CDSS has issued instructions about counting Welfare-to-Work hours for Workforce Investment Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Career Pathways participation.  As required by Welfare and Institutions Code Section 11322.83, when a WTW participant participates and is making satisfactory progress in an Approved WIOA Career Pathway, the participant is deemed to be meeting minimum participation requirements regardless of the actual number of hours of participation.  See ACL 16-51 for additional information about county welfare department collaboration with WIOA programs.

WIOA Career Pathway participation does not automatically meet federal participation standards.   Unless the WIOA Career Pathway program also meets federal participation standards, the participant’s 24 months WTW clock will tick while participating in a WIOA Career Pathway.

For the county to deem participation in an Approved WIOA Career Pathway as meeting WTW participation requirements, the Career Pathway must 1) be included in the participant’s WTW Plan; 2) meet the requirements of a career pathway program approved by the local workforce development board and 3) the participant must be making satisfactory progress in the pathway. ACL 16-102 (December 12, 2016).

CDSS has released a validated Spanish language learning disabilities screening tool.  Counties are to begin using the tool for Spanish speaking clients immediately. The tool must be administered either by a bilingual staff member or with a Spanish speaking interpreter.  Counties must offer learning disability screening at the first Welfare-to-Work contact (orientation or appraisal) or at the latest at assessment.  This offer must be made both verbally and in writing.

CDSS does not have a learning disability screening tool for languages other than English or Spanish.  For other languages, counties must perform learning disability screening based on discussion with and observation of the client.  Counties must refer clients whose primary language is not English or Spanish for learning disability screening.  (See ACL 15-101.)  ACL 16-93 (November 21, 2016).

Effective January 1, 2017, clients are eligible to receive CalWORKs Homeless Assistance once every 12 months with exceptions.  Previously, clients were eligible for Homeless Assistance once in their lifetime with exceptions.  This change is because of AB 1603, Section 15 (2016).

There are two types of Homeless Assistance.  Temporary Homeless Assistance is available to CalWORKs recipients or apparently eligible applicants and provides up to 16 consecutive days of shelter, which is generally a hotel.  Permanent Homeless Assistance provides security deposit, last month rent and utility deposit for commercially available rental unit where rent does not exceed 80 percent of the client’s income.  Alternatively, for clients facing eviction, Permanent Homeless Assistance can provide up to two months or rental arrearages for a client to remain in their unit.

The 12 month period begins the day the welfare department issues the first payment of temporary or permanent homeless assistance.  Exceptions are available once during the 12 month period.  ACL 16-98 (November 30, 2016).

CDSS has issued an errata to All County Letter 16-66 about implementation of the repeal of the Maximum Family Grant (MFG) rule.  ACL 16-66 stated changes in MFG status were to be treated as county initiated mid-period changes to be acted on immediately even if the change resulted in a mid-period decrease in the grant.  ACL 16-66E corrects this to state that income from children formerly excluded by the MFG rule is not considered until the beginning of family’s next reporting period unless that income puts the assistance unit over the Income Reporting Threshold.

If the family’s reporting period ends in December, 2016, then income of a child previously excluded by the MFG rule is used to determine the grant beginning in January, 2017.  If the family’s reporting period ends after January, 2017, the income cannot be used until the beginning month of the family’s next reporting period.  ACL 16-66E (November 17, 2016).

CDSS has issued instructions to counties about supportive services and verification when a recipient’s welfare-to-work (WTW) activity is education or training.  The WTW plan should include all classes or equivalents required to meet the goal of the education or training program.  This includes concurrent or prerequisite classes.  The specific classes for the education program may not be available prior to enrollment.  In that instance, the county must have procedures to update or revise the WTW Plan to reflect the classes that are actually being taken.  Classes that are not required by the client’s program or education provider are not required to be included in the WTW plan.

Clients are entitled to supportive services for all classes included in the WTW plan.  Clients can request and receive advance payment for supportive services, including books, transportation, or fees and other ancillary expenses.

Participation hours in education or training must be supported by documentation in the case file.  Documentation can include classroom time sheets, attendance records, or enrollment verification from the provider.  Clients are not required to seek additional verification if such verification would require disclosure of confidential information, including disclosure of the fact that an individual is a CalWORKs recipient.  Prohibited verification includes requiring a client to provide teacher or instructor verification of attendance.  Instead, counties can seek verification through other resources offered by the educational institution such as CalWORKs Community College Counselors.

Counties are also reminded that the requirement of daily supervision of WTW activities does not require daily in-person contact.  The supervision requirement is that the responsible party has daily responsibility for oversight of participation.  This responsibility can be achieved by telephone or electronic means.  ACIN I-57-16 (September 8, 2016).

CalWORKs has a time limit exemption for Indian Country residents where at least 50 percent of adults are not employed.  The California Department of Social Services did a survey to determine which Indian Country areas qualify for this time limit exemption.  Based on the survey, CDSS identified and listed 25 Indian Country areas where at least 50 percent of adults are not employed.

If a CalWORKs recipient lives in an Indian Country area not identified by CDSS as having at least 50 percent of adults not employed, the recipient, county or Tribal-TANF program can get a written certification from a federally-recognized tribe that the recipient lived in where at least 50 percent of adults are unemployed to qualify for the time limit exemption. ACL 16-68 (August 26, 2016).