section-vi BUDGETING NEW OR CHANGED INCOME

When a family has new or changed income during or after the base period, the base period income is not representative of expected income. Do not use base period income to determine eligibility or payment amounts. A. Changed versus Fluctuating Income Income is fluctuating when it changes slightly but the fluctuation does not represent an ongoing change and is not representative of a change in income anticipated during the period for which eligibility is being determined. For example, if an employee’s weekly income fluctuates due to variations in the number of hours scheduled and the scheduled hours are as likely to go up as to go down, the income is fluctuating. Do not re-budget income based on normal fluctuations in income. B. Changed Income A change in income is: 1. A change in the rate of pay. 2. An increase or a decrease in the award, court ordered, or agreed upon amount for unearned income (child support, contributions, SSA, VA, etc.) or a change in the actual amount received for contributions or child support). NOTE: When there is a change in the award, court ordered, or agreed-upon amount of child support, the case manager must evaluate whether it is reasonable to expect the actual amount received to change. 3. An ongoing change in the number of work hours for earned income. 4. A new source of earned or unearned income. 5. A terminated source of earned or unearned income. 30 6. SSI Termination – Counties must monitor the SSI Termination/Alert Detail Report (located in NC FAST under Reports), to ensure any required family members that are terminating SSI are included in the Work First Assistance Unit. If appropriate, immediately add the individual to the Work First Assistance payment. When a family experiences a change in income, they must report the change within 10 calendar days of when they know about the change. The change should be verified and documented on the Verification of Change in Situation form (DSS-1662). Make the change in the benefits as early as the month following the month of change, but no later than the second month following the month of change. Changes are effective the month after the month in which the 10- day notice expires unless the family waives their right to the 10- day notice. This requires a written statement from the participant. Example: The case manager is notified on March 10 that a participant began working. The case manager must verify the new wages, send a timely notice, and enter the change into NC Fast to be effective no later than May 1. If a family fails to report a change within 10 days of knowing of the change, without good cause, the family is not complying with their MRA-A and will make the entire family ineligible for a Work First Cash Assistance payment for one month or until compliance, whichever is later. For non-compliance with the MRA, a sanction is applied to the Work First payment. See Work First Policy Section 120 for applying the sanction procedures. and the Creating or Disregarding an Active Sanction Job Aid. C. Special Instructions Regarding Temporary Agency Employment Individuals employed by temporary agencies may begin, end, and change assignments on a sporadic basis. Although they may work at different locations and perform different duties, they remain employed by the same employer—the temporary agency. The case manager will have to decide on a case-by-case basis whether to treat the situation as a change in income, terminated income, or new income. The case manager must outline in the case documentation the decision made and steps the case manager took to arrive at the decision. Temporary workers may experience a period between assignments when they have no income. If they begin a new assignment within a few days of an assignment ending, the case 31 manager might consider the days without pay as a fluctuation that does not require action. However, if an assignment ends and a new assignment appears unlikely, or cannot be expected within a short period, then the income that is projected in the ongoing budget is not representative of what the family can expect in the upcoming month(s). In this situation, adjust the Work First income budget to reflect a reduction in anticipated income. Factors to consider are the employee’s history with the temporary agency, overall work history, and marketable skills and experience. The case manager may want to contact the agency and ask about the number of placements they expect to have soon that might match the employee’s skills. When a temporary worker reports a new assignment that reflects a change in the ongoing number of hours or rate of pay, treat this as a change in income as described in B. above. D. What to do when a family reports New or Changed Income? If the family reports new or changed income, verify, and document the new income. To determine and document the new income, follow the instructions below. NOTE: The family is required to report all changes within 10 calendar days of knowing of the change. 1. Verify the amount the family expects to receive each pay or benefit period. a. The family is responsible for providing verification of income. If the family needs assistance in obtaining verification, this must be provided by the case manager. To be entitled to reasonable accommodation for a disability, a caretaker need not be receiving or be eligible for SSI or other disability benefits. b. Set a deadline for families to return verification of earned and unearned income. See the chart in III. above for possible sources of verification. c. For ongoing cases, if the family does not provide verification of earned or unearned income by the deadline set, send a timely notice to terminate assistance. It is ultimately the responsibility of the 32 family to provide verification; however, the case manager must expend all options to obtain and assist with obtaining the information prior to termination. An example would be the case manager calls the employer directly to obtain wage information. d. For applications, if the family does not provide verification of earned or unearned income by the deadline, see Cash Assistance Application Process and Procedures (Manual Section 104) for instructions. 2. Project the new income. a. To project earned income, take the following steps. (1) Determine the: • Hourly rate of pay; • Number of hours per pay period; • Frequency of pay, i.e., weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, or monthly; and • Expected date of pay. (2) Multiply the hourly rate by the number of hours in the pay period. Use this total to project the income. b. To project unearned income, take the following steps. (1) Determine: • The benefit amount; • Frequency of the benefit; and • Expected date of receipt. (2) Use the expected benefit amount to project the income. 3. Enter the projected income into the automated budget in NC FAST. 33 a. If a full month of income will not be received, enter the projected amount in the automated budget the number of times it is expected to be received. Enter the actual monthly income in NC FAST. NC FAST does not convert this to a monthly amount. b. If a full month’s income is going to be received, enter the projected amount and the frequency of receipt in the automated budget. NC FAST converts this to a monthly amount. EXAMPLE: Ongoing Work First Cash Assistance case with a family member who goes to work in March. The employer verifies the family member is paid $8.00 an hour and is expected to work 25 hours in the first pay period. The family member will receive his first pay April 5. The family member will normally work 40 hours a week. The family member is paid weekly and will be paid four times in April. 1. $8.00 2. 8.00 X 25 x 40 ______ ______ $200 (projected 1st pay) $320 (projected ongoing weekly pay) 3 $320 4. $200 X3 +960 $960 $ 1160 (projected remaining April pay) (projected April total pay) Use $1160 for April's budget. Enter this amount as actual income in the NC FAST. NC FAST does not convert this income. Enter $320 for May’s budget and ongoing months until a Work First Family Assistance Report is received, or the family reports a change. Enter the indicator for wages received weekly. NC FAST converts this income to a monthly amount.