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Code
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Effective
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ParaReg
Text
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270-6
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The rental fee for a propane tank, and the cost
of the gas for the tank, are allowable shelter costs for FS purposes. (All-County Information Notice (ACIN) No.
I-49-95, October 24, 1995, clarifying §63-502.353(a)(1), renumbered to §63-502.362(d))
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270-7
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The
shelter cost deduction is allowed only when the total shelter costs exceed
one-half of all other net income. In that case, the deduction is the
difference between the shelter costs and one-half of the income, up to the
applicable maximum deduction.
(§63-502.36, formerly §63-502.35)
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270-8
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Monthly
shelter costs include continuing costs for the shelter occupied by the
household, including rent, mortgage, or other continuing costs leading to the
ownership of the shelter. Property taxes, state and local assessments, and
insurance on the structure itself are allowed, but there is no allowance for
separate costs for insuring furniture or personal belongings. Shelter costs
also include the cost of heating and cooking fuel, cooling and electricity,
water and sewerage, garbage and trash collection fees, the basic service and
rental fee for one telephone, including tax on the basic fee, and fees
charged by the utility provider for initial installation of the utility.
One-time deposits shall not be included as shelter costs. Shelter costs shall
also include the costs for the home if temporarily not occupied by the
household due to employment, illness or damage to the home. Charges for the
repair of a home which was substantially damaged by a natural disaster are
also allowed. (§63-502.362)
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270-9
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REVISED 9/08
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A
Standard Utility Allowance (SUA) may be used in calculating shelter costs of
those households which incur heating or cooling costs separate and apart from
their rent or mortgage payments. When the SUA is used, the household is not
required to document the amount of the actual utility costs.
The SUA
is $287 effective October 1, 2008 and is mandatory for all effective November
1, 2006.
(§63-502.363,
ACIN I-61-08)
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270-9A
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ADDED 11/05
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A Standard Utility Allowance (SUA) may be used in
calculating shelter costs of those households which incur heating or cooling
costs separate and apart from their rent or mortgage payments. When the SUA
is used, the household is not required to document the amount of the actual
utility costs.
Effective October 1, 2_______, the SUA is
_______.
(§63-502.363; All County Information
Notice I-_______)
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270-10A
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REVISED 6/07
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Prior to November 1, 2006, the FS household entitled to an SUA
shall be advised at initial certification, recertification and when a household
moves that it may, instead of using the SUA, deduct verified utility costs.
Households certified for a 24-month period may also choose to switch between
standard and actual utility costs at the time of the mandatory interim
contact. (7 Code of Federal Regulations §273.10(d)(b)(ii)(D), effective
January 20, 2001 to be implemented by June 1, 2001; §63-502.363(c), prior to November 1, 2006)
Effective November 1, 2006, the SUA is mandatory for all. (§63-502-363(a)(1) effective November 1, 2006)
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270-10B
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REVISED
12/06
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Effective October 1, 2006, the SUA is mandatory for all households
which incur heating or cooling costs separate and apart from their rent or
mortgage payments. This includes residents of rental housing who are billed
on a monthly basis by their landlords for actual usage as determined through
individual metering.
(§63-502.363(a)(1) effective October 1, 2006)
The implementation date for the mandatory SUA was
extended to November 1,
2006. (ACIN I-69-06, September 12, 2006)
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270-10C
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REVISED
12/06
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Effective October 1, 2006, a household that is not eligible for
the SUA, but incurs expenses for at least two separate types of utilities
(other than heating and cooling) is eligible for a Limited Utility Allowance
(LUA). Allowable utilities include telephone, water, sewerage, and garbage or
trash collection. The LUA will be adjusted annually. (§63-502.363(d) effective October 1, 2006)
The implementation date for the LUA was extended
to November 1, 2006.
(ACIN I-69-06, September
12, 2006)
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270-11
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REVISED 12/06
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Prior to October 1, 2006, a standard telephone deduction of $20
shall be allowed if the household has a telephone and is not entitled to the
overall SUA. If the household's actual telephone service fee is greater than
$20 and is the lowest available rate, the actual fee may be used.
(§63-502.363(b), prior to October
1, 2006)
The implementation date for the telephone utility
allowance (TUA) was extended to November 1, 2006. (ACIN I-69-06, September 12, 2006)
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270-11A
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REVISED 12/06
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Effective October 1, 2006, a
household that is not eligible for either the SUA or LUA, but incurs
telephone costs only, is entitled to a telephone allowance of $20. It shall
be used only in instances where the household has a telephone, or in its
absence, an equivalent form of communication.
(§63-502.363(e) effective October 1, 2006)
The implementation
date for the telephone utility allowance (TUA) was extended to November 1, 2006. (ACIN I-69-06,
September 12, 2006)
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270-13
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REVISED 8/04
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Effective October 1, 2002, the CDSS issued
instructions requiring counties "... not to prorate the SUA if a
person(s) who shares heating or cooling expenses with the food stamp
household are excluded because they are ineligible, and the household is
eligible and elects the SUA. The full SUA is allowed. ...However, if the food
stamp household was sharing utility expenses with another household(s), which
may or may not be participating in the FSP, the CWD would prorate the SUA (if
the FS household elects the SUA and then would allow the FS household's share
in the food stamp budget." (All-County Letter No. 02-55, July 22, 2002,
p. 2, to be implemented for new or prospectively budgeted FS household
October 1, 2002, and for other households effective December 1, 2002)
When the household lives with and shares utility
expenses with an excluded/ineligible household member(s), the county shall
not prorate the SUA. (§§63-502.371,
.375(c))
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270-15
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REVISED 11/05
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All homeless households which incur, or
reasonably expect to incur, shelter costs during a month shall be eligible to
use the homeless standard shelter deduction without providing verification of
shelter costs. Homeless households which do not incur shelter costs, or
receive free shelter for the entire calendar month, are not eligible for the
homeless shelter deduction. If the allowance is used, separate utility costs
may not be claimed, nor may the SUA be used.
(§§63-502.351-.354; 63-502.363(a)(1))
The homeless standard shelter allowance shall be
adjusted annually on October 1. (Handbook §63-1101.27) As of October 1, 2005, the homeless standard
shelter allowance was $143. (ACIN
I-46-05)
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270-16
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If actual verified homeless shelter costs are
higher than the homeless shelter deduction, the household may use the actual
cost, and utility costs may also be claimed.
(§63-502.362(a))
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270-17
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If the FS household has its $143 homeless shelter
allowance deducted from its income in accord with §63-503.311(f), it is not
entitled to an excess shelter deduction under §63-503.311. (§63-502.352, as
revised effective June 1,
2001; 7 Code of Federal Regulations §273.9(d)(6)(i))
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270-18
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ADDED 9/06
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TREATMENT OF INCOME – SHELTER DEDUCTIONS
SCENARIO:
An approved Food Stamp household has a shelter and utility expense
which totals $500.00. The household reports an increase in their shelter and
utility expense of $2000.00 which appears to be questionable. The County
Welfare Department contacts the household requesting verification of the
increase in shelter. The household fails to provide the verification.
QUESTION:
Since the household has failed to provide verification, do we
• Not increase the shelter and
utilities and continue to allow the $500,
• Zero out the shelter and
utilities, or
• Terminate the case for failure to
provide verification.
ANSWER:
Per ACL 84-34 and ACIN I-62-89 regarding the Saldivar vs McMahon court
case, each county has two options to choose from for income deductions when
the household fails to provide verifications(s). Option #1 does not allow any
unverified deduction(s). In this case, the allotment amount is to be computed
using previously verified deduction amounts.
Option #2 disallows any unverified deductions(s) if the requested
verification/information is not received before the extended filing date per
MPP 63-504.34 which states “...If the household fails to provide the missing
verification/information, other than for income, by the extended filing date,
the CWD shall not consider the CA 7 incomplete. Any deductions for which the
verification/information is missing shall be disallowed...”
In such cases, the unverified deduction is “zeroed out” and no
deduction is allowed. Whatever option the county elects, the elected
procedure must be countywide.
(All County Information Notice I-52-06, July 21, 2006, page 4)
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270-18A
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ADDED 9/06
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BUDGETING – SHELTER
DEDUCTION
SCENARIO:
There is a mom and
2 undocumented non-citizen children, 1 citizen child (receiving CalWorks and
Food Stamps) and mom’s boyfriend, also an undocumented non-citizen. The
boyfriend is employed. Everyone purchases and prepares together. There is a
sworn statement on file that the boyfriend pays half of the rent and the rest
is paid with the CalWorks grant.
QUESTION:
Should the shelter
cost be determined based on MPP 63-503.442 (c) (3) which states that the
known portion of the shelter cost paid by an excluded household member is
deducted from the total expense and the remainder is allowed as a deduction
for the Food Stamp household?
ANSWER:
Yes. According to
MPP 63-503.442 (c) (3), since we have a definite amount contributed by the
excluded person, deduct the known amount from the total cost, and allow the
remainder as a deduction for the Food Stamp household.
(All
County Information Notice I-52-06, July 21, 2006, page 5)
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271-1
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Vendor payments for child care made by the
CalWORKs program or by the California Department of Education are not
considered income to the household and cannot be used as a child care
deduction.
An expense which is covered (i.e., either already
paid and reimbursed, or anticipated to be reimbursed) by an excludable
reimbursement payment or vendor payment (§63-502.2(b)(2)) is not a deductible
expense. However, if the child care payment is not reimbursed, or reimbursed
only in part, the out-of-pocket expense is deductible per §§63-502.34 and
63-1101.2, up to the allowable maximum. Counties must recalculate the FS
allotment and issue any applicable benefit supplement in the current month,
or restore lost benefits.
(All-County Letter No. 98-19, March 17, 1998)
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271-1A
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ADDED 9/08
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The cap on the deduction for dependent care expenses (currently $175 or
$200 per month, depending on the age of the dependent) is eliminated and effective
October 1, 2008 families eligible for the deduction are allowed to deduct the
entire amount of dependent care expenses when benefit levels are calculated.
(ACL 08-37, August 1, 2008)
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272-1
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REVISED 9/08
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Under MR/RB, and for change reporting
households under QR/PB, the net monthly income of an FS household that
includes a member who is elderly or disabled as defined in §63-102(e) is
computed as follows: For QR/PB households,
the steps below shall be followed after income is averaged over the QR/PB
Payment Quarter as specified in §63-509(a)(4):
(a)-(b) Add the gross monthly income earned by all
household members minus earned income exclusions, and multiply the result by
80%.
(c) Add to the net monthly earned income
the total monthly unearned income of all household members, minus income
exclusions.
(d) Subtract the standard deduction
which is $134 for one to three persons through September 2008. The standard deduction increases to $144
effective October 1, 2008. (ACIN I-61-08)
(e) Subtract
monthly dependent care expenses, if any, up to the current maximum. It is $200 for dependent children under age
two, and $175 for all other dependents. Effective October 1, 2008, the cap on
dependent care expenses is eliminated. (ACL 08-37)
(f) Subtract the allowable medical
expenses (see §63-502.33) of elderly and disabled members of the household in
excess of $35 per month.
(g) Subtract the homeless shelter
deduction which as been $143 since October 1, 1996 per ACLs No. 96-56 and 02-62)
(h) Subtract the allowable monthly child
support payments as specified in §63-502.37 (now §63-502.38). (This deduction no longer applies effective November 1, 2006)
(i) Subtract from the total allowable
shelter costs 50% of the preliminary net income figure. This is the amount of the shelter cost
deduction.
(j) Subtract the shelter cost deduction
from the preliminary net income figure, and the remaining amount is the
household's net monthly income.
(§63-503.312 revised effective November 1, 2006)
Legally obligated child support payments to a
non-household member are treated as income exclusions rather than deductions
(63-502.2(p) effective November 1, 2006)
Effective November 1, 2007, the child support disregard is
no longer considered an income exclusion (ACIN I-48-07, September 27, 2007)
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272-1A
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REVISED 9/08
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Effective October 1, 1995, there is a child support deduction when
household members pay legally obligated child support to or for a
nonhousehold member. (All-County Letter No. 95-49, August 31, 1995,
referencing §63-503.312)
Legally obligated child support payments to a
non-household member are treated as income exclusions rather than deductions
(§63-502.2(p) effective November 1, 2006)
Effective November 1, 2007, the child
support disregard is no longer considered an income exclusion (ACIN I-48-07,
September 27, 2007)
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272-2
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The maximum limitation on the amount of the
shelter cost deduction is not applicable to FS households which contain an
elderly or disabled member as defined in §63-102e. (§63-502.35)
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272-3
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At certification and recertification, households
(HHs) with elderly or disabled members will be required to report and provide
verification of all medical expenses. The HH's monthly medical deduction
shall be based on the information reported and verified by the HH.
(§63-503.253(a))
Medical expenses averaged over the certification
period shall not be automatically based on past months' medical expenses.
Those past expenses shall be used only as an indicator of estimated or
reasonably anticipated expenses during the certification period. Fluctuating
medical expenses (such as services and treatments received regularly, but
less often than monthly, and fluctuating costs of prescription drugs) may be
allowed as a deduction and averaged only if regularly recurring, reasonably
anticipated, and verified to recur over the certification period.
(§63-503.252(b))
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272-4
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Change reporting households (HHs) which
voluntarily report a medical expense change shall have their FS allotments
changed as follows:
1. If the change is $25 or less, the
county shall increase or decrease the FS allotment, as appropriate.
2. If the reported change is more than
$25 and would result in an increase in benefits, the county must verify the
claimed expense before increasing the allotment. If the reported change is $25 or more and
would result in a decrease or ineligibility for the HH, the county shall act
on the change without requiring verification.
(§§63-503.253(a) and 63-504.421; 7 Code of
Federal Regulations §273.10(d)(4))
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272-4A
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ADDED 9/06
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For change reporting households, changes
reported during the certification period shall be subject to the same
verification procedures as apply at initial certification, with the following
exceptions.
The county shall not verify income if the
source is unchanged and the amount has changed by $50 or less.
(§63-504.421)
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273-1
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ADDED 9/08
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The standard deduction is $134 for households from one
to three persons until October 1, 2008.
The standard deduction is $144 for households from one to three
persons effective October 1, 2008
The standard deduction for four persons was $143
effective October 1, 2007. The
standard deduction for four persons is $147 effective October 1, 2008.
The standard deduction for five persons was $167
effective October 1, 2007. The
standard deduction for five persons is $172 effective October 1, 2008.
The standard deduction for six or more persons was $191
effective October 1, 2007 and is $197 effective October 1, 2008.
(ACIN I-45-07 and I-61-08, August
21, 2008)
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273-1A
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ADDED 9/08
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Effective
October 1, 2007 the standard utility allowance (SUA) was $274. Effective
October 1, 2008 the SUA is $287. (ACIN I-45-07, I-61-08)
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273-1B
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REVISED 9/08
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As of October 1, 200_, deductions from
gross income to provide an adjusted net income for FS purposes include:
(1) 20% of gross earned income.
(2) A standard deduction which is $134 for
a one to three person household through September 2008, $___ for a
four-person household, $___ for a five-person household, and $___ for
households of six or more.
(3) A shelter cost deduction up to a
specified maximum (which is $___).
(4) A dependent care deduction up to a
maximum of $160 per dependent until September 1, 1994, when it increased to $200 for
dependent children under two, and to $175 for all others.
Effective October
1, 2008, the minimum standard deduction for households with one
to three members is raised from $134 to $144 and is indexed it to inflation
starting in FFY 2010 (i.e., October 1, 2009). (All County Letter 08-37, August 1,
2008; §63-503.311; ACIN I-__-__, August __, 20__)
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273-2
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There are limited income exclusions and
deductions in the FS Program. There is no exclusion or deduction for _____.
(§§63-502.2 and 63-502.3)
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273-3
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Excess medical costs excluding the costs of a
special diet are allowable as a deduction if they exceed the amount specified
in §63-1101. The amount specified in §63-1101.25 is $35. The deduction is
only available if the expense is incurred by a household member who is
elderly or disabled as defined in §63-102e (now (e)). Allowable medical
expense items include medical or dental care, hospitalization, prescription
drugs and medical supplies, insurance premiums, Medicare premiums or Medi-Cal
shares of cost, seeing eye or hearing dog costs, eye glass or contact lens
costs, transportation expenses and the cost of maintaining an attendant.
(§63-502.33)
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273-4
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The actual cost of transportation is an allowable
medical cost provided that it is less than the actual cost of the least
expensive mode of transportation reasonably available to the recipient. When
a more costly means of transportation, such as a taxi or private auto is the
only means available, the actual costs of such transportation shall be
allowed. (§63-502.331(h))
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273-5
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REVISED 6/07
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Prior to November 1, 2006, there was a child support deduction in
the FS program for those individuals who make verified child support payments
to or for individuals living outside the HH. These child support payments
include legally obligated payments for health insurance. The payments are
deductible only to the extent that they represent a child support obligation
that has been ordered by a court or administrative authority. (§63-502.38
repealed effective November 1, 2006) Child support payments for arrearages
are a deductible expense. (§63-502.386 repealed effective November 1, 2006)
Legally obligated child support payments to a
non-household member are now treated as income exclusions rather than
deductions (§63-502.2(p) effective November 1, 2006)
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273-6
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ADDED 8/04
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Under QR/PB, medical, child care and
court-ordered child support expenses shall be determined as follows:
Determine the expense amount that is reasonably
anticipated in each month of the quarter.
Average the reasonably anticipated amounts over
the months of the quarter and use this amount as the expense deduction when
computing benefits.
Expenses paid weekly shall be multiplied by 4.33
and received bi-weekly by 2.167 to determine monthly expenses.
Document the rationale for the determination of
anticipated expense deductions.
(§63-509(a)(3)(A)
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273-6A
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REVISED 6/07
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Under QR/PB, shelter costs shall be determined at
application and recertification and shall remain fixed at the determined
amount until the household reports either a change on the QR 7, makes a
voluntary mid-quarter report, or a mandatory report of a move. Prior to November 1, 2006, utility costs determined at
application and recertification shall remain fixed during the certification
period with the exception of households that choose the standard utility
allowance (SUA). Households that have
elected the SUA may switch to actual utility expenses if it can verify the
costs. (§§63-509(a)(3)(B) and (C)
prior to November 1, 2006)
Effective November 1, 2006, entitlement to the SUA, LUA or
telephone allowance |