a victim of battery or extreme cruelty. 5) The total income of the non-citizen and non-citizen’s spouse, together with the total income of the sponsor and the sponsor’s spouse (who is also a sponsor) is less than one hundred twenty-five percent (125%) of the Federal Poverty Guidelines for the household size of both the non- citizen and the sponsor. 6) The non-citizen earned or can be credited with forty (40) qualifying quarters of coverage as defined under Title II of the Social Security Act. 7) The non-citizen was sponsored on an affidavit of support other than the I-864. Or the non-citizen entered in a nonfamily or employment classification that did not require the sponsor to sign form I-864. d. If it is determined that the legal immigrant received financial assistance benefits that were the responsibility of the sponsor, the State Department or county department may recover such funds from the sponsor or the legal immigrant via the following: 1) Income assignments; 2) State income tax refund offset; 3) State lottery winnings offset; and, 4) Administrative lien and attachment. Enforcement of duties under affidavit of support shall be the responsibility of the sponsored immigrant. 6. Net income of persons who are required to be included in the assistance unit, but who are disqualified due to failure to meet citizenship, non-citizen status, lawful presence or Social Security Number requirements, or are ineligible as defined in section 3.604.2.C, shall be deemed to the assistance unit. Net income equals gross earned income minus employment disregards and employment incentives plus any unearned income. B. Countable Income All countable income, including earned and unearned income received, or unearned income an assistance unit expects to receive in the application month and any month following shall be used to determine eligibility for the assistance unit.