The CalWORKs Home Visiting Program is a voluntary program that provides home visits by social workers for CalWORKs recipient families to help them achieve stability.

Effective January 1, 2026, Home Visiting Program participation is limited to the duration of the home visiting model that the county chooses to use.

Effective January 1 2026, Home Visiting Program services can continue after a parent or assisted caretaker relative has been removed from the assistance unit or stops receiving CalWORKs for the duration of the home visiting model, with a maximum of 12 months from the date of removal.

People who are eligible for Home Visiting Program services are CalWORKs recipients who are pregnant, or have a child less then 24 months old when they enroll in the program.  Counties may serve additional individuals with approval of the California Department of Social Services.  (ACL 26-24, April 13, 2026.)

People who live in Indian Country with at least 50% unemployment are exempt from CalWORKs and federal Temporary Aid to Needy Families time limits.

The California Department of Social Services has released the list of Indian Country areas with 50% or higher unemployment in 2025.  Individuals who lived in those areas during 2025 are eligible for a time limit exemption for the months that they received aid.

If the individual lives in an Indian County area that is not on the list, they may get written documentation from a federally recognized tribe that they lived in an area where adult unemployment was 50% or higher in 2025.  That certification qualifies the individual for the time limit exemption.  (ACL 26-23, April 14, 2026.)

The Transforming CalWORKs legislation, AB 119 (2025) makes several changes job search as a  Welfare-to-Work (WTW) activity.

Effective July 1, 2026, job search will no longer be a required WTW activity in initial engagement, after completion of a WTW activity, or between WTW activities.  Counties cannot require WTW participants to engage in job search unless it is an assigned WTW activity that the participant has agreed to.  Job search will remain an activity that the county can offer at any point in the WTW flow.

Note that any future federal work participation rate penalty can no longer be passed through to the counties.  (ACL 26-32, May 8, 2026.)

The Transforming CalWORKs legislation, AB 119 (2025) makes several changes to Welfare-to-Work (WTW) transportation.

Counties may offer transportation services in various way, including, but not limited to, bus passes, private mileage, van pools, car repairs, car ownership programs, rideshare services, parking, and tolls.  Counties have discretion about which services to offer.

Effective July 1, 2026, counties must advance all transportation supportive services payments to participants who need them to participate in their WTW activity.  Counties must issue approved payments prior to the start of the activity.  If the county is assessing or processing transportation payments, the participant cannot be sanctioned.

Counties are not expected to advance the exact actual cost of transportation.  Counties must issue supplemental payments when actual transportation exceed the advanced amount as soon as administratively possible.

Counties must provide advance transportation for transporting the participant’s children when that is necessary for WTW participation.

Counties can issue vouchers or bus passes, or a standard advance transportation amount that equals the least costly form of public transportation available.  Counties can also issue advance payments based on actual private mileage.  The private mileage rate must either be the rate used by the county in its transportation plan, or the AAA or IRS mileage rates.

Counties can provide separate payments for gas, oil, insurance, license and registration fees, normal wear and tear, maintenance, parking, tolls, car repairs, and other costs directly related to transportation for the participant’s WTW activity.  (ACL 26-31, May 1, 2026.)

The Transforming CalWORKs legislation, SB 119 (2025) makes several changes to Welfare-to-Work (WTW) sanctions.

Effective July 1, 2026, or when automation is completed, whichever is later, counties cannot impose WTW sanctions in the first 90 days after CalWORKs is granted. The 90 day no sanction period applies if an individual stops receiving CalWORKs and later reapplies for CalWORKs.  During the initial 90 day period, counties must proactively reach out to recipients for WTW steps and plan development, barrier removal, family stabilization, and supportive services.

Counties can initiate WTW sanctions for noncompliance with program requirements, including not signing a WTW plan.

Effective July 29, 2025, counties may allow recipients to reschedule sanction good cause appointments more than once.

Effective July 1, 2026, prior to imposing a WTW sanction, prior to imposing a WTW sanction, the county must provide the recipient with a child care request form, the reimbursement rules for child care, and if eligible, confirm that the recipient has child care available at the time of their WTW participation.  Note that existing policies regarding informing recipients about child care and verifying child care availability have not changed.

Effective July 1, 2026 or when automation is completed, counties must end WTW sanctions when the sanctioned individual states, either verbally or in writing, that they want to cure the sanction.  A cure plan will no longer be required.  Anyone in the sanction cure process when this policy takes effect will have their sanction resolved.  Counties must still formalize the WTW activity in a WTW plan as soon as administratively possible.  Failure to sign a new WTW plan will be a basis for a new sanction.

Counties cannot impose WTW sanctions on recipients who are meeting federal work participation requirements.  Counties will be required to end sanctions when they verify or otherwise discover that the recipient is or has been meeting federal work participation requirements.

Effective July 1, 2026, sanctioned individual who stop receiving CalWORKs and later reapply will be deemed to have stated that they want to participate and their sanction will be cured.

Counties must restore benefits the first of the month following cure of the sanction.

Individuals who cure their sanctions will not have their Stage One Child Care authorization discontinued if they later fail to participate.  (ACL 26-28, April 24, 2026.)

 

There are several reasons why a CalWORKs recipient can have good cause for not participating in their assigned Welfare-to-Work activity.  AB 2300 added excessive hours or commute time, interruption of an approved education or training program, and violation of state and federal workplace protections as good cause reasons for not participating in their assigned Welfare-to-Work activity.

The WTW 1 Welfare-to-Work Rights and Responsibilities, WTW 26 Good Cause Determinatin Guidelines, and WTW 27 Request for Good Cause Determination forms have been modified to include these new good cause reasons.  (ACL 26-20, April 16, 2026.)