CalWORKs

COVID-19 civil rights obligations

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The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) provides guidance to counties regarding meeting their civil rights obligations in emergency situations.  Civil rights laws remain in effect when counties take emergency actions such as closing physical offices to the public, shortening office hours, or requiring staff to work from home.

Counties must provide services and administer programs free of discrimination.  During emergencies there can be heightened fear and anxiety leading to increased acts of xenophobia, racism, ableism, transphobia and many other forms of prejudice toward protected classes.  Counties should remind their staff to be mindful of the additional stress and anxiety of their clients.  CDSS recommends that counties make statements that reaffirm their commitment to civil rights protections both internally among their staff and externally to the public.  CDSS also recommends that counties provide refresher trainings to staff on how to provide service in an inclusive, culturally appropriate and sensitive manner.

Counties should remind staff to use the name provided by a person, even if it is different from the name on their record.  County staff should not make assumptions about a person’s sex, gender, gender identity and/or sexual orientation based on their name, their gender expression, their spouse or partner’s name, or their voice, and should use gender neutral language to foster an inclusive environment, until and unless the individual has identified their gender.

It is important to remind staff that COVID-19 is not linked to any race or nationality, and that stigmatizing people because of race or nationality is unlawful.

Counties must ensure that clients are notified of and can obtain information about programs or program changes, including changes in response to emergencies such as shortening office hours or increasing availability of phone interviews.  Counties must publicize this information in understandable and diverse formats in the threshold languages required by law.  Counties must also adopt communication methods that are understandable to people with intellectual, cognitive and psychosocial impairments.

When offices are closed or have shortened hours, office-related activities must continue to meet accessibility and non-discrimination standards.

Services and programs must remain accessible to people with disabilities as counties make changes during an emergency.  If a county designates a location for pick up/drop off of applications and forms, it must comply with Americans with Disabilities Act regulations for physical accessibility.

During medical emergencies such as COVID-19, if persons are advised to stay home, counties should ensure live or recorded messages are available in American Sign Language, Teletypewriter, and Telecommunications Device for the Deaf, and include captioning.  Counties can also consider designating office hours for people with disabilities or other vulnerable people.

Documents and postings on social media with images should have captions and images should be inclusive and not stigmatize disability.

Counties must continue to provide accommodations for people who have vision, hearing or speech disabilities.  Counties must provide auxiliary aids and services when necessary to communicate effectively.

Counties must continue to offer reasonable accommodations to persons with disabilities.  This obligation does not end at intake.  If a county staff member have actual knowledge of an individual’s disability or an individual’s need for an accommodation is obvious, the staff member must offer to assist the individual in self-identifying the disability and/or appropriate accommodations.  County staff should check for disability indicators in the case file prior to contact with the client.  Reasonable accommodations must be offered regardless of the method of contact. There is no limit on the amount of reasonable accommodation requests a person may make, and each request must be analyzed individually.

Counties must make sure they have adequate qualified interpreters and qualified translation services to assist Limited English Proficient individuals.  Counties must continue to maintain up-to-date lists of bilingual staff and remind staff of how to access these individuals.  Counties must also ensure that staff are trained in accessing alternate interpreter resources, including telephonic or video interpretation.

Clients maintain the right to file a discrimination complaint during an emergency or disaster.  Counties are reminded of their duty to actively receive and process civil rights complaints. Complaints can be made verbally or in writing.  Counties cannot require complainants to complete a form as a condition of filing a complaint.  (ACIN I-69-20, November 9, 2020.)

Disqualification consent agreements

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The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has issued guidance to counties about Disqualification Consent Agreements (DCA) and a new form for CalWORKs DCAs.  A DCA is a voluntary agreement for someone accused of an intentional program violation to agree to the disqualification period from benefits.

Counties are required to investigate cases of alleged intentional program violation, and when necessary, initiate action through either a court or administrative disqualification hearing.  Counties may allow district attorneys the option to have accused persons sign DCAs for cases of deferred adjudication.

Counties are encouraged to use DCAs when a determination of guilt is not obtained from the court because the accused met the terms of a court order, or a case is not prosecuted because the accused individual having met the terms of an agreement with the prosecutor.

Some counties have been reluctant to use the DCA process because courts would not normally endorse or confirm agreements between and individual and a prosecutor.  This is especially true when an agreement is offered by the prosecutor in lieu of filing criminal charges.  Removes of the court endorsement from the CalWORKs regulations will provide due process and the option for accused individuals to consent to their own disqualifications.  CDSS will revise the regulations to remove the court consent requirement, and has removed the consent requirement from the DCA form.  (ACL 20-15, October 30, 2020.)

Child support in lieu of CalWORKs clarifications

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The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has issued clarification regarding implementation of SB 380 and previous guidance in ACL 18-82.  SB 380 provides CalWORKs applicants and recipients the option to exclude the needs of stepsiblings and half-siblings of CalWORKs-eligible children from determining the maximum aid paid and instead keep 100 percent of child support payments made on their behalf.

To exclude a stepsibling and half-sibling, they must live with at least one CalWORKs eligible child, the current child support received for them received is more than the cash aid amount for them, and the parent or caretaker relative asks in writing that the stepsibling or half-sibling not be included in the number of persons used to calculate the maximum aid payment.

Parents or caretaker relatives can exercise this option only at application, semi-annual reporting or annual redetermination.  The only exception is a child can be added back to the assistance unit maximum aid payment determination if child support received stops or decreases below the amount the child would receive if they are included in the assistance unit’s grant.

Counties must give the CW 52 informing notice at application and annual redetermination.  The CW 52 informs applicants and recipients of the option to exclude the needs of stepsiblings or half-siblings who receive child support in an amount greater than their CalWORKs grant.  The CW 52 also allows a parent or caretaker relative to make a written request to exclude a stepsibling or half-sibling on the back of the form. Such requests must be in writing.  Counties are not required to process verbal requests unless it is a reasonable accommodation for a disability.  Counties are strongly encouraged to offer the CW 52 form to anyone making a verbal request.

Child support does not need to be received from the Local Child Support Agency for the parent or caretaker relative to exclude a stepsibling or half-sibling, and a child support order in not required.

Child support court orders must be allocated among children to allow exclusion of the stepsibling and half-sibling.  Allocation can be determined from the court order or a printout from DissoMaster or other program that is incorporated into the order.

If the applicant or recipient does not have their court order, counties are encouraged to contact the Local Child Support Agency to get that information.

The Child Maximum Aid Payment is used to determine if the monthly child support received by a child exceeds the CalWORKs grant amount that the child receives or would receive if approved.  CDSS has a chart showing the Child Maximum Aid Payment.

When the statewide Maximum Aid Payment increases, the Child MAP will also change.  If the change causes the child to no longer be receiving child support in excess in the amount of CalWORKs, the county must add the child’s need to the assistance at the next semi-annual report or annual redetermination.

Teens with school attendance penalties are eligible to be excluded under SB 380.  When the penalty is lifted, the county must reevaluate eligibility for SB 380.

When a case with a SB 380 child has the only CalWORKs child receiving assistance becomes ineligible mid-period, the county cannot take action mid-period to discontinue the case or add the SB 380 child to the assistance unit’s maximum aid payment.  The county must continue aid until the end of the semi-annual or annual reporting period and then reevaluate the case and give the family the option to add the SB 380 child to the assistance unit maximum aid payment or stop receiving CalWORKs.  (ACL 20-109, October 13, 2020.)

CalWORKs special needs

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The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) provides guidance about CalWORKs special needs payments.  A special need is a need not common to a majority of CalWORKs recipients for goods or services which are essential for their support.  Counties are responsible for assisting the applicant or recipient in identifying any special needs which they may have.  Counties must provide applicants or recipients with a clear explanation of the types of special needs allowances, and the procedure for getting them.  Special needs payments are based on either recurring or nonrecurring special needs.

A recurring special need is a need that results in added cost to the family and which is expected to occur during two or more months in a calendar year.  The recurring special needs allowance for each family per month must not exceed $10 per for each recipient in the family who is eligible.

Recurring special needs include therapeutic diets, unusual costs of transportation, laundry, telephone, housekeeping service, and utilities.

Persons who are not aided because they are excluded from the assistance unit are not eligible for a recurring special need allowance, nor is an individual with a penalty that requires that their needs not be considered in the Maximum Aid Payment.  Individual who have a child support penalty may be eligible for special needs payment because their needs continue to be considered in the Maximum Aid Payment determination.

Nonrecurring special needs are for household emergencies resulting from sudden and unusual circumstances beyond the assistance unit’s control, and homelessness when the assistance unit is seeking permanent housing.  After a family has used all available resources in excess of $100, an assistance unit is entitled to receive a nonrecurring special needs payment for household emergencies.  The maximum payment is $600.  Sudden and unusual does not necessarily mean clients must be unaware of the circumstances happening in advance.  Examples of nonrecurring special needs are: clothing and household equipment, damage to the assistance unit’s home, and interim shelter.

Nonrecurring special needs also include homeless assistance and pregnancy special needs.

Before a special need payment is authorized, evidence must establish the conditions under which the need may be allowed are met, the total cost of the need and the payment plan, the proportion of the cost borne by the recipient if the need is shared with others, and the period over which the need will continue.  In addition to medical verification where applicable, clients must provide receipts stating the amount paid or owed for the expense.

Mid-period reports of a special needs request is mandatory.  As such, a CalWORKs recipient may report having a special need at any time during the payment period.  (ACIN I-72-20, October 28, 2020.)

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.)