The California Department of Social Services has issued a reminder to counties about counting financial aid as income for CalWORKs. Most education grants, scholarships and loans are exempt in their entirety from consideration as income for CalWORKs regardless of how they are used. Loans and grants that are entirely exempt include loans and grants under Title IV of the Higher Education Act or the Bureau of Indian Affairs student assistance program, grants administered by the federal Department of Education, educational grants based on need, and loans or grants from community college extended opportunity services, the California Student Aid Commission or a college accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.
Applicants or recipients can choose to pay education expenses from their exempt financial aid. However, they cannot be required to do so, and supportive services cannot be reduced if a participant chooses not to use financial aid for education expenses otherwise covered by supportive services. The WTW 8 form is used to documents this choice.
In general, non-federal financial assistance that is based on merit instead of need, including grants from charitable organizations, private scholarships, and non-federally subsidized loans are exempt to the extent the proceeds are used to meet education expenses. Any portion of non-exempt financial aid that is not used for education expenses counts for CalWORKs. If the non-exempt financial aid is a recurring payment, it counts as income. If it is a one-time payment, it is a non-recurring lump sum that counts as a resource in the month after it is received. Recipients must provide the county with verification of the education expenses for which they used non-exempt financial aid. (ACIN I-58-17, August 29, 2017.)