California Department of Social Services - State Hearings
Division
Notes from the Training Bureau - August 19, 1998
| Item 98-08-01C Income of an Unmarried Parent in CalWORKs |
Issue
If a claimant receives cash aid for her separate child but does not want cash aid for the unmarried father and a child she has in common with the unmarried father, should the county count the income of the unmarried father?
Authority
The income of the natural or adoptive parent, and the spouse of the natural or adoptive parent, and the sibling of an eligible child, living in the same home of an eligible child shall be considered available, in addition to the income of the applicant or recipient of aid for purposes of eligibility determination and grant computation (W&IC Section 11008.14).
When an unmarried parent has a child in common with a CalWORKs recipient and there is no basis of deprivation for the child, the income of the unmarried parent is not counted nor are his needs considered. (CDSS ACL 98-17 March 13, 1998)
A child is considered deprived of parental support or care if the principal earner is unemployed. The recipient family of a child considered to be deprived of parental support or care due to the unemployment of the principal earner may continue to receive assistance, regardless of the number of hours the principal earner parent works, provided the assistance unit meets all other eligibility requirements. (MPP §41-401.1 and .2)
Answer
Whether the county should count the income of the unmarried father depends upon whether the common child is deprived of parental support. If the common child is deprived of parental support, the income of the unmarried father is counted. If the common child is not deprived of parental support, the income is not counted. In the fact patterns set out below, assume the unmarried father is the principal earner.
Suppose the family consists of the claimant mother, her separate daughter, the unmarried father and their son in common.
• If the claimant and her daughter are CalWORKs recipients but the unmarried father and son are not CalWORKs recipients and the unmarried father works in excess of 100 hours monthly, the son would not be an eligible child unless he was deprived of parental support. If the son was not deprived of parental support, the county could not count the income of the unmarried father (nor consider his needs).
• If in the above example the mother was an SSI/SSP recipient (and thus not in the assistance unit) the son would be deprived of parental support based on his mother’s incapacity. He would thus be an eligible child and his father’s income and needs would be counted in determining eligibility and/or grant amount for the assistance unit.
• If the claimant was not incapacitated and in the assistance unit and the unmarried father worked less than 100 hours monthly, the son would be deprived of parental support based on his father’s unemployment. He would thus be an eligible child and his father’s income and needs would be counted.
• If, in the above example the unmarried father was working less than 100 hours monthly and was in the assistance unit, then began working over 100 hours monthly, the son would still be an eligible child since the 100-hour rule does not apply to recipients who were receiving CalWORKs based on the unemployment of the principal earner (MPP§41-401.2). The unmarried father's income would be counted and his needs considered.
• If in above example the unmarried father was in the assistance unit based on incapacity because he was receiving State Disability Insurance (SDI), and then began working over 100 hours after his SDI ended, the son would not be an eligible child. The 100-hour rule does not apply to recipients who receive CalWORKs based on the unemployment of the principal earner. Here, the basis of deprivation was the incapacity of the unmarried father. The 100-hour rule thus would apply. Since the 100-hour rule applies, the child of the unmarried father would not be deprived of parental support and the unmarried father’s income would not be counted and his needs would not be considered.