CalWORKs

Implementation of CalWORKs overpayment discharge policy

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The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has implemented the CalWORKs overpayment discharge policy.  The policy is stated in ACL 19-102, summarized here, became effective upon automation.  The CalSAWS computer system automated the policy as of May 20, 2024.  Counties must now discharge eligible claims as soon as administratively possible

If county must discharge non-fraudulent CalWORKs overpayments if the case is closed and the individual liable for the CalWORKs overpayment has not received CalWORKs for 36 consecutive months or longer.  For families with tow liable adults, if one adult has not received CalWORKs for 36 consecutive months and the other adult has received CalWORKs in the 36-month period, the overpayment claim cannot be discharged.  However, the county cannot pursue the overpayment from the adult who has not received CalWORKs for 36 consecutive months.

Counties cannot pursue collection of any non-fraudulent overpayments with a balance of $249 or less if the liable individual is no longer receiving CalWORKs.  This includes sending demand letters and tax intercepts.  Overpayment claims under the threshold must be discharged after the CalWORKs case is closed and the liable adult(s) have not received CalWORKs for 36 consecutive months.  If the overpayment claim has more than one liable adult, and one of the liable adults receives CalWORKs in the 36 month period, the county must collect the overpayment by grant adjustment even if it is below the threshold.

If the claim has two liable adults and one of them is repaying the overpayment, the county must suspend collection from all liable adults if the outstanding balance falls below $250.

The county can collect overpayments from active annual reporting/child only (ARCO) cases.  After an ARCO case is closed, the county cannot collect from a child or adult who was unaided.  If the unaided adult in an ARCO case does not reapply for CalWORKs for the same eligible children for 36 consecutive months, the overpayment claim must discharged.

If a child who was previously in an ARCO case receives CalWORKs as part of a different family, any overpayments cannot be attributed to the new family.

Mass overpayments are overpayments caused by the same action or inaction that affects eight percent of the CalWORKs caseload, or 1,000 CalWORKs families, whichever is greater.  Counties must report mass overpayments to CDSS and identify whether they were caused by negligence or systemic error.  Mass overpayments can be discharged, but must be reported to and verified by CDSS.  When the mass overpayment is verified and approved by CDSS, counties must discharge them and refund any collections.

Counties can reach settlements of overpayments with current or former recipients for nonfraudulent overpayments.  The 36-month timeframe cannot be considered when negotiating a settlement.  If a negotiated settlement amount has not been fully recovered after a family’s case has been closed for 36 consecutive months, the outstanding balance must be discharged.

An overpayment claim must be discharged if it is deemed uncollectable by a Bankruptcy Court or another court decision.

The CalWORKs overpayment discharge policy does not apply to overpayments involving fraud or suspected fraud.  Overpayments that have been referred to Special Investigative Units cannot be discharged unless the investigation is inconclusive or finds no evidence to support the fraud allegation.  An intentional program violation can only be determined by an administrative disqualification hearing decision, a signed administrative disqualification hearing waiver, a court decision, or a signed disqualification consent agreement.

These policies apply to Welfare-to-Work supportive services overpayments.

Overpayment claims established prior to December 1, 1996 cannot be discharged.  (ACL 24-84, November 21, 2024.)

 

CalWORKs best practices for supportive services

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All CalWORKs Welfare-to-Work participants are eligible to receive supportive services that are necessary for their Welfare-to-Work activity.  This includes child care, transportation, and ancillary expenses.  Supportive services must be advanced to participants when needed and requested by the participant.  This is to prevent participants from needed to use personal funds to pay for these services.  If supportive services are not available, or have not been advance paid, the participant has good cause for not participating.  However, the time on aid clock continues to tick when participants are in good cause.  For that reason, counties are strongly encouraged to provide supportive services and engage participants in Welfare-to-Work activities as soon as possible.

The California Department of Social Services recommends as a best practice that counties issue transportation and ancillary services at least 10 days prior to the start of the Welfare-to-Work activity, or within 10 days if the county receives the request less than 10 days prior to the start of the activity.  Counties should also use this timeline for notice that a supportive service request is denied, or that additional documentation is needed.

Timelines for other supportive services, including child care, diapers, and the advance standard payment for students, remain unchanged.  (ACIN I-36-24, August 23, 2024.)

Increase in CalWORKs Maximum Aid Payment

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The CalWORKs Maximum Aid Payment will increase by .3% effective October 1, 2024.  The grant increase is funded by the Child Poverty and Family Supplemental Support Subaccount.  Grant increases in future years will depend on the amount of funds in the Subaccount.

The grant increase applies to all CalWORKs cases.  Counties must treat the grant increase as a mandatory mid-period action.

The California Department of Social Services will send an informing flyer to all CalWORKs recipients.

For children who have opted to receive child support instead of CalWORKs, counties must used updated charts to determine if that is still an option.  Children can get child support instead of CalWORKs, when there are multiple children with different paying parents in the same Assistance Unit, and the child support received for the child is greater than the CalWORKs grant for that child.  If the amount of child support received is no longer greater than the amount in the updated charts, the county cannot add the child to the grant until the next semi-annual report or annual recertification.  However, in that situation, the parent/caretaker relative can ask to add the child to the CalWORKs grant mid-period. (ACL 24-55, August 8, 2024.)

Cell-Ed for Afghan and Ukranian employment services participants

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The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has issued guidance regarding the Cell-Ed Welcome Start Program (WSP). It is an online learning program for eligible Afghan and Ukrainian employment services participants. Time spent on the program provides countable hours towards activity requirements for CalWORKs, CalFresh Employment and Training, and Refugee Cash Assistance participants.

WSP targets employability and digital literacy, using accessible methods like phone calls, an app, or a website. The program also includes partner outreach and support to encourage engagement with employment services programs.

For Afghan newcomers, 4 categories of eligibility are detailed as A-D: A includes citizens or nations of Afghanistan paroled into the US between, July 31, 2021, and September 30, 2023.  The group includes unaccompanied minors, who if under 18 are eligible to apply for the ORR’s Unaccompanied Refugee Minor (URM) program. The B category includes spouses and children of any individual described in group A who is paroled into the US after September 30, 2023. The C category includes parents or legal guardians of any individual described in A who is determined to be an unaccompanied child and paroled into the US after September 30, 2023. The D category includes citizens and nationals of Afghanistan for whom refugee and entrant assistance activities are authorized with their eligibility date being on or after July 31, 2021.

For Ukrainian newcomers, 4 categories of eligibility are detailed as A-E: Category A includes citizens or nationals of Ukraine who the DHS has paroled into the US between February 24, 2022, and September 30, 2024, known as Ukrainian Humanitarian Parolees (UHPs). Category B includes non-Ukrainian individuals who last habitually resided in Ukraine and the DHS paroled into the US between February 24, 2022, and September 30, 2024. Category C includes the spouses and children of an individual described above in A or B, who is paroled into the US after September 30, 2023. Category D is the parent, legal guardian, or primary caregiver of an unaccompanied refugee minor or child described above in A or B who is paroled into the US after September 30, 2023. Category E refers to citizens and nationals of Ukraine whose refugee and entrant assistance activities are authorized with an eligibility date of February 24, 2022.

Dates of eligibility for Ukrainian parolees have been updated with those entering the US between February 24, 2022 — Sept 30, 2023, now having an eligibility of May 21, 2022, or their date of parole whichever is later. For those paroled between October 1, 2023 — Sept 30, 2024, their date of eligibility is April 24, 2024, or their date of parole, whichever is later.

The WSP courses may count toward Adult Basic Education, Job Search (Supervised Job Search under CalFresh E&T) and Job Readiness, Job Skills Training, Soft Skill Development, Education Directly Related to Employment, Vocational Education and Training, Secondary Education, and  English as a Second Language (ESL).

Individuals involved in the activities may also have supervised or unsupervised homework time in their WTW and/or Family Self-Sufficiency Plan (FSSP). Up to one hour of unsupervised homework for each class and the actual hours spent on supervised homework can be used as participation. The only documentation required for unsupervised homework time is a statement from the educational program indicating the amount of homework time required. Because of this, all WSP hours are considered supervised homework time and can be documented.

The WSP offers CalFresh E&T Activities under the Education and Supervised Job Search sections. Participants may also receive supportive services like mobile phones or internet access for Cell Ed. counties must include the WSP in their CalFresh Employment and Training Annual Plans. The WSP can satisfy the county-approved employment-directed education/training requirements for benefits. If participants demonstrate satisfactory progress, the WSP recommends that participation hours include course time and additional independent practice. For CalFresh Employment and Training, every hour spent on the program three additional hours should be credited for homework time or content reinforcement.  (ACWDL, July 9, 2024.)

Benefits extension for Ukranian Humanitarian Parolees

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President Biden’s signing of The Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, expanded resettlement assistance provided by The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) to displaced Ukrainians and non-Ukrainians paroled to the U.S. The ORR updated its eligibility criteria and mainstreamed federal benefits for refugees.

The ORR identified 4 categories (A-D) of individuals displaced from Ukraine who are eligible for resettlement assistance and other benefits. Category A includes Ukrainian citizens or nationals paroled into the U.S. by the DHS between February 24, 2022, and September 30, 2024 (extended from September 30, 2023), for humanitarian reasons. Category B includes non-Ukrainian individuals who last habitually resided in Ukraine and who the DHS has paroled into the U.S. between February 24, 2022, and September 30, 2024 (extended from September 30, 2023). Category C includes spouses or children of those in categories A or B who were paroled into the U.S. after September 30, 2023. Category D includes parents, legal guardians, or primary caregivers of unaccompanied refugee minors or children from sections A or B, paroled into the U.S. after September 30, 2023.

Eligible Ukrainian parolees who enter the United States with parole between February 24, 2022 – September 30, 2023, date of eligibility is May 21, 2022, or date of parole whichever is later. For those who enter the United States between October 1, 2023 – September 30, 2024, their date of eligibility is April 24, 2024. These parolees remain eligible for ORR benefits and services until their terms end or they obtain a different status.

UHPs are exempt from their financial supporter’s income being used to determine eligibility for benefits. UHPs who apply for and receive Temporary Protected Status (TPS) remain eligible for ORR benefits. However, if an individual only has TPS they are not eligible for benefits.

To qualify for Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA) UHP’s must meet all eligibility requirements. CWDs must determine eligibility by reviewing immigration documents, the date of humanitarian parole, and other program-specific information. UHP applicants are also exempt from certain types of income and resource requirements. Additionally, UHP are not required to provide SSNs but if they choose to do so, they must be notified that providing it is voluntary along with information on how it will be used.

Eligible UHPs can receive federally funded CalWORKs benefits without the five-year restriction on public benefits and should be evaluated for state-funded assistance if necessary. UHPs should provide proof of SSN application within 30 days of applying for benefits. This requirement can be avoided if the county determines that good cause exists. Applicants are also subject to provisions of the Child Support Enforcement Program but can claim good cause if participation is not in the best interest of the child.

UHPs granted parole between February 24, 2022, and September 30, 2023, became eligible for CalFresh on May 21, 2022. UHPs paroled into the United States between October 1, 2023, and September 30, 2024, become eligible for CalFresh on April 24, 2024, or their date of parole whichever is later. UHPs paroled between October 1, 2023 and April 23, 2024 for the California Food Assistance Program (CFAP) if they have parolee status of one year or more.

UHPs who are aged, blind, or disabled and meet income and resource limits may qualify for SSI/SSP through the SSA. Counties should issue RCA benefits until SSI/SSP benefits are granted.  UHPs who qualify are also exempt from employment services.

CWDs are directed to review all denied applications submitted by potential UHPs on or after April 24, 2024, and determine if they are now eligible per the updated policy. If they are found to meet eligibility the CWD must retroactively provide approval for benefits.  (ACWDL, June 28, 2024.)

 

Changes to CCP 7 child care form and related changes to CalWORKs WTW 2 form

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The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has issued a revised CalWORKs Child Care Request Form and Child Care Payment Rules (CCP 7) child care form.  The form is revised to reflect the change in definition of part time and full time child care.  Effective March 1, 2024, the definition of part-time child care is care for less than 25 hours per week, and full time care is 25 hours per week or more.  The CCP 7 is now revised to reflect this change

The CCP 7 is not a mandatory form.  Substitutes are permitted as long as a substitute form captures all the information contained in the state version of the CCP 7 form.  (CCB 24-14, July 19, 2024.)

In addition, to reflect the change in the definition of part time and full time child care, CDSS amended the CalWORKs Welfare-to-Work Plan Activity Assignment form (WTW 2).  (ACL 24-52, August 15, 2024.)