Chapter 2.05
GENERAL RELIEF PROGRAM
Sections:
2.05.060 Requirements for receiving relief.
2.05.070 Relief of an extended nature.
2.05.080 Application for relief.
2.05.090 Initial determination.
2.05.130 Additional provisions.
2.05.010 Categories.
There shall be three categories of general relief in Black Hawk County, Iowa. They are:
A. Emergency relief for needy persons;
B. Relief for poor persons; and
C. Relief of an extended nature. [Ord. 19 § 1, 1987. Code 2009 § 1-4-1.]
2.05.020 Definitions.
For use in this chapter, certain terms or words used herein shall be interpreted or defined as follows:
“Awaiting approval and receipt” means a poor person who has applied for assistance under any state or federal law; who has pursued that application with due diligence; and who has not had that application denied. This does not include an appeal of a denial of benefits. It does include a person who has had an application denied and who reapplies after 30 days from the date of denial.
“Director” shall mean the General County Relief Director.
“Family unit” means the individual applying and all members of the immediate family (spouse, children under 18 years of age, children over 18 years of age who are dependent upon the applicant, and anyone else who is a dependent of the applicant for federal tax purposes) as long as they reside with the applicant as a family unit.
“Liquid assets” means cash or any other item of net worth of the family unit that can be readily converted to cash within seven days.
“Needy person” is a person or family unit of that person and is domiciled in Black Hawk County, Iowa, or who is a transient in the County for less than three days and who, because of circumstances which are not attributable to that person, needs immediate relief.
“Net worth” includes income or monies from any source, monies due, savings and other deposits, stocks, bonds, real estate (other than homestead), cash value of life insurance policies, jewelry, and the value of all other real and personal property, but it excludes clothing, wedding rings, usual household furniture, bedding, towels and similar equipment, and one automobile in amount not to exceed the policy adopted by the Board of Supervisors.
“Poor person” is a person or the family unit of that person and is domiciled in Black Hawk County, Iowa, and who, because of a physical or mental disability, is unable to engage in gainful employment and otherwise cannot make a living.
“Relief” means food, rent, shelter, clothing, transportation, emergency telephone service, fuel, lights and medical attention. Food does not include cigarettes or alcoholic beverages but does include laundry soap, household cleaners, and other items of nonfood nature used for personal hygiene. “Relief” also includes provisions of any of the above items by the General Relief Director or the Board of Supervisors through the offering of residence at a care facility or the County Care Facility. “Relief” shall also include the burial of persons who are residents of Black Hawk County in an amount established by the Board of Supervisors. [Ord. 19 § 2, 1987. Code 2009 § 1-4-2.]
2.05.030 Form.
The relief shall be purchased directly from the supplier for the applicant or the family unit. It may be for one or more of the items of relief that can be provided. [Ord. 19 § 3, 1987. Code 2009 § 1-4-3.]
2.05.040 Eligibility.
A. Emergency relief is to be provided to a needy, poor, indigent person or veteran who is in need of immediate relief, cannot obtain relief from any other source, and whose income or benefits from a state or federal program have been delayed or not actually received by the person because of reasons not attributable to that person and who does not have liquid assets of the family unit from which to pay for the items of relief that can be provided.
B. Applicants who are found to have income less than the standards established by the state Department of Human Services and those guidelines used by the Community Services Administration shall generally be considered eligible for temporary emergency assistance.
C. Assistance can be provided to other persons who are in need of immediate assistance and do not have liquid assets of his or her family unit from which to pay for items of assistance that can be provided. [Amended during 2014 recodification; Ord. 19 § 4, 1987. Code 2009 § 1-4-4.]
2.05.050 Level of benefits.
The maximum level of benefits to be provided for each item of relief for each person or their family unit shall be:
A. Food, if food stamps have not been received, at the level of guidelines for food stamps;
B. Rent and shelter, the reasonable rental value not to exceed an amount established by the Board of Supervisors;
C. Clothing, the reasonable value of clothing actually needed if not immediately available from other sources;
D. Heat, light, and water, the amount needed to provide these services and supplies;
E. Medical, dental services, and prescriptions, the reasonable value of these services actually needed as shown by a statement from a physician, dentist, or optician;
F. Transportation expenses, including gasoline, as needed to obtain other benefits or seek employment; provided, that proof of application for benefits or employment is provided to the Director. Benefits will also be provided as set forth in the policy for the Department under this chapter;
G. If a person lives in a rural area and the nearest neighbor is too distant to reach in the event of an emergency, or has a medical necessity, the monthly cost of one telephone is to be allowed. Long distance telephone charges for other than medical emergencies shall not be allowed or provided;
H. The maximum limitation for any one person per year for the above benefits shall be an amount set by the Board of Supervisors of Black Hawk County.
The total amount of all of the items of relief needed at any one time shall be determined, and there shall be deducted the amount of liquid assets the person or the family unit has available, and the balance remaining is the amount of relief benefits the person is to receive. If the person, except for reasons not attributable to that person, fails to repay the value of the benefits received, if agreed, he or she shall be disqualified from receiving future benefits. The Board of Supervisors may, upon application, waive the repayment of all or some of the benefits provided on the same basis as it may waive payment of property taxes. [Ord. 19 § 5, 1987. Code 2009 § 1-4-5.]
2.05.060 Requirements for receiving relief.
An applicant who is not needed in the home to care for minor children shall immediately register for employment with Job Service of Iowa and otherwise actively seek employment. The applicant shall seek and accept any reasonable employment whether or not it is suitable employment under the guidelines of the Job Service of Iowa. A refusal or failure to actively seek employment, or a refusal or failure to accept reasonable employment offered, shall disqualify the applicant from receiving future assistance/relief. The applicant may be required to provide reasonable proof that he or she is actively seeking employment. [Ord. 19 § 6, 1987. Code 2009 § 1-4-6.]
2.05.070 Relief of an extended nature.
It is contemplated that items of relief to be provided to applicants or their family units will not, during any one consecutive period of time, exceed the Department’s policies adopted by the Board of Supervisors. If it appears that items of assistance should be provided continuously beyond the established time period, they will be provided by placement in the County Residential Care Facility, if available, unless it is determined by the Director that it is better for the applicant to continue to receive items of assistance on a month-by-month basis. [Ord. 19 § 7, 1987. Code 2009 § 1-4-7.]
2.05.080 Application for relief.
Applications for relief shall be submitted to the Director of Relief at his or her office in Waterloo, Iowa, during usual business hours upon forms provided by the Director. If, because of undue hardship, an applicant cannot come to the office, the Director shall mail such application form or deliver to such person the application. If the applicant or the family unit is, or appears to be, eligible for relief from any other federal, state, or local source, the Director shall immediately refer the applicant to that source. It shall be the obligation of the applicant to immediately make application to that source and pursue such application with due diligence as a condition to be eligible for further relief under this chapter. It is the obligation of each person applying to establish his or her eligibility for any category of general relief and need for any item of relief. If requested, the person applying shall provide the Director with a verified statement of net worth, federal and state income tax returns for the past five years, medical reports, medical authorization, and anything else requested by the Director that bears upon the applicant’s eligibility and need for relief. The Director may also require, upon approval of the Board, that the applicant submit to a physical or mental examination to determine applicant’s capacity to labor. The Director shall also receive anything that the applicant applying desires to submit to establish his or her eligibility or need to include statements or letters, medical reports, and other written documents as well as the verbal statements of the applicant. The Director shall then proceed to conduct a reasonable investigation concerning the applicant’s eligibility and needs. The applicant’s file and the investigation and findings of the Director shall be made available to the applicant, upon request, or to the applicant’s attorney by written authorization. [Ord. 19 § 8, 1987. Code 2009 § 1-4-8.]
2.05.090 Initial determination.
A. The Director shall make an initial determination of the eligibility and needs of the applicant within five working days of the receipt of the application. Upon the determination, the Director shall notify the applicant by telephone immediately, if possible, and within five working days after that determination, mail to the applicant at the last address shown on the application, by ordinary mail, the Director’s written decision showing the reasons for the determination and the statutes or ordinances applied, together with the specific benefits and their amounts to which the applicant is entitled.
B. If the Director cannot make the initial determination within five working days, the Director shall immediately inform the applicant, by telephone, if possible, of the reasons why such determination cannot be made. The Director shall also mail to the applicant, by ordinary mail, within five working days thereafter, the Director’s written decision showing the reasons why such determination could not be made.
C. If an applicant has been previously found eligible, the Director need not receive a new application, but may proceed to a determination of whether or not current relief is warranted. Notice and mailing of such determination shall be as provided above. If an emergency and immediate need are present, the Director may verbally authorize a supplier or vendor to furnish any item of relief for the benefit of the applicant and the amount allowed for such benefit. The Director shall inform the applicant and issue a written decision as provided above.
D. Whenever an applicant is found eligible and entitled to relief, the Director shall proceed to provide the same and notify the Board of Supervisors. [Ord. 19 § 9, 1987. Code 2009 § 1-4-9.]
2.05.100 Appeal.
A. Every applicant, whether granted relief or not, shall be informed in the Director’s written decision of the applicant’s right to appeal from such decision to the Board of Supervisors. The applicant shall be informed (1) of the method by which an appeal may be taken, and (2) that he or she may represent himself or herself, or may be represented by an attorney.
B. Any written appeal or communication to the Director, by or on behalf of an applicant requesting appeal of the Director’s determination, shall be taken by the Director and put immediately upon the Board of Supervisors’ agenda, in accordance with Iowa Code Chapter 21, for the next regular Board meeting; provided, that such appeal shall not be heard sooner than five days after appeal is taken. The written appeal or communication must be made to the Director within 10 days of the Director’s determination, provide applicant’s current address and telephone number, and state the reasons for the appeal. The applicant shall be informed immediately, by telephone and by ordinary mail, of the date and time of the hearing before the Board. Applicant and his or her attorney, upon written authorization, shall be granted access by the Director to his or her relief case file if request is made. [Ord. 19 § 10, 1987. Code 2009 § 1-4-10.]
2.05.110 Appeal hearings.
A. The Board of Supervisors shall hear applicant’s appeal de novo at the time scheduled in the agenda unless continuance is requested by the applicant. Applicant shall be permitted to present whatever evidence is desired in support of the appeal, including: testifying, having other witnesses testify, offering documentary evidence and/or reasonable cross examination of other witnesses, if present. The technical rules of evidence shall not apply. The Board may set reasonable times for the present action of the parties at any appeal. The applicant’s file shall be admitted into evidence. The Board may question the applicant, and the Director shall present the Board with the reasons for the determination. The appeal will be tape-recorded. The hearing before the Board will not be an open meeting under Iowa Code Chapter 21, since the confidential files of the applicant will be in evidence. When the Board deliberates the appeal, no parties shall be present.
B. The Board shall make a decision on the appeal within five working days. The Board’s decision shall be only on the basis of the evidence submitted before the Board. The applicant shall be informed immediately by telephone of the decision, and within four working days thereafter, the Board shall mail to the applicant at his or her last known address, by ordinary mail, its decision in writing. The decision shall state the reasons for the action together with any statute or ordinance applied. The Board’s decision shall also state that an appeal may be taken from the Board’s determination, as provided below, and the method by which such appeal may be taken.
C. Any appeal to the district court shall be allowed by the applicant from the Board’s decision within the time and by the manner and procedures established under the Iowa Administrative Procedure Act, Iowa Code Chapter 17A. [Ord. 19 § 11, 1987. Code 2009 § 1-4-11.]
2.05.120 Actions.
In the event the Board of Supervisors, in reviewing the actions of the Director of Relief, questions any allowance of relief benefits allowed by the Director, it shall take no action concerning such allowance until it conducts a hearing. This hearing, the reasons for it and notification to the applicant shall be given in the same manner as if the applicant had taken an appeal. This hearing shall proceed in the same manner as an appeal from the Director’s determination. [Ord. 19 § 13, 1987. Code 2009 § 1-4-12.]
2.05.130 Additional provisions.
The Director may allow, upon application, the additional benefits provided for in Iowa Code Chapter 252. The provisions of Iowa Code Section 252.13, for repayment of benefits to Black Hawk County, are applicable and the applicant shall acknowledge the same in writing. Recipients of relief may further be required to work for the County as a condition of receipt of such benefits as required in Iowa Code Sections 252.7 and 252.42. Benefits provided a recipient may be further a claim against the homestead of a recipient and a claim in probate, as provided by law. [Ord. 19 § 14, 1987. Code 2009 § 1-4-13.]