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8.4 Calculating Income

8.4.1 Income Conversion Income is converted to a monthly amount. Income that is paid weekly will be converted by using a conversion factor of 4.3. Income received biweekly will be converted using a conversion factor of 2.15. Income received twice per month will be converted using a conversion factor of 2.

8.4.2 Calculating Unearned Income Unearned income is generally received on a regular basis and can be calculated as received. However, some types of income are subject to change or become inconsistent both in the amount and the frequency in which it is received.

Child Support. Child support income is calculated using an average of the prior three months of payments when determining eligibility. The total amount of support received in the three months prior to the month the CCA application is received shall be divided by 3 when determining how much child support is to be counted when calculating gross monthly income. The BEES DCS interface should be called to retrieve child support payment information. The three month average amount will be recorded as unearned income.

Re-calculating Child Support. CCA prospects what the applicant may receive in the next eligibility period by looking at an average of what was received in the prior three months. However, during a certification period, an applicant may experience circumstances which would allow CCA to re-evaluate the 3-month average of child support. The BEES DCS interface may be called to determine the updated amount. Upon re-evaluation only changes that may positively impact the case are applied during the eligibility period. • If the parent residing outside of the household to the applicant’s child/children becomes incarcerated and it can be verified, the child support unearned income may be removed. • If an applicant claims that the parent residing outside of the household is no longer working and cannot be located by the Division of Child Support and the Division of Child Support can verify this information, the child support unearned income may be removed.

8.5 Prospective Budgeting Prospective budgeting is the method of computing the amount of the assistance for a month based on the Benefit Specialist’s best estimate of income and circumstances which will exist in that month. When prospectively budgeting income (not self-employment), take into consideration the income Example: An applicant works 40 hours per week, is paid on a weekly basis, and is paid $10 per hour. The hours worked per pay period shall be multiplied by the rate of pay, then multiplied by 4.3. The calculation is as follows: 40 X $10 X 4.3 = $1,720. The applicant’s gross monthly countable earned income is $1,720. Example: An applicant works 25 hours per week, is paid on a bi-weekly basis, and is paid $14 per hour. The hours worked per pay period shall be multiplied by the rate of pay, then multiplied by 2.15. The calculation is as follows: 50 X $14 X 2.15 = $1,505 The applicant’s gross monthly countable earned income is $1,505. Example: An application is received on February 18th. All child support payments received for the preceding months of November, December, and January is averaged to determine the monthly child support amount.