The California Department of Social Services has issued instructions regarding implementation of the CalWORKs Educational Opportunity and Attainment Program at Welfare and Institutions Code Sections 11340-11346. CalWORKs recipients can apply for a one-time $500 award for completing a high school diploma or its equivalent, and a one-time $1,000 stipend for enrollment in a term of an education or training program leading to a career technical education certificate, an associate’s degree or a bachelor’s degree.
The $500 award for completing a high school degree or its equivalent is available to any individual receiving CalWORKs on his or her behalf regardless of whether the recipient has a Welfare-to-Work plan for completion of a high school diploma or equivalent after January 1, 2018. Cal-Learn participants are ineligible for this award. If verification of completion is submitted before the 11th of the month, payment must be made by the end of the month. If verification is submitted after the 11th of the month, payment must be made during the next month.
The $1,000 stipend requires enrollment in an education or training program that is included in the recipients Welfare-to-Work plan for a term that begins on or after January 1, 2018. The county must certify eligibility for the stipend within 10 business days of receiving verification and must issue the payment at the outset of the term. Completion of the term is not required to receive the stipend.
Recipients are ineligible for either the education incentive award or the education stipend in any month during which the recipient is sanctioned. Recipients are permanently ineligible if they have exhausted their 48-month time on aid limit or have committed public assistance fraud.
For CalWORKs, the awards are considered a non-recurring lump sum and property in the month received and any subsequent months. The awards are not income for CalWORKs. For CalFresh, the awards are excluded as income and resources.
Counties cannot require recipients to use the awards for CalWORKs supportive services.
The program has $4 million in one-time funding. Counties are required to provide the awards only to the extent funding is allocated. (ACL 17-115, November 20, 2017.)