Missed our Webinars? Watch Now!
Thank you to our health center staff and community partners who joined our public charge webinars in December. If you missed them, the links are posted below so you can learn how to talk to your patients and community members about this important topic.
Public Charge 101 & Overview – See slides here
How to Talk About Public Charge with Immigrant Communities – See slides here
Impact of Public Charge on Benefits and Privacy –Ā See Public Benefits slides here See Privacy slides here
Public Charge Overview
UPDATE: On January 28, 2020, the Supreme Court narrowly voted to allow the Trump Administration to enforce its Public Charge rule, beginning February 24, 2020. However, although this rule is currently allowed to be implemented, there are still a few court cases that challenge this harmful rule. The Supreme Court did not rule on the merit of the law, which is still working its way through the federal courts.
Protecting Immigrant Families provided this comprehensive overview of how this development impacts the public charge laws. We will continue to track and monitor the public charge rule and keep you informed.
VIDEO: Five things immigrants need to know about public charge (Spanish)
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In August, the Trump Administration released the final Public Charge rule (language foundĀ HERE), which was to become effective on October 15, 2019.
With this change, the Trump Administration is changing the definition of public charge from a person dependent on the government for financial and material support to a person who uses or receives one or more specified public benefits for at least 12 months in a 36 month period.
The public charge test is highly subjective and does not apply to all immigrants. Aliados Health encourages our member health centers to understand this rule, who it impacts, and how to talk to your patients about it.
In October, two judgesĀ granted a nationwide injunction stopping the implementation of the public charge rule.Ā Ā You can read about both decisions in thisĀ New York Times article.
This means that the rule was NOT implemented on October 15 as previously scheduled andĀ we can continue to ensure patients that their use of public benefits and services will NOT impact their ability to adjust their status.
However, we know this fight is not over. This injunction is temporary and we also expect the Trump Administration to appeal this decision. So we will continue to provide resources and education to our health center members and community partners. Thank you for all of your advocacy and work on this issue.
County-Specific Resources
Sonoma County āUnderstanding Public ChargeāĀ (Spanish)
Marin County Public Charge Resources
Napa County Public Charge Information
Yolo County Public Charge Guide
Health Center-Specific Resources
Health Center Public Charge Check List
Public Charge Talking Points for Staff to Patients
Santo Rosa Community Health FAQ
Other Resources
New Resource Ā KeepYourBenefitsCA.org / TusBeneficiosPublicos.org (flyer here)
California Department of Social Services Public Charge Contact List
California Health and Human Services Agency Public Charge Guide
CPCA Public Charge Resources
Immigrant Legal Resource Center
Protecting Immigrant Families
National Immigrant Law Center
California Immigrant Policy Center
Language-Specific Resources
California-specific versions of PIF’s āLetās talk about Public Chargeā and āGetting the Help you Needā fact sheets in 22 languages can be found here.
Keep Us Informed
Please let us know if trainings are happening in your community. As we learn about them, we will post them on this page, our Facebook page, and in our newsletters. Thank you!
