Justia Public Benefits Opinion Summaries

Christensen, an applicant for aid under the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids Act (CalWORKs) program, Welf. & Inst. Code, 11200, lives with her husband and her children. Her husband is the noncustodial parent of additional children, and court-ordered child support is garnished from his income for the benefit of these children who do not live in the applicant’s home. Counting the garnished amounts as nonexempt income to the applicant’s family, San Mateo County determined the family’s income was too high to qualify for CalWORKs cash aid and denied the application. The California Department of Social Services affirmed the denial. The trial court granted Christensen’s petition for writ of administrative mandate and request for declaratory relief, finding the Department’s policy of counting child support payments as nonexempt income was invalid on the grounds it was contrary to regulation, and it resulted in improper “double counting” of income among recipients of aid. The court of appeal reversed. No statute or regulation requires the exemption of the husband’s garnished child support from the income of applicant’s family, so the Department properly treated such amounts as income in determining the applicant’s family’s eligibility for CalWORKs cash aid. View "Christensen v. Lightbourne" on Justia Law

Guerrero applied for workers’ compensation benefits after he was injured in the course of his employment as a construction laborer. He received temporary disability benefits: November 18–December 4, 2005, and January 17–June 15, 2006. His entitlement to permanent disability benefits was contested but settled in December 2014. The resulting agreement provided that Guerrero would receive a lump sum in satisfaction of his employer’s obligation to pay permanent disability benefits, less the amount of permanent disability payments his employer had advanced. Guerrero also applied for benefits from the Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund (SIBTF), the state fund that pays workers’ compensation benefits to certain permanently disabled workers. A Workers’ Compensation ALJ ordered the SIBTF to pay, finding that Guerrero’s preexisting condition combined with the subsequent injury left him totally and permanently disabled. The ALJ fixed the beginning date for SIBTF payments as June 16, 2006, the day after temporary disability payments ceased, rejecting SIBTF’s argument that its obligation should not begin until January 26, 2011 (when Guerrero’s injuries were deemed permanent and stationary). The Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board denied a petition for review. The court of appeal affirmed, finding that under the controlling statutes, SIBTF benefits commence at the time the employer’s obligation to pay permanent disability benefits begins. View "Baker v. Workers Compensation Appeals Board" on Justia Law

David, age 17 years 11 months, was a victim of past gun violence and is a wheelchair-bound diabetic in need of day-to-day medical assistance. He was living in a homeless shelter when a dependency petition was filed, alleging that he was abandoned by his mother and left without means of support. An investigation revealed that David had not been forthcoming about his family. The court dismissed the petition, finding that David had a support system in place but had chosen to leave it behind to be on his own. Had the petition not been dismissed, David would likely have qualified for transitional support as a nonminor dependent until age 21. The court of appeals dismissed an appeal. Dependency jurisdiction may not be initiated in the first instance over someone who is over age 18; it must be initiated before age 18, and by the plain terms of the Juvenile Court Law, may only be “retain[ed],” “continu[ed]” or “resum[ed]” for nonminors in certain circumstances until age 21. David’s case is now moot because he is 18 and any error by the juvenile court in failing to assume dependency jurisdiction is effectively unreviewable. View "In re David B." on Justia Law