• General resource limitations
• People on CalWORKs or General Assistance
• Sponsored non-citizens
• People who have too many resources

Old Rules: General resource limitations

If a household’s had resources are below the resource limits, the resource amount does not affect how many food stamps that a household receives. The county only counted the equity value of property, i.e., the fair market value minus any loans owed on the resource, to determine the value of a resource. [MPP § 63-501.1; 7 C.F.R. § 273.8(c)(2).] If the household presented evidence that a resource cannot readily be converted into cash, the county had the burden of showing that it could have been so converted.

Households were permitted to have up to $2,000 in non-excluded resources. [MPP § 63-409.12; 7 C.F.R. § 273.8(b).] (This Guide includes a section with a full list of excluded resources.) There was a higher, $3,000, resource limit for households that include an “elderly” or “disabled” member.[MPP § 63-409.122; 7 C.F.R. § 273.8(b).]  Aged is defined as over age 60. [MPP § 63-102(e)(1)(a)] “Disabled” is defined at MPP § 63-102(e)(1)(B through K), and includes people who receive:

• SSI (Supplemental Security Income).
• SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance).
• a disability retirement benefit from a governmental agency because of a disability considered permanent under the Social Security Act.
• interim assistance benefits pending receipt of SSI.
• Medi-Cal, state or General Assistance disability or blindness payments based on SSI rules.
• Veteran’s or Railroad Retirement benefits.

The definition also includes certain veterans, their spouses and children. [See 7 C.F.R. § 273.2(j)(4).]

Some people are prohibited from receiving food stamps, but must be included as household members for purposes of food stamp household composition (see the list, below). However, SSI recipients (in California) and ineligible students cannot get food stamps, but thus did not have their resources count against the food stamps household of which they are a member.  (SSI recipients in “suspend” status from SSI because of state budget cuts or federal time limits on refugees, are eligible for CalFresh, under a waiver valid from June 23, 2011 through June 22, 2012.  ACL 11-46.) They are also excluded from the household for determining household size, eligibility or benefit level. [MPP § 63-409.122.]

In addition, if the following individuals were not included in the food stamp household then their resources did not count against the household:

• roomers.
• boarders.
• foster children.
• others who do not customarily buy and share food together, although physically in the same house.

[MPP § 63-402.21 and .321-.322; 7 C.F.R. § 273.8(i).]

The following groups of people are not allowed to get food stamps, but their resources were counted against the food stamp household:

• drug felons, as specified in MPP Section 63-402.229.
• people disqualified from food stamps for an intentional program violation (IPV).
• people found in noncompliance with work requirements.
• serving a sanction while participating as a member of a household disqualified for failure to comply with workfare requirements.
• fleeing felons and/or a probation/parole violators.
• people excluded for a failure to provide a social security number.
• ineligible non-citizens.
• people who fail to meet ABAWD work requirements.

[MPP § 63-402.226; 7 C.F.R. § 273.8(i).]

People on CalWORKs or General Assistance

If everyone in the household is eligible for food stamps and also receives CalWORKs or GA (general assistance or general relief), the household is categorically eligible. [7 U.S.C. § 2014(a); 7 C.F.R. § 273.2(j)(2)(i) and (j)(4); MPP §§ 63-301.7, 63-301.82.] (For related information, see the section abut people on CalWORKs, General Assistance (GA) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).)

If the household is categorically eligible, it does not matter how many resources it has. [MPP § 63-501; 7 C.F.R. § 273.8(a).]

Modified Categorical Eligibility

Households with children have “modified categorical eligibility” as of July 1, 2009 (by January 1, 2010 for new applicants). This means that the resource limit does not apply to these households and resources will not be taken into account to determine eligibility. Like households on CalWORKS or General Assistance, it does not matter how many resources a household with children has.  ACL 09-24 (households with minor children) and ACL 11-11 (remaining CalFresh households).

Sponsored non-citizens

If the household included a sponsored non-citizen, the value of the sponsor’s resources over $1,500 were deemed toward (counted against) the household’s resource limit. [MPP § 63-503.493(b)(1); 7 C.F.R. 273.4(c)(2)(iv).] If the sponsor had sponsored other non-citizens, then the deemed resource was prorated, by dividing the fair-market value of the resource (over $1500) by the number of sponsored non-citizens. [MPP §63-503.493(b) and (c); 7 C.F.R. §273.4(c)(3)(v).]

MPP § 63-503.492 and 7 C.F.R. § 273.4(c)(3) list the non-citizens exempted from sponsor deeming. These include:

• immigrants in the sponsor’s food stamp household;
• immigrants sponsored by organizations or groups;
• immigrants not required to have sponsors (e.g., refugees, parolees, asylees and/or a Cuban or Haitian entrants); and
• immigrants who meet the indigency definition (i.e., with income below 130% of poverty).

This resource deeming continued until the immigrant becomes a citizen or works 40 qualifying quarters. [MPP § 63-503-491; 7 C.F.R. § 273.4(c)(2).]

People who have too many resources

Prior to Modified Categorical Eligibility, a household could not get food stamps if it had too many resources.  The household may have faced a penalty if if it gave away resources in order to meet the prior resource limit or if it sold resources for less than they were worth in order to meet the resource limit. [MPP § 63-501.6.] (See the section about selling or giving resources away for more details.)