(1)
(a)Upon completion of the verification and record of each application for
assistance payments, the county department, pursuant to the rules of the state
department, shall determine whether the applicant is eligible for assistance
payments, the amount of such assistance payments to be granted, and the date
upon which such assistance payments shall begin.
(b)(I) In determining the amount of assistance payments to be granted, due
account shall be taken of any income or property available to the applicant and any
support, either in cash or in kind, that the applicant may receive from other sources,
pursuant to rules of the state department. Effective July 1, 2000, through December
31, 2016, a county may pay families that are eligible for temporary assistance for
needy families
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(1)
(a) Upon completion of the verification and record of each application for
assistance payments, the county department, pursuant to the rules of the state
department, shall determine whether the applicant is eligible for assistance
payments, the amount of such assistance payments to be granted, and the date
upon which such assistance payments shall begin.
(b) (I) In determining the amount of assistance payments to be granted, due
account shall be taken of any income or property available to the applicant and any
support, either in cash or in kind, that the applicant may receive from other sources,
pursuant to rules of the state department. Effective July 1, 2000, through December
31, 2016, a county may pay families that are eligible for temporary assistance for
needy families (TANF), as defined in section 26-2-703 (19), an amount that is equal
to the state and county share of child support collections as described in section
26-13-108 (1). Such payments shall not be considered income for the purpose of
grant calculation. However, such income shall be considered income for purposes
of determining eligibility. If a county chooses to pay child support collections
directly to a family that is eligible for temporary assistance for needy families
(TANF), as defined in section 26-2-703 (19), the county shall report such payments
to the state department for the month in which they occur and indicate the choice
of this option in its performance contract for Colorado works. For the purposes of
determining eligibility for public assistance or the amount of assistance payments,
compensation received by the applicant pursuant to the Colorado Crime Victim
Compensation Act, part 1 of article 4.1 of title 24, C.R.S., shall not be considered as
income, property, or support available to such applicant.
(II) (A) Effective January 1, 2017, and upon the state department's notification
to counties that the relevant human services case management systems, including
the automated child support enforcement system and the Colorado benefits
management system, are capable of directly and efficiently managing the
distribution process for the child support pass-through, a county shall pay families
that are eligible for temporary assistance for needy families (TANF), as defined in
section 26-2-703 (19), an amount that is equal to the amount of current child
support collections as described in section 26-13-108 (1). Such payments shall not
be considered income for purposes of calculating a recipient's basic cash
assistance grant pursuant to part 7 of this article. However, such payments, with
applicable disregards, shall be considered income for purposes of determining
eligibility. The county shall report the amount of the child support payments to the
state department for the month in which they occur. For the purposes of
determining eligibility for public assistance or the amount of assistance payments,
compensation received by the applicant pursuant to the Colorado Crime Victim
Compensation Act, part 1 of article 4.1 of title 24, C.R.S., shall not be considered as
income, property, or support available to such applicant.
(B) The general assembly may annually appropriate money to the state
department in a separate line item to reimburse the counties for fifty percent of
child support collections and the federal government for its share of child support
collections that are passed through to temporary assistance for needy families
(TANF) recipients pursuant to this subsection (1)(b)(II). The state department shall
allocate and distribute the money to the counties. Notwithstanding the provisions
of this subsection (1)(b)(II)(B) to the contrary, in any state fiscal year in which the
general assembly does not appropriate an amount of money that is at least ninety
percent of the total county share of collections passed through to the custodial
party after the full federal share is paid pursuant to the provisions of this
subsection (1)(b)(II)(B) for the prior fiscal year, the state department shall make all
necessary changes to the relevant human services automated systems so that child
support payments are not passed through to temporary assistance for needy
families (TANF) recipients and a county is not required to, but may, implement the
child support pass-through to TANF recipients. The total county share of
collections passed through to the custodial party after the full federal share is paid
for the fiscal year is determined as of the following December 1, as verified by the
state department. If a county elects to implement a child support pass-through in a
fiscal year in which no money is appropriated, the county must utilize its own
resources and the state automated systems are not required to support the
county's implementation.
(c) When the eligibility, amount, and date for beginning assistance payments
have been established, the county department shall make an award to or on behalf
of the applicant in accordance with rules of the state department, which award
shall be binding upon the county and shall be complied with by the county until it is
modified or vacated.
(d) (I) Except as provided in subparagraph (II) of this paragraph (d) and part 7
of this article, assistance payments under public assistance programs shall be paid
at least monthly to or on behalf of the applicant upon order of the county
department from funds appropriated to the county department for this purpose and
pursuant to the rules of the state department.
(II) Assistance in the form of aid to the needy disabled for persons who are
disabled as a result of a primary diagnosis of an alcohol use disorder or a substance
use disorder related to controlled substances must be paid on the person's behalf
to the substance use disorder treatment program in which the person is
participating as required pursuant to section 26-2-111 (4)(e)(I) or to the person
directly upon the person providing the documentation required pursuant to section
26-2-111 (4)(e)(II).
(e) The county department shall at once notify the applicant and the state
department, in writing, of its decisions on assistance payments and the reasons
therefor.
(2) The state department, by its rules, shall prescribe procedures for
handling applications or requests for social services. Such rules may include, but
need not be limited to, the determination of eligibility for social services, the
services to be provided, the verification and record, and notice to applicants and the
state department.
(3) Repealed.