Accounting For Personal Accounts

(1) Each custodial department and/or individual holding funds and having responsibility for the child may hold personal funds on behalf of the child. These personal funds may include, but are not limited to, allowances, wages earned, and gifts. (2) These personal funds will not be a part of the child’s account in the Collective Fund maintained by DCS. (3) The accountability for personal funds will be the responsibility of the DCS facility where the child is placed while in the Department’s physical custody, or the contract agency where the child is in the physical custody of a contract agency, regardless of where the personal funds are held. The DCS Facility, or contract agency, shall place any personal funds exceeding one-hundred and fifty ($150) in an interest-bearing account and shall furnish any information about the personal funds requested by DCS. (4) The state may authorize the use of personal funds on a case-by-case basis for the care and maintenance of the child, if the child’s eligibility for means-tested entitlements is jeopardized because the monthly balance of the child’s personal account exceeds that allowed by the Funding Source. (5) With respect to resources or income, the State must report earnings for a Social Security beneficiary who works for more than the annual limit ($8,160 for 1995). For SSI recipients, the State must report all changes to the recipient’s income or resources. The custodial department shall report additional income and resources as required by Social Security to Children’s Services.