OKDHS.org - OAC 340:40-7-10. General provisions regarding income

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340:40-7-10. General provisions regarding income

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Revised 6-1-09

(a) All available income, except that required to be disregarded by law or Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) policy, is taken into consideration in determining a client's eligibility for child care services. • 1

(b) The client must report all sources of income at the time of application.

(c) Income from a new source is considered available after it has actually been received. Anticipated income from a new source is never considered until it is actually in hand and under the control of the person. • 2

(d) Past income is not used to anticipate future income for any month in which a change in income has occurred or employment has been terminated.

(e) The client must report any changes in the amount or source of income within ten days of the date the change occurs. Income changes reported timely are considered available for the next effective date shown on OKDHS Appendix B-2, Deadlines for Case Actions. • 3

(f) When a person's income is reduced due to garnishment, the gross amount before the garnishment is counted as income.

(g) Payments not considered as income are:

(1) monies withheld from any income source to repay a prior overpayment received from that same source;
(2) monies voluntarily or involuntarily returned to repay a prior overpayment received from that same income source; or
(3) child support payments received by Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients which must be sent to the Oklahoma Child Support Services to maintain TANF eligibility.

(h) Monies withheld or returned to repay overpayments in federal, state, or local means tested assistance programs are not excluded when they are withheld or returned to repay overpayments resulting from intentional program violation as established by the agency administering the program. • 4

INSTRUCTIONS TO STAFF 340:40-7-10

Revised 6-1-09

1. See OAC 340:40-7-12 for sources of income not considered. If child care is being provided as part of a protective plan for the child, countable income can be disregarded. See OAC 340:40-7-8(e) for more information regarding protective or preventive child care.

2. (a) For an initial application, only consider a new source of income for the application month if the applicant has already received at least one full pay period of income from that source on or prior to the application date. The worker projects income for the next month if the applicant expects to receive a full pay period of income on or before the first of that month. Terminated income from another source is also considered for the month it is received.

(b) After certification, when new income causes the family share co-payment to increase, the worker counts income from the new source using the effective dates shown on Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) Appendix B-2 Section I, Deadlines for Case Actions, if the client expects to receive the first full paycheck on or before the first of that month. If the client expects to receive the first full paycheck after the first of that month, the worker waits to count the income until the next effective date. When new income decreases the family share co-payment, the worker makes the change effective for the current month if appropriate. The worker counts actual income received, including any terminated income, for that month before lowering a family share co-payment for the current month.

(c) See OAC 340:40-3-1(b) for expedited eligibility processing and OAC 340:40-7-13 for computation of income. See OAC 340:50-7-46 for differences in computing anticipated income for food benefits and OAC 340:10-3-58 for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).

3. See Instruction to Staff (ITS) 2(b) of this Section for information on which effective month to apply income from a new source. See OAC 340:40-9-2(c) and (d) as well as ITS 5 and 6 to determine which effective month to use when changes occur in the amount of income being received from the same income source.

4. In the Child Care Services Program, fraud is considered an intentional program violation. In the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), willful misrepresentation is considered an intentional program violation. In State Supplemental Payment and TANF, the terms defining an intentional violation are restitution, fraud, and willful misrepresentation. An intentional program violation for Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, and Veterans' Assistance is fraud.

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