Library: Policy

OKDHS:10-1-20. Income determination procedures

Issued 4-1-98

(a) The AFDC grant is determined prospectively based on the best estimate of the amount of income anticipated to be received. Procedures for establishing such income are as follows:

• (1) Estimating Income. Income received in varying amounts will be averaged to establish the amount to be anticipated and considered for prospective budgeting. The past two month's income is averaged to indicate what income can be anticipated. Less than two month's income can be used only when:
  • (A) The individual has new employment of less than two months. The available pays tubs which accurately reflect the amount the client will earn on an ongoing basis should be used. If pays tubs are not available, the employer's statement is obtained and must include hourly wage, number of hours worked and frequency of pay. Caution should be exercised when the employer's statement gives an approximate number of hours worked a month. When possible obtain actual amount of hours;
  • (B) There has been a change in hourly wage. The new hourly wage is verified by a paystub which includes the new hourly wage. If a paystub reflecting the hourly wage change is not available, the employer is contacted for verification;
  • (C) There has been a change in number of hours worked. When paystubs are not available, the increase or decrease in hours is verified with the employer and then multiplied by the hourly wage to arrive at the pay for the period;
  • (D) Client obtains a second job. The monthly earnings from each job is computed separately and then added together for the total month's gross; or
  • (E) Paystubs are not representative of the normal circumstances. The case record is documented to show why the current pay stubs are not representative of the normal work week and, therefore, not used in the computation. In this instance, income is anticipated by using only the paystubs that are representative.
• (2) Income received more often than monthly must be converted to a monthly amount as described in (A) - (D) of this paragraph. The worker must exercise extreme caution when determining whether income is received twice a month or biweekly (every two weeks).
  • (A) Income received on a daily basis is converted to a weekly amount, then multiplied by 4.3.
  • (B) Income received weekly is multiplied by 4.3.
  • (C) Income received twice a month is multiplied by 2.
  • (D) Income received every two weeks in multiplied by 2.15.

(b) In computing monthly income, cents will be carried at all steps until the monthly amount is determined and then will be rounded to the nearest dollar. These rounding procedures apply to each individual and each type of income.

(c) In the process of determining the amount of income, it is important to define time frames for verification. The client is advised in writing concerning the agreed-upon verification to be provided within the time frame. If a certification is for a past month, then the actual income (if known) is used when determining the amount to be considered in the retroactive month. Once acceptable verification is provided (e.g., at the initial home visit prior to actual eligibility determination), further requests will not be made from the client unless changes occur. If an individual reports new employment and representative pay periods have not been completed, the best estimate is determined from the information provided by the individual and the employer.

(d) Some case closures may be based on a prospective eligibility determination due to anticipated income. If the client reports within 30 days of the effective termination date that the anticipated income was not received or was in a lesser amount which would not cause ineligibility, the case may be recertified by the administrative error process.

(e) An individual is responsible for reporting changes within ten days of when the change took place. Worker action is timely if taken within ten days of the reporting of the change. The worker is responsible for explaining the AFDC policy on timely reporting at the time of initial application and at each redetermination. All client notices will also include the timely reporting requirement.