Effective January 1, 2015, the school attendance penalty for children under age 16 is repealed. Previously, if a child under age 16 was not regularly attending school, the CalWORKs household was penalized by removing all adults in the assistance unit from the grant. AB 2383 amended Welfare and Institutions Code Section 11253.5 to repeal this penalty. As a result, county welfare departments can no longer require families to provide proof of school attendance.
If a 16 or 17 year old is deemed a chronic truant by the school district or a county School Attendance Review Board (SARB), then the needs of that child are not considered in determining the family’s CalWORKs grant. Exceptions to this rule include when there is good cause for non-attendance, when any member of the household is eligible for the family stabilization program and when the child, parent or caretaker is complying with requirements from a SARB, probation department or district attorney. A child whose needs are not considered in computing the family’s grant is eligible for services that may lead to school attendance and can sign a welfare-to-work plan to attend school (with no minimum number of participation hours for that plan).
Penalties imposed prior to January 1, 2015 on children under age 16 should have been lifted effective January 1, 2015. Counties were directed to review all cases of school attendance penalties for 16 and 17 year olds.