PERMANENT RULES
SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES
(Economic Services Administration)
Date of Adoption: January 3, 2002.
Purpose: This rule describes how the department treats income from employment and training programs.
Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 388-450-0045.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 74.08.090 and 74.04.510.
Adopted under notice filed as WSR 01-23-068 on November 20, 2001.
Changes Other than Editing from Proposed to Adopted Version: At subsection (3) added examples of payments issued under Titles I and II of the Domestic Volunteer Act of 1973.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.
Other Findings Required by Other Provisions of Law as Precondition to Adoption or Effectiveness of Rule: Failure to
adopt these rules timely could cause incorrect calculations of
benefits, resulting in eligibility determinations that may result
in nonpayment of benefits or client responsibility to repay.
Effective Date of Rule:
February 1, 2002.
January 8, 2002
Brian H. Lindgren, Manager
Rules and Policies Assistance Unit
3021.2(1) Payments issued under the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) are considered as follows:
(a) Wages paid under JTPA including wages for on-the-job training are counted as earned income.
(b) For TANF/SFA, RCA, and GA assistance, needs based payments issued under JTPA including payments for on-the-job training are considered as follows:
(i) Payments which cover special needs not covered in the need standard are excluded.
(ii) Payments which duplicate items contained in the need standard are excluded up to the difference between the student's appropriate need standard and payment standard.
(c) For food assistance:
(i) Living allowances and incentive payments under JTPA are excluded as income; and
(ii) Earnings received from on-the-job training programs under JTPA are:
(A) Counted as earned income for persons:
(I) Age nineteen and older; or
(II) Age eighteen or younger and not under parental control.
(B) Excluded income for persons eighteen years of age or younger and under parental control.
(2) Payments issued under the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993 (AmeriCorps) are considered as follows:
(a) For cash assistance, living allowances or stipends paid under AmeriCorps are counted as earned income.
(b) For food assistance, living allowances or stipends paid under AmeriCorps are excluded income.
(3) AmeriCorps/VISTA stipends and living allowances paid to VISTA volunteers under the Domestic Volunteer Act of 1973:
(a) For TANF/SFA, RCA, and GA assistance, are disregarded as income; and
(b) For food assistance, are counted as earned income. The payments are disregarded if the client received:
(i) Food assistance or cash assistance at the time they joined the Title I program; or
(ii) An income disregard for the Title I program at the time of conversion to the Food Stamp Act of 1977. Disregard of Title I program income will continue through temporary interruptions in food assistance participation.
(4) For TANF/SFA, RCA, and GA assistance, needs based payments issued under AmeriCorps are considered the same way as JTPA payments as provided in subsection (1)(b) of this section.
(5) For food assistance, training allowances from vocational and rehabilitative programs are counted as earned income when:
(a) Recognized by federal, state, or local governments; and
(b) Not a reimbursement.
(6) For training allowances received by GA-U clients:
(a) The earned income incentive and work expense deduction specified under WAC 388-450-0175 is applied when applicable; and
(b) For clients enrolled in a remedial education or vocational training course, the actual cost of uniforms or special clothing required for the course is deducted from the training allowance.
(7) Support service payments received by or made on behalf of WorkFirst participants are not considered income)) cash assistance, food assistance, and medical programs for families, children, and pregnant women.
(1) We treat payments issued under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) as follows:
(a) For cash assistance and medical programs for families, children, and pregnant women, we exclude all payments.
(b) For food assistance:
(i) We exclude OJT earnings for children who are eighteen years of age or younger and under parental control as described in WAC 388-408-0035.
(ii) We count OJT earnings as earned income for people who are:
(A) Age nineteen and older; or
(B) Age eighteen or younger and not under parental control.
(iii) We exclude all other payments.
(2) We treat payments issued under the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993 (AmeriCorps) as follows:
(a) We exclude OJT earnings for children who are eighteen years of age or younger and under parental control as described in WAC 388-408-0035 (2)(c).
(b) We count OJT earnings as earned income for people who are:
(i) Age nineteen and older; or
(ii) Age eighteen or younger and not under parental control.
(c) We exclude all other payments.
(3) We exclude payments issued under Title II of the Domestic Volunteer Act of 1973, such as Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP).
(4) We treat payments issued under Title I of the Domestic Volunteer Act of 1973,such as VISTA, as follows:
(a) For cash assistance and medical programs for families, children, and pregnant women, we exclude all payments.
(b) For food assistance, we count most payments as earned income. We exclude the payments if you got:
(i) Food assistance or cash assistance at the time you joined the Title I program; or
(ii) You were participating in the Title I program and got an income disregard at the time of conversion to the Food Stamp Act of 1977. We will continue to exclude the payments you get even if you do not get food assistance every month.
(5) We count training allowances from vocational and rehabilitative programs as earned income when:
(a) The program is recognized by federal, state, or local governments; and
(b) The allowance is not a reimbursement.
(6) When GAU clients receive training allowances we allow:
(a) The earned income incentive and work expense deduction specified under WAC 388-450-0175, when applicable; and
(b) The actual cost of uniforms or special clothing required for the course as a deduction, if enrolled in a remedial education or vocational training course.
(7) We exclude support service payments received by or made on behalf of WorkFirst participants.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 74.08.090 and 74.04.510. 99-16-024, § 388-450-0045, 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, § 388-450-0045, filed 7/31/98, effective 9/1/98.]