CalWORKs

COVID-19 county welfare department office access

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The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) reminds counties of their legal requirements to ensure applicants and recipients have access to public social services benefits and services during an emergency or disaster.  Absent an order from federal, state or local officials to close counties to the public, counties must continue to offer in-person assistance to applicants and recipients in addition to telephone and internet assistance.

If a county closes during regular business hours, the county must: 1) provide the opportunity to file an application for and receive benefits within mandated timeframes by making applications available and providing a drop-box, mail slot or other reasonable means for filing applications; 2) provide the opportunity to file an application for and receive expedited CalFresh, immediate need CalWORKs, and homeless assistance by maintaining sufficient staff to accept and act on all such applications, and/or maintain a local telephone service with sufficient staff to accept and act upon all applications as if the requests has been made in person at the county office; 3) have a telephone announcement with working days and times, when the offices will be closed, and procedures for applying for benefits, and 4) post notices at welfare department offices of times when the office will be closed, procedures to obtain and file applications, and procedures for applying for and receiving expedited CalFresh, immediate need CalWORKs and homeless assistance within mandated time frames.

Counties must provide access to benefits and services by telephone in a timely manner.  Extended wait times, which require applicants and recipients to hold for hours or call back on multiple days are not compliant.

Best practices for counties include triaging client needs to limit lobby traffic and the number of people in the lobby, setting up stations outside of the county office to accept applications and screen for eligibility, providing accessible phones for clients when the county provides applications in boxes outside of a partially closed office, setting up drive through drop-off stations for no contact delivery of documents, issuing homeless assistance benefits to the client’s EBT card, and offering pick-up mail services for homeless clients.

Counties can also set up a laptop pilot program to loan participants mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets, and establish a Digital Navigator program to help clients with digital access and learning, and developing digital skills.  (ACIN I-76-20, November 4, 2020.)

Return of CalWORKs 60-month time limit

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Effective May 1, 2022, or when automation is complete, whichever is later, adults will be eligible to receive CalWORKs for a maximum of 60 countable months.  The 60-month time limit replaces the current 48-month time limit.  Months that will count toward the 60-month time limit are: all months of CalWORKs received since January, 1998, all months with a special needs payment received, all months of a zero basic grant, all months of CalWORKs immediate need received, all months of diversion payments received, all months of aid received as aid paid pending, all months of CalWORKs received as an overpayment that exceeded the CalWORKs time limit, all months of TANF received from other states since January 1, 1998, and all months of Tribal TANF received since January, 1998.

Months that do not count toward the time-on-aid limit are: months of TANF received in another state between September, 1996 and December 1997, months in which an adult was exempt from CalWORKs welfare-to-work participation, months in which a full-month of a CalWORKs overpayment is repaid, months for which a retroactive disability exemption was granted, months that have not counted toward the time limit because of COVID-19, months in which the adult was not aided because of a sanction.

Adults who reach the federal TANF time limit but who have not reached the CalWORKs time limit will be aided with state funds.

The change in the time-on-aid limit does not change policies about new applications.  An application may be held beyond the 45 day processing deadline if potential eligibility exists within 60 days.  Counties may pend applications if the applicant may be eligible within 60 days because of the time-on-aid limit.

The change in the time-on-aid limit does not change policies about adding new household members.  Annual reporting/child only households must report people who become eligible because of the increase to 60 months time-on-aid, the change within 10 days and if the individual must be added to the assistance unit, the new individual must occur by the next month.

For semi-annual reporting households, persons who become mandatorily included members because of the increase in time-on-aid to 60 months must be reported and added to the assistance at the beginning of the next semi-annual reporting period.  People who are living in the household but are not mandatorily included in the assistance unit must complete the CW 8 form to be added to the assistance unit.

A mass informing notice of the change to 60 months time-on-aid must be sent to all CalWORKs recipients at least 90 days prior to implementation.

Adult recipients will receive an informing notice of their time on aid at their 54th and 57th months on aid.

Aided CalWORKs recipients who need child care to work or participate in welfare-to-work activities may receive subsidized child care.  Adults who previously used 48 months of time on aid will potentially have renewed eligibility for Stage One or Stage Two child care.

Adding an adult to an existing assistance unit may increase the family’s CalFresh grant, and CalFresh benefits may be recalculated as a county-initiated action.

For Medi-Cal, individuals who were previously aided under the MAGI or non-MAGI may need to transition to a cash-linked Medi-Cal aid code.  (ACL 20-113, October 28, 2020.)

Counting homework time for Cell-Ed

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In ACIN I-55-20, summarized here, the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) described its partnership with Cell-Ed to provide distance learning for Welfare-to-Work, CalFresh Education and Training, and Refugee Support Services.  People assigned to Welfare-to-Work, CalFresh Education and Training, and Refugee Support Services may also be assigned supervised or unsupervised homework time.  Cell-Ed coursework homework time hours are considered supervised homework time and can be documented by the case manager.

Cell-Ed recommends for every hour spent on the application, three additional hours of are credited for homework time.  This recommendation depends on a client demonstrating satisfactory progress as defined by the educational provider.  (All County Welfare Directors Letter, October 19, 2020.)

COVID-19 CalWORKs Welfare-to-Work guidance

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The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has issued continued guidance regarding the impact of COVID-19 on CalWORKs Welfare-to-Work (WTW).

Counties should exercise discretion regarding optional documentation and verification in order to continue providing WTW services and supports.

Counties can issue temporary blanket good cause for not meeting WTW requirements.  This includes all initial engagement activities, all assessments and evaluations, completion or maintenance of a WTW plan and WTW participation.

Counties are encouraged to serve clients remotely through distance learning activities.  CDSS has partnered with Cell-Ed to provide customizable distance learning options.  (See ACIN I-55-20.)

Sanctioned clients may now have good cause not to participate or who have a cure plan with activities that are no longer available.  For those clients, counties should implement cure plans documenting that the activity that the client failed to do is not available because of COVID-19.  The cure plan can specify an alternative activity such as reviewing orientation materials or conducting job search online.  When assigning another activity is not practical or feasible because of COVID-19, counties may implement cure plans stating the lack of available activities and that the client temporarily has good cause not to participate.

Counties cannot cure all sanctioned participants because of COVID-19. Clients must sign a cure plan.  Counties are encouraged to issue pre-populated sanction sure plans for individuals to sign without solicitation from the client.  Counties should consider telephonic, electronic or mail-in signatures.  For counties that cannot accept electronic or recorded telephonic signatures, counties must enter a case not stating the individual attested to the information provided.

For clients who are in noncompliance but are not yet sanctioned, counties should make all attempts to avoid imposing sanctions by offering other available and appropriate activities, or by applying good cause.

Counties can continue subsidizing wages in the Expanded Subsidized Employment program even when the worksites are closed because of COVID-19.

CalWORKS Work Study subsidies can continue where work hours are reduced, worksites are closed or students are otherwise unable to meet work study obligations because of COVID-19.  For example, the subsidy may continue when students are unable to work because of lack of supportive services, such as when the student’s child care provider is closed because of COVID-19.  The subsidized payment can be made directly to the CalWORKs recipient, or through the employer or third-party payor if they are able to issue subsidized wages to the recipient.  (All County Welfare Directors Letter, September 1, 2020.)

COVID-19 treatment of Lost Wages Assistance and Disaster Unemployment Assistance

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The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has issued guidance regarding treatment of Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) and Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA).  LWA is $300 per week issued to persons who are unemployed or partially unemployed because of COVID-19 and are eligible for at least $100 per week in unemployment insurance.  LWA is being issued pursuant to Presidential Memorandum dated August 8, 2020.

LWA is not considered income for purposes of CalWORKs, Refugee Cash Assistance, Entrant Cash Assistance and Trafficking and Crime Victims Assistance Program (TCVAP).  LWA is exempt because it is assistance issued under the Stafford Act.

Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) is also not counted as income for purposes of CalWORKs, Refugee Cash Assistance, Entrant Cash Assistance and Trafficking and Crime Victims Assistance Program (TCVAP) because it is assistance issued under the Stafford Act.   (ACWDL, September 10, 2020.)

COVID-19 extension of COVID-19 time on aid exemption

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The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has issued guidance regarding extension of the CalWORKs 48-month time on aid clock because of COVID-19.  In Executive Order N-75-20, Governor Newsome extended the exemption of months receiving CalWORKs counting on the 48-month time on aid clock until July 1, 2020, or when the state of emergency ends, whichever is sooner.  The exemption does not apply if the family will exceed the federal 60-month time on aid limit.

The executive order only extends time on aid for months in which CalWORKs aid are services are received.  Former CalWORKs recipients who were discontinued for meeting the 48 month time on aid limit must be eligible for a time limit extender to be added back to an assistance unit.   (ACWDL, August 31, 2020.)