PERMANENT RULES
SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES
(Economic Services Administration)
Date of Adoption: November 19, 1999.
Purpose: These rules will reflect the department's choice of prospective budgeting as the sole method for budgeting income and deductions.
Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Repealing WAC 388-406-0020; and amending WAC 388-450-0225 and 388-450-0230.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 74.08.090 and 74.04.510.
Adopted under notice filed as WSR 99-19-161 on September 22, 1999 and WSR 99-20-100 on October 5, 1999.
Changes Other than Editing from Proposed to Adopted Version: WAC 388-455-0015, added text to compare the value of the lump sum to the existing resources prior to determining the countable amount of the lump sum; added text that the countable amount may decrease if all or part of the lump sum becomes unavailable due to reasons beyond the client's control; added text explaining that a client can avoid having the lump sum budgeted against the benefits if they request termination prior to the receipt of the lump sum.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 5, Amended 2, Repealed 1.
Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 5, Amended 2, Repealed 1. Effective Date of Rule: January 1, 2000.
November 19, 1999
Marie Myerchin-Redifer, Manager
Rules and Policies Assistance Unit
2646.5LUMP SUM INCOME
(1) For the purpose of determining benefits for cash assistance, temporary assistance for needy families (TANF)/state family assistance (SFA)-related medical assistance, and food assistance, a lump sum payment is money that the client receives but does not expect to receive on a continuing basis.
(2) For cash assistance and TANF/SFA-related medical assistance:
(a) The department counts payments awarded for wrongful death, personal injury, damage, or loss of property as resources as described in WAC 388-455-0010.
(b) We count all other lump sum payments as income as described in WAC 388-455-0015.
(3) For food assistance, all lump sum payments are counted as resources as described in WAC 388-470-0055.
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This section applies to cash assistance and TANF/SFA-related medical assistance.
(1) In the month the payment is received, the department does not count any amount of a lump sum payment awarded for:
(a) Wrongful death;
(b) Personal injury;
(c) Damage; or
(d) Loss of property.
(2) In the month following the month of receipt, we count the entire amount as a resource except for the portion of the payment designated for:
(a) Repair or replacement of damaged or lost property; or
(b) Medical bills.
(3) We do not count the portion described in subsection (2) of this section for sixty days following the month the payment is received. At the end of the sixty-day period, we count any amount that remains as a resource.
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For cash assistance and TANF/SFA-related medical assistance, lump sum payments not awarded for wrongful death, personal injury, damage, or loss of property are counted as income. They are budgeted against the client's benefits according to the effective dates in WAC 388-418-0020. The rules in this section describe what portion is countable and when the department counts it. For rules on how lump sum payments awarded for wrongful death, personal injury, damage, or loss of property affect benefits, see WAC 388-450-0010.
(1) To identify what portion of the lump sum the department will count as income, we take the following steps:
(a) First, we subtract the value of your existing resources from the resource limit as described in WAC 388-470-0005;
(b) Then, we subtract the difference in (1)(a) from the total amount of the lump sum; and
(c) The amount left over is the countable amount of the lump sum.
(2) For cash assistance, the amount of the lump sum that is countable may change if any or all of the lump sum becomes unavailable for reasons beyond your control. See WAC 388-450-0005. When the countable amount of the lump sum is:
(a) Less than your payment standard plus additional requirements, we consider it as income in the month it is received.
(b) More than one month's payment standard plus additional requirements but less than two months:
(i) We consider the portion equal to one month's payment standard plus additional requirements as income in the month it is received; and
(ii) We consider the remainder as income the following month.
(c) Equal to or greater than the total of the payment standard plus additional requirements for the month of receipt and the following month, we consider the payment as income for those months.
(3) If you are ineligible or disqualified from receiving cash benefits and you receive a one-time lump sum payment:
(a) We allocate the payment to meet your needs as specified in WAC 388-450-0105; and
(b) The remainder is treated as a lump sum payment available to the eligible assistance unit members according to the rules of this section.
(4) You can avoid having the lump sum budgeted against your benefits if you request termination of your cash assistance the month before you receive the lump sum.
(5) For TANF/SFA-related medical assistance:
(a) We consider lump sum payments as income in the month of receipt.
(b) We consider any money that remains on the first of the next month as a resource.
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2648.4The rules in this section apply to food assistance.
(1) A migrant is a person who travels away from home on a regular basis, usually with a group of other workers, to seek employment in an agriculturally-related activity. A migrant assistance unit is an assistance unit that travels for this purpose.
(2) A seasonal farmworker is a person who:
(a) Does agricultural work on a farm for edible crops; and
(b) Is not required to be away from their permanent place of residence overnight in order to perform this work.
(3) For seasonal farmworkers, agricultural work is field work in which the person:
(a) Plants;
(b) Cultivates; or
(c) Harvests the crop.
(4) An assistance unit is considered a seasonal farmworker assistance unit if it receives its only countable income from:
(a) Seasonal farmwork;
(b) Unemployment compensation between seasons; or
(c) Interest earned on a checking or savings account.
(5) A migrant or seasonal farmworker is considered destitute when:
(a) The assistance unit's income for the month of application was received before the date of application and was from a source no longer providing income; or
(b) The assistance unit's income of the month of application is from a new source and the assistance unit will not receive more than twenty-five dollars during the ten calendar days from the date of application.
(6) A household member changing jobs but continuing to work for the same employer is considered to be receiving income from the same source.
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2647.3The department uses countable income to determine if the client is eligible and the amount of the cash and food assistance benefits.
(1) Countable income is all income that remains after we subtract the following:
(a) Excluded or disregarded income under WAC 388-450-0015;
(b) Deductions or earned income incentives under WAC 388-450-0170 through 388-450-0200;
(c) Allocations to someone outside of the assistance unit under WAC 388-450-0095 through 388-450-0160.
(2) Countable income includes all income that must be deemed or allocated from financially responsible persons who are not members of your assistance unit.
(3) For cash assistance:
(a) We compare your countable income to the payment standard in WAC 388-478-0020 and 388-478-0030.
(b) You are not eligible for benefits when your assistance unit's countable income is equal to or greater than the payment standard plus any authorized additional requirements.
(c) Your benefit level is the payment standard and authorized additional requirements minus your assistance unit's countable income.
(4) For food assistance:
(a) We compare your countable income to the monthly net income standard specified in WAC 388-478-0060.
(b) You are not eligible for benefits when your assistance unit's income is equal to or greater than the monthly net income standard.
(c) Your benefit level is the maximum allotment in WAC 388-478-0060 minus thirty percent of your countable income.
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(1) ((The benefit amount
for the first calendar month of eligibility for TANF/SFA and RCA
approved applications is the sum of:
(a) The prorated grant amount; and
(b) Approved additional requirements.
(2) The grant amount is calculated by subtracting the countable income as described in WAC 388-450-0180 from the payment standard.
(a))) To determine the client's benefit amount for the first month of eligibility for cash assistance, the department compares the countable income to the payment standard as described in WAC 388-450-0162.
(2) Even if your countable income exceeds the payment standard, you can still receive additional requirements.
(3) When ((the)) your countable income is ((equal to or
exceeds)) less than the payment standard ((and there are no
approved additional requirements, the assistance unit is not
eligible for cash assistance in the first month of eligibility.
(b) When the countable income is more than the payment standard and additional requirements are approved, the amount that exceeds the payment standard is subtracted from the additional requirements.
(c) When the countable income is less than the payment standard, the grant amount is prorated by:
(i))) , we prorate your grant amount based on the date you are eligible.
(4) We do not prorate the approved additional requirements.
(5) We prorate your grant by:
(a) Dividing the grant amount by the number of days in the first month of eligibility; and
(((ii))) (b) Multiplying the figure in (((c)(i) of this
subsection)) (5)(a) of this section by the number of days from
the date of eligibility to the last day of the month((.
(3) The approved additional requirements are not prorated)).
[Statutory Authority: RCW 74.08.090 and 74.04.510. 99-16-024, § 388-450-0225, filed 7/26/99, effective 9/1/99. Statutory Authority: RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.057 and 74.08.090. 98-16-044, § 388-450-0225, filed 7/31/98, effective 9/1/98.]
2658.1 The following section of the Washington Administrative Code is repealed:
| WAC 388-406-0020 | Destitute household definition. |
(1) When a
migrant or seasonal farm worker is determined destitute under WAC
((388-406-0020)) 388-406-0021, eligibility and benefit amount for
the month of application is determined by:
(a) Counting the household's income that is received from the first of the month through the date of application; and
(b) Excluding income from a new source that the household expects to receive during the ten days after the date of application.
(2) A household member changing jobs but continuing to work for the same employer is considered to be receiving income from the same source.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.057 and 74.08.090. 98-16-044, § 388-450-0230, filed 7/31/98, effective 9/1/98.]