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Income Eligibility and Budgeting

Revised December 12, 2007

Purpose:

Income Eligibility and Budgeting (EARN) Earned Income Screen Medical Source (Income) Codes Special Income Situations Cash AU Closed Due to Excess Child or Spousal Support Cash Gifts Child Support Paid by the Client Community Jobs (CJ) Income Income Allocation - Minor Parent Living with His / Her Parents Income Allocation Cash - Financially Responsible Person Not Included in AU Because of Alien Status Income In-Kind - In Lieu of Rent Student Fellowships Work Study Income WorkFirst Career Services Benefits

Income Eligibility and Budgeting ACES is programmed to determine financial eligibility for all programs based on prospective eligibility. Use the procedures as outlined in the EA-Z Manual to determine the client's countable income for the month. How the income is computed and budgeted depends on the valid values entered in the Inc Mthd and Freq fields. The valid values for these fields directly correspond to policy and how income must be anticipated based on prospective budgeting rules. See: WAC 388-450-0162  WAC 388-450-0215  WAC 388-450-0225  (EARN) Earned Income Screen See Interview - (EARN) Earned Income Screen Each (EARN) screen has space to record four (4) income amounts with corresponding hours and verification plus one (1) extra check. Amt field: The amounts entered in the four Amt fields are added together and a monthly amount calculated based on the income method and frequency. Extra field: Enter only if the client received an extra paycheck that was not taken into consideration at the time the income method was determined. If an amount is entered in the Extra field it is added in its entirety to the calculated income amount. This income will always be treated as actual income regardless of the budgeting method. The extra income is not converted or averaged even if the user specifies this as the income method. ACES will automatically delete this income after issuance and provide an alert to the user.  This will prevent the 'extra' income from being budgeted two months in a row. Once ACES has deleted this income, the user can reenter income in this field if needed. Calc Inc field: The Calc Inc (calculate income) field displays the amount of income that will be used to calculate the client's benefit. When all information on the(EARN) has been entered, <TRANSMIT> and Edit Message 1950 - Review Calculated Income Amount for Accuracy displays. After reviewing the income amount and it has been determined to be correct press <F4> to confirm the calculated benefit amount and continue on to the (EARN) for the next client. Exp, Amt, and V fields: The Exp (expense), Amt (amount), and V (verification) fields are used to enter work expenses, which are valid deductions for certain types of income, i.e. self-employment. Work expenses entered here are not deducted from the CALC INC amount but are subtracted when eligibility is calculated and are reflected in the GROSS EARNED INCOME amount on the (CAFI) and/or (FSFI). See EA-Z Manual - Income -F. -  Income Budgeting

Medical Source (Income) Codes It is imperative that the correct source code be used when entering income on a case in which the client receives Social Security benefits because the system interfaces with Social Security and in some situations automatically updates the case based on this interface. When BENDEX runs, both the source code and claim number on the (UNER) are checked against the information Social Security has for that client. Any difference in income will be updated automatically. A different source code will cause ACES to add the income from that source code because the system thinks this is a new income source. (Dual entitlements)  In most cases the client then has their income entered twice and benefits are terminated or AUs are put into spenddown erroneously. The source code to use on the (UNER) for Social Security benefits is determined by the client's Beneficiary Identification Code ( BIC ). A client's BIC is the complete social security claim number under which he/she receives benefits. This includes the suffix. <F1> field level help lists the correct source code to use on the (UNER) based on the client's BIC.  See Beneficiary Identification Codes with Medical Source Codes Table.

Special Income Situations Cash AU Closed Due to Excess Child or Spousal Support When current child support collected by Division of Child Support ( DCS ) exceeds the payment standard for two (2) consecutive months the assistance unit is no longer eligible for cash assistance and must be closed. In ACES when the second month of excess child support is reported on the DCS file the TANF / SFA cash AU will be automatically closed with Reason Code 324, - Child Support Collected Exceeds the Grant Payment for the 2nd Consecutive Month. A medical AU (F02) will sprout for these cases unless the only eligible household member is a pregnant woman. In this situation the case will sprout a (P02) medical.  See Trickle and Sprout. The (UNER) in these cases will not be updated with the amount of the child support. At the time the cash AU is closed and medical AU sprouts, if the case has an associated Basic Food AU, ACES will recalculate eligibility for the Basic Food AU and send a letter, if appropriate, based on any change that may occur in the Basic Food benefits. The following alerts will be generated: Alert 416 - AU Closed by Batch, Redetermine Medical Eligibility Alert 231 - IV-D Collection Exceeds Grant = $ - with an additional line of text reflecting the amount of support collected in excess of the benefit amount for the current and previous month. If the AU is a consolidated AU or has an optional member the AU will not automatically close. The user of record will get Alert 412 - ACM Changes Made On Optional AU – Recalc Elig on (MISC).  See Alerts. See: Assistance Units - WAC 388-408-0030 Child Support - WAC 388-422-0030 Medical Extensions - WAC 388-523-0100 Cash Gifts When budgeting a cash gift use the source code (<F1> Help) based on how the gift is to be budgeted on the (UNER). If source code CG - Cash Gift - is used, the amount entered will be deducted dollar for dollar for both TANF and Basic Food. ACES does not exclude the $30 per person / quarter exemption allowed per policy. If the case unit includes TANF and Basic Food, enter both source codes [OA] - Other Countable CA / MA (enter the gift amount less any exemption), and source code [OF] - Other Countable FS Only (enter the entire amount of the gift) so the correct amount is budgeted for each program. Child Support Paid by the Client Policy states that when budgeting the income of a parent or stepparent, included in the AU, an amount can be allocated for court or administratively ordered support for a legal dependent, not included in the AU, living either with the parent or outside the parent's home. This calculation is done in ACES based on information entered on the (DEEM). The policy on how income is deemed in this situation is different depending on if the dependent for which support is being paid is living in or out of the parent's home. See WAC 388-450-0115. Community Jobs (CJ) Income When budgeting CJ Income, enter the first of the month the client will receive their first pay check in the [Begin dt] field on the EARN screen. ACES will exclude the first month’s CJ income for TANF and will budget if for Basic Food. See EAZ Manual WAC 388-450-0050 How does your participation in the community jobs (CJ) program affect your cash assistance and Basic Food benefits Income Allocation - Minor Parent Living with His / Her Parents For ACES to correctly allocate income for a case situation in which a minor parent is living with his / her parent, the financial responsibility codes on (STAT) must be correct and income coded on the correct person's income screen(s). Do not enter information on the (DEEM) for this type of case. For purposes of this material the minor parent's parent will be referred to as the 'major parent or major mom / dad'. PERSON REL FINL RESP Minor Parent SE PN / RE Minor Parent Child CH PN / RE Major Dad OT PM Major Mom OT PM If the major parent has income, the income must be entered on that parent's income screen. ACES does the allocation process based on the major and minor parent's Financial Responsibility codes and income. In this type of situation all household members must be included in the AU or the income allocation will not be correct. If the assistance unit includes sibling(s) of the minor parent use the (DEEM) to record information so that ACES correctly allocates the income of the major parent. Enter the number of [in-home dependent child(ren) (not including the minor parent)] in the In Home Dependent field on the (DEEM) of the major parent with income. ACES adds this number to the number of persons listed on the (STAT) with Financial Responsibility code PM to determine the correct need standard to deduct from the major parent's income. Income Allocation Cash - Financially Responsible Person Not Included in AU Because of Alien Status A financially responsible person not included in the AU because of alien status is allowed certain deductions from their earned income in computing the amount of the ineligible person's income available to the eligible AU members.  See Financial Responsibility Codes – Categories of Financial Responsibility Codes. For a new application, code the ineligible household members as applicants and ensure that all citizenship information on the (DEM2) and (ALAS) is correct. When the case is finalized, the FINL RESP code for the ineligible member(s) will be changed by the system to UA for adult members and UC for children. DO NOT ENTER ANYTHING ON THE (DEEM) FOR THIS TYPE OF CASE. Enter the [ineligible household member's income] on their (EARN). Use the correct frequency code. All frequency codes apply to this type of case just as if the ineligible member were to receive benefits. The amount of income available to the eligible AU members displays on the (CAFI) in the GROSS INCOME section, Deem / Allocate Inc field. This means that if there is no income to allocate to the eligible household members after allowable deductions the amount in this field will be zero. Processing Alternative Cash PR 145312 Currently, when an undocumented child is added to a cash AU, the system is deeming income from citizen children in the AU to the undocumented child. This is not correct, as siblings are not financially responsible for each other. A problem report has been written and the system will be changed in a future release. The incorrectly deemed amount is the difference between the grant with the ineligible household members and the grant without the ineligible household members. Users must add the income back in by coding it as OA (Other Countable CA / MA Only) on the (UNER) of the person with the income. For more information on this call ITD Customer Support at 360-664-4560. See WAC 388-450-0116. Income In-Kind - In Lieu of Rent When a client is working in lieu of rent enter income source code [IL] - In Lieu of Rent - on the (EARN). Enter the [amount of income the client receives as compensation in lieu of paying rent] in the Amt field on the (EARN). Enter the [client's entire shelter obligation, the amount the client would be expected to pay for rent if they were not working in exchange for a portion of the payment], on the (SHEL). If otherwise eligible, ACES uses the difference between the rent amount and the in lieu of rent amount as the rent amount to calculate Basic Food benefits. Cash assistance budgets in-kind income the same as earned income.

EXAMPLE Client's rental obligation is $300. She cleans apartments and collects rent so is only charged $100 per month for rent. The difference in the rental obligation and the amount she is charged is her income in - kind, earned in lieu of rent. Enter source code [IL and $200] on the (EARN) and [$300 as rent] on the (SHEL). ACES will use the difference between the two, ($100) as the rent amount to compute Basic Food benefits.

Student Fellowships Student fellowships can be either earned or unearned depending on the work requirements associated with a particular fellowship. There is no specific valid value for this income. If the fellowship is earned income enter valid value [OC] Other Countable, on the (EARN). If the fellowship is unearned enter the valid value [AG] Ed Assist - Graduate, on the (UNER) as fellowships are only given at the graduate level. Work Study Income When budgeting Non -Title IV and / or non - BIA work study income, enter the [amount of the work study income] on the (EARN) and enter the [expense to be excluded] in Expense field using valid value EM - Education Expense Miscellaneous. WorkFirst Career Services Benefits   WorkFirst Career Services is a program administered by the Employment Security Department (ESD).  See EAZ Manual – WorkFirst Career Services Program. When budgeting WorkFirst Career Services benefits, enter the [amount of the WorkFirst Career Services income] on the UNER screen with unearned income type AA – Assistance From Another Agency, in the Srce field.

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Modification Date: December 12, 2007

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