California Department of Social Services - State Hearings
Division
Notes from the Training Bureau - April 14, 1997
| Item 97-04-02B CDSS ACL 96-68 -- December 11, 1996 (Synopsis): Qualifying Quarters of Social Security Coverage Permanent Legal Resident Aliens Need To Establish Food Stamp Eligibility |
This ACL states that legal immigrants who do not qualify for Food Stamp (FS) benefits as refugees, asylees, or individuals whose order of deportation has been stayed, must have 40 qualifying quarters of Social Security to establish FS eligibility.
To determine eligibility based on qualifying quarters of Social Security coverage, counties must determine the following:
How many years has the applicant, the applicant’s spouse, and/or the applicant’s parents (prior to the applicant reaching 18) lived in this country?
In how many of those years did the applicant, spouse and/or parent earn money by working in this country?
This ACL discusses how to verify if the legal immigrant has 40 qualifying quarters. It explains that individuals may combine their quarters with their spouses/parents. It includes a chart showing the amount of earnings needed in each quarter from 1955 through 1996 to be a qualifying quarter.