PROPOSED RULES
SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES
(Economic Services Administration)
Original Notice.
Preproposal statement of inquiry was filed as WSR 00-16-052.
Title of Rule: WAC 388-450-0070 How do we count the earned income of a child?
Purpose: This rule describes how the department treats the earned income of a child.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 74.08.090 and 74.04.510.
Statute Being Implemented: RCW 74.08.090 and 74.04.510.
Summary: This rule is being amended to simplify the rules for cash assistance, food assistance, and medical programs for families, pregnant women, and children.
Name of Agency Personnel Responsible for Drafting, Implementation and Enforcement: Veronica Barnes, Division of Employment and Assistance Programs, Mailstop 45470, Lacey, WA 98504-5400, (360) 413-3071.
Name of Proponent: Department of Social and Health Services, governmental.
Rule is not necessitated by federal law, federal or state court decision.
Explanation of Rule, its Purpose, and Anticipated Effects: This rule describes how the department treats the earned income of children.
Proposal Changes the Following Existing Rules: This revision changes the rules to allow the earnings of a child to be excluded if the child is in school. It simplifies the rules to make them as consistent as possible for cash assistance, food assistance, and medical programs for families, pregnant women, and children. Previously, the earnings exclusion was different for each program and was dependent upon the type of school, the number of hours in school, and the number of hours the child worked.
No small business economic impact statement has been prepared under chapter 19.85 RCW. This proposed rule does not have an economic impact on small businesses. It only affects DSHS clients.
RCW 34.05.328 does not apply to this rule adoption. This rule does not fit the definition of a significant legislative rule, per RCW 34.05.328 (5)(b)(vii).
Hearing Location: Office Building-2 Auditorium, DSHS Headquarters Building, 1115 Washington, 14th and Jefferson, Olympia, WA 98504, on December 26, 2001, at 10:00 a.m.
Assistance for Persons with Disabilities: Contact Andy Fernando, DSHS Rules Coordinator, by December 21, 2001, phone (360) 664-6094, TTY (360) 664-6178, e-mail fernaax@dshs.wa.gov.
Submit Written Comments to: Identify WAC Numbers, DSHS Rules Coordinator, Rules and Policies Assistance Unit, P.O. Box 45850, Olympia, WA 98504-5850, fax (360) 664-6185, by 5:00 p.m., December 26, 2001.
Date of Intended Adoption: No earlier than December 27, 2001.
November 15, 2001
Brian H. Lindgren, Manager
Rules and Policies Assistance Unit
3020.1(1) Excluded when determining if the total income of the assistance unit is more than one hundred eighty-five percent of the need standard in WAC 388-478-0015. This exclusion is limited to:
(a) Children who are full-time students; and
(b) No more than six month's in any calendar year.
(2) Not counted when determining the assistance unit's need and benefit level when the child is a:
(a) Full-time student; or
(b) Part-time student who is employed less than full-time.
(3) For food assistance programs, all earned income of a child is not counted when a child is:
(a) Seventeen years of age or younger; and
(b) Attending elementary or secondary school at least half time)) (1) For food assistance and medical programs for families, children, and pregnant women, we do not count the earnings of a child if the child is:
(a) In school;
(b) Age seventeen or younger;
(c) Not married; and
(d) Not emancipated.
(2) For cash assistance, we do not count the earnings of a child if the child is:
(a) In school; and
(b) Meets the age and attendance requirements in WAC 388-404-0005.
(3) School includes:
(a) Participating in a home-school program that is approved by the superintendent of public instruction; or
(b) On break between school terms when the child:
(i) Was enrolled during the previous school term; and
(ii) Plans to return to school when it reopens.
(4) For medical programs, if we count the earnings of the child, we put the child in a separate MAU as described in WAC 388-408-0055.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.057 and 74.08.090. 98-16-044, 388-450-0070, filed 7/31/98, effective 9/1/98.]