Effective October 1, 2023, the CalWORKs Maximum Aid Payment (MAP) will increase by 3.6%. In addition, the 10% MAP increase that was scheduled to end on September 30, 2023 will continue.
The 3.6% increase in the MAP may cause a decrease in CalFresh benefits. Counties must give written notice of any CalFresh grant decrease because of the MAP increase no later than September 20, 2023.
Counties must send a notice to all CalWORKs recipients informing of the MAP increase and the potential CalFresh decrease no later than September 1, 2023. Counties must also send individualized notices giving each assistance unit information specific to their CalWORKs grant amount.
CDSS has updated the child MAP charts to reflect the October 1, 2023 MAP increase. The child MAP is used to determine if child support received on behalf of a child is more than the CalWORKs grant amount for that child. If the child support received on behalf of a child is more than then CalWORKs grant amount for that child, the assistance unit has the option of having that child opt-out of the assistance unit. The county may add the child back into the grant mid-period if the child support received is no longer greater than the CalWORKs grant amount. If the child support received remains lower than the CalWORKs grant amount, the county must add the child to the CalWORKs grant at the next semi-annual review or annual recertification.
These changes must be programmed into the CalSAWS computer system no later than October 1, 2023. If they are not, CalSAWS must provide counties with a manual work-around to ensure that families receive the correct amount of benefits. (ACL 23-74, August 30, 2023.)