CalFresh / SNAP

CalWORKs and CalFresh income exemption for awards to attend college

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The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) issued guidance regarding the new income exemption for awards to attend college.  Effective March 1, 2026, any grant, award, scholarship, loan or fellowship awarded for the purpose of attending an institution of higher education is excluded from consideration as income for CalWORKs and CalFresh.  These awards are exempt as a resource for 12 months.  These funds are excluded whether they are distributed to the institution of higher education, or the benefits recipient.

This exemption does not apply to cash payments made directly by friends or relatives for the purpose of attending an institution of higher education.

For CalWORKs, verification must establish that the financial assistance is for the purpose of attending an institution of higher education.  Verification is not required for CalFresh unless the income exclusion is questionable.

For recipients, counties must reevaluate eligibility and benefit calculations at their next SAR or annual recertification.  Current recipients can make a voluntary mid-period request to recalculate their benefits with the new income exclusion.

Until automation is complete, counties must manually implement the new income exclusion.

The new income exclusion also applies to Refugee Cash Assistance, Entrant Cash Assistance, and Trafficking and Crime Victims Protection Act benefits.  (ACL 26-16, March 19, 2026.)

CalFresh time limit waiver for Alpine, Merced, Monterey, and Plumas Counties

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The United States Department of Agriculture has granted a CalFresh time limit waiver for Alpine, Merced, Monterey, and Plumas Counties from November 1, 2025 to October 31, 2026.  This waiver was approved based on each of these counties having an average unemployment rate over 10 percent from January to March, 2025.  This means that Alpine, Merced, Monterey, and Plumas will not need to implement the CalFresh time on aid limit until November 1, 2026.

Alpine, Merced, Monterey, and Plumas Counties must remain ready to implement the time limit when the waiver expires.  These counties must identify clients subject to the time limit; screen for exemptions; inform clients of the time limit and work rules; and track work registration, time limit, and Employment and Training data.  (ACL 26-15, February 26, 2026.)

Parolee eligibility for California Food Assistance Program (CFAP)

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The California Food Assistance Program (CFAP) is a state funded program that provides benefits equivalent to CalFresh to qualified immigrants who are not eligible for CalFresh.

based solely on the immigration status restrictions in the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA). Under PRWORA, parolees who are in the United States for over five years were eligible for CalFresh, but parolees in the United States for under five years were not eligible for CFAP.

Currently, California Department of Social Services policy is parolees in the United States for less than one year are ineligible for CFAP.  Parolees in the United States between one and five years are eligible for CFAP.

Starting on June 1, 2026, or when automation is completed, people paroled into the United States for less than one year will be eligible for CFAP.  These individuals will be eligible for CFAP as soon as they are paroled for up to five years.  After being paroled for five years, they will not be eligible for CFAP because after five years they will be ineligible for CalFresh because of HR 1 instead of being ineligible because of PRWORA.

Any household member who was excluded because they were paroled into the United States for less than one year must be added as a CFAP household member at the household’s next recertification, if all other eligibility is met. The DT Code is sufficient verification of parolee status and the county cannot ask for additional verification beyond the DT Code. (ACL 26-03, January 15, 2026.)

Extension of CalFresh Standard Medical Expense Deduction

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The California Department of Social Services has issued guidance regarding extension of the CalFresh Standard Medical Expense Deduction (SMD).  The SMD waiver and has been extended to September 30, 2029.

The SMD is a standard $150 per month deduction for households with an elderly and/or disabled member with verified medical expenses of at least $35 per month.  Households with more than $185 per month in verified medical expenses can deduct all expenses from their income.

Failure to verify medical expenses is not a basis to deny or discontinue a case.

Except as stated, the details of the SMD are unchanged.  (See ACL 17-35, 21-117, 21-117E, and 24-59.   (ACL 26-04, January 15, 2026.)

 

Documentation of reasonable accommodation in CalSAWS.

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The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has issued guidance regarding documentation of reasonable accommodation in the California Statewide Automated Welfare System (CalSAWS).

This guidance applies to individuals with a “disability” as defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Some CDSS programs have their own definition of disability for purposes of determining eligibility, and may have their own requirements for documenting and qualifying disability. This ACL does not change program definitions or requirements, and meeting the requirements of this ACL does not fulfill any program-specific requirements and vice versa.

The County must document all disclosures of disability, requests for and offers of reasonable accommodations, and subsequent actions taken by the County, in the applicant’s/recipient’s case file. This also includes auxiliary aids and service. This documentation must include:

  • The fact that an applicant/recipient has a disability and/or has requested an The applicant/recipient is not required to provide a specific diagnosis;
  • The accommodation(s) requested by the applicant/recipient, if applicable, and
  • The accommodation(s) provided to the applicant/recipient.

Counties can learn about an applicant’s/recipient’s need for a disability-related accommodation in many ways, including but not limited to verbal request, case record information, and e-application responses. For example, a “yes” in response to the question “Are you a person with a disability” informs the county of a disability. Counties must offer reasonable accommodation when an individual’s disability is known or their need for reasonable accommodation is obvious.

The individual is not required to provide or verify a specific diagnosis to qualify as disabled under the ADA. An individual’s disability is considered documented in the case journal when the County has confirmed there is no need for accommodation, including documenting that reasonable accommodation was offered and declined.

When an individual needs a reasonable accommodation, Counties must document this information in the Special Circumstances Details page in CalSAWS if there is a request for an accommodation, and in the Case Journal if an accommodation is offered and provided. This includes documenting discussion about effective alternatives like “interactive process” if the requested accommodation is not immediately agreed upon.

All Counties can allow staff access to the CalSAWS Special Circumstances Detail page.

Counties must manually migrate all existing, active reasonable accommodation information from its current location to the Special Circumstances Detail page as soon as possible but in no case later than 18 months from the release of this guidance (by July 1, 2027). These updates must also be documented in the case journal.

A County may only deny a reasonable accommodation request when the requested accommodation would either:

  • fundamentally alter the nature of the program, service, or activity; or
  • impose an undue financial or administrative burden on the program, taking into account all resources available to the program, service, or activity.

If a reasonable accommodation request is denied, the County must inform the individual of that denial in writing. The County’s denial letter must notify that that the reasonable accommodation request is denied, the reasons for the denial, and any other accommodation(s) offered and/or provided.

Employees who perform Program Integrity functions, including Special Investigation Unit (SIU) investigators and individuals contracted to conduct investigative work, must check the CalSAWS case record for the Special Circumstances icon prior to any contact with the subject of a fraud referral.

If an individual named in a fraud referral discloses a previously unidentified disability-related need for accommodation to an SIU investigator or other staff member performing Program Integrity-related work, must offer reasonable accommodation to the individual and document this information in the Special Investigations section “Note Detail” page.

A decision to deny a reasonable accommodation request based on the limited permissible grounds must be made by the County Director or their designee. SIU investigators and other staff members performing Program Integrity functions should elevate such issues accordingly if they arise.

Contractors who receive federal or state assistance through a County must comply with the requirements of the ADA, MPP Division 21, and other civil rights laws and regulations, and are required to provide written assurance of nondiscrimination as part of their contract with the County. They are responsible for ensuring that the documentation requirements in this letter are met, including by developing workarounds with contracted service providers who do not have direct edit access to CalSAWS.

The CWD must establish procedures to ensure:

  • That the CWD notifies the contracted service provider in writing if an applicant/recipient has a need for a reasonable accommodation that must be provided by or in coordination with the contractor.
  • That the agreed-upon accommodation is provided in all applicable settings and program contexts, and that such provision is documented at each instance either in the CalSAWS case journal as instructed above or in a different record maintained by the contractor that the CWD deems appropriate to maintain civil rights compliance
  • That contractors who are unable to edit or notate the CalSAWS case record directly notify the CWD in writing if an applicant/recipient discloses a new disability-related need for a reasonable accommodation to them so CWD staff can add the information to the CalSAWS Special Circumstances Detail page, and
  • That clear communication channels, authority structures, and documentation responsibilities exist between the CWD and its contractors to address these and all applicable requirements covered in this letter.

There is no limit to the number of accommodations an individual may request, and requests may change over time. The County is required to train public contact staff, program managers, and supervisors upon hire and, at a minimum, annually thereafter, on providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities

County staff should copy all disability-related information from other CalSAWS locations like the “Medical Condition” page to the Special Circumstances Detail page. There is no automatic requirement to copy such information from one location to the other. but, if an applicant/recipient has disability information documented in another CalSAWS location, and that person also needs a reasonable accommodation because of the same disability, then the County must document the relevant information in the Special Circumstances Detail page.

It is recommended that Counties use other CalSAWS locations such as county-created Flag Detail pages to document applicants’/recipients’ non-ADA-related information with the exception of a non-disability related literacy issue.  (ACL 25-87, December 22, 2025.)

Requirement to provide copies of electronically filed CalFresh applications and allow corrections

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The California Department of Social Services has issued guidance regarding providing CalFresh households with a copy of their application. If an application is signed via handwritten or electronic signature, the CWD must offer to provide a copy of the completed application. If the application was completed and signed with a telephonic or gestured signature then the county is required to promptly supply a copy of the application and instructions on how to fix any mistakes or omissions.

The applications completed on paper or electronically include any submitted in-person, online, by mail, by fax or other electronic transmission. Telephonic applications require the verbal assent of the household to be audio recorded in order to be valid. These may be completed over the phone. Gestured signatures include the use of signs and expressions communicating assent or agreement in American Sign Language (ASL), Manually Coded English (MCE), or another similar language or method during an interview in person or over video call. The requirement to provide copies of the application applies to both the original application and to recertifications.

For electronically signed applications, households have 10 days from the time of the completion of the electronic signature to review the information on the application and make any necessary changes. This can be done by crossing out incorrect information and writing in correct details. They may also call the county and submit the corrections online or visit the county office to submit corrections. This must be completed within that 10-day period but the applications do not need to be signed again.

Corrections made within the ten days following the completion of the signature are not considered mid-period reports and must be treated in accordance with application processing rules. Corrections are submitted after 10 days are considered mid-period reports. If incorrect benefits were given to the household because of late corrections, the CWD may make a claim for the amount over- or under- issued.  (ACL 25-83, November 19, 2025.)