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VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATIONS OF SOCIAL SERVICES AND BENEFIT LEVELS

10/24 VOLUME V, PART XIII, PAGE 3

the APECS disbursement date or the VEC warrant date. Allow two mail days to determine the payment date and month of receipt. Allow two business days for electronic funds transfer payments to reach the designated debit card or bank account to determine the payment date and month of receipt.

The BPS must: • Consider the income already received by the household during the application process. • Consider any anticipated income the household and the BPS are reasonably certain will be received during the months of certification. o If the amount of income or when it will be received, is uncertain, that portion of the household's income that is uncertain must not be counted. o If the total amount of the income is unknown, the portion that the BPS can anticipate with reasonable certainty is countable as income. o Do not automatically project amounts of past income or assume that current income will continue without exploring the situation with the household. • Consider work patterns or patterns of receiving income in determining income or in determining whether to average several monthly amounts to project future income more accurately. In discussions with the household, consider: o the number of days and hours normally worked; o whether overtime pay is available or likely; o whether the job is subject to external forces, such as weather; or o the number of days usually missed and if pay is affected.

For migrant and seasonal farm workers: • Be reasonably certain that income is likely to be received based on formal or informal commitments for work for individual instead of the general availability of work in an area. • Do not base income on an assumption of optimum weather or field conditions

For new income sources, the BPS must determine: • rate of pay, • the number of hours expected, and • pay date, including the pay period and date of receipt. Complete information must be known before counting the income. Estimating amounts by using the rate of pay multiplied by the expected number of hours is acceptable if representative pay stubs are not available. After the initial pay cycles are established, pay stubs or payroll records must be used to project the income unless the BPS documents that the information is not representative and why an estimate should be used. . For all application types, generally evaluate income received during the 30-day period before the application filing date. If the income for this period does not reflect the amount the household expects to receive during the certification period, the BPS must work with the household to determine a more appropriate amount.

The BPS must establish the onset and termination of income. If income amounts change by $25 or more from one pay period to the next, amounts from additional periods may be needed to determine a more representative amount to use.

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