People on CalWORKs (Cash aid) and Food Stamps now use a 3-month (quarterly) report to list income and household changes. This takes the place of the old monthly reporting.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
You use a R-7 income Report. You send it in once every 3 months. The county will tell you when to start turning in the QR-7. This is called The report month. Each new report is sent in 3 months after.
When you fill out your informa-tion, you list what happened in the middle of the quarter (2nd month) you are reporting about. This is called the data month.
For example, if you are reporting on the quarter from January to March, your data month is February. List on the QR-7 what happened in February. You turn this report in during March. March is your report month.
MID-QUARTER REPORTING
Some things need to be reported to the county before your next income report is due. This is called mid-quarter reporting. These things must be reported in 10 days.
For CalWORKs, you must report: address changes, fleeing felon status, drug convictions, parole or probation violations, and if your income goes over the “income reporting threshold.
For Food Stamps, you must report: Address changes, and, if you are single, changes to your work hours
INCOME REPORTING THRESHOLD
This is the amount of income that would make your house ineligible for aid. The county must tell you what that limit if for your household. They count the combined earned and unearned income to see if you are at this limit. Report this within 10 days.
WHAT IS ANTICIPATED INCOME?
Anticipated Income is money you are reasonably certain to get during the next 3 months.
For example, you just got hired to start a job, and know your schedule and pay rate. Or approved for Unemployment Insurance, and know the weekly benefit amount.
The county will try to see if there is enough certainty in your getting the income. If so, the amount you expect, or anticipate getting, will be what is used as your income.
If you don't know (or the county can't find out form the person who is paying you), the county can't count it! For example, if you think you should get Unemployment Insurance benefits, but you haven't received an approval letter, and don't know how much you would get. The county can't count income from Unemployment.
FLUCTUATING INCOME Fluctuating income is income that changes monthly. Example: you work hours change every week.
The county can use your “earning history to come up with an amount of income to count. For CalWORKs, this is the last 3 months of earnings. For Food Stamps, it is 1 year of earnings.
If your income is less than the county used for its estimate, make sure to report this.
TIPS ON REPORTING
When in doubt... report. This way, you protect yourself. If you disagree with what the welfare department does with your information, you can ask for a state fair hearing.
If your income drops, make sure to tell your worker. If you call, follow up in writing.
Make sure you know your income reporting threshold. If your combined earned and unearned income is over this amount, the county needs to know within 10 days. You can get in trouble for not reporting this.
If your income goes up, unless you go over the income threshold, your benefits don't change. So, there's no down-side in reporting.
If the county has said they are ending your benefits, based on your last report, and something changes, report this immediately! You may be able to keep getting your benefits.
Problems? Ask for a state hearing. Fill out the back of any Notice of Action or call the state at 800-952-5253.
Then, for free legal advice or assistance call us at 559-570-1200.
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