CalWORKs

Sick leave for CalWORKs Subsidized Employment program

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The California Department of Social Services has issued instructions for sick leave in the CalWORKs Subsidized Employment program. AB 1522 requires, after July 1, 2015, that an employee who works more than 30 days within a year from the beginning of employment is entitled to accrued sick leave of no less than 1 hour for every 30 hours worked. An employee is entitled to use accrued sick leave starting the 90th day after the beginning of employment.

For purposes of accrued sick leave, the employer is entity paying wages and taxes for the Subsidized Employment participant.  Subsidized Employment participants are not exempt from sick leave unless they are covered by a collective bargaining agreement.   Counties should ensure that employers of Subsidized Employment participants are complying with sick leave requirements and the appropriate amount of sick leave has accrued since July 1, 2015.  ACL 16-17 (March 4, 2016).

CalWORKs and CalFresh file access rules

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CDSS has issued instructions about access to county welfare department case files for CalWORKs, CalFresh, Trafficking and Crime Victim’s Assistance Program and Refugee Cash Assistance. The general rule is the client may inspect non-privileged, non-confidential documents in their case record, including the entire case narrative. Clients are not required to state why they want to inspect their case file. The only questions the county can ask are questions necessary to assist in identifying the information the client wants. The county cannot require a Public Records Act request for the client to see their case file.

Clients must be able to access their case file regardless of whether the file is maintained in paper or electronically, including documents stored separately from the county consortia automated systems. Documents can be provided by hard copy, read only access to systems with a hard copy of any requested documents, or by a pdf file. The county must provide if the client so requests.

If the client’s request includes documents that the county deems to be privileged or confidential, the county should redact the privileged or confidential information and provide the redacted documents to the client. If the documents cannot be redacted, the entire document can be withheld. Examples of potentially privileged or confidential information include whereabouts of an absent parent, child protective services information, and information about minor’s consent services. Medical records are also privileged, but as the holder of the privilege clients have access to their own medical records that are in the case file. The identity of an informant is also privileged, but must be disclosed if the informant will testify at a hearing.

If a document is redacted or withheld pursuant to a claim of privilege or confidentiality, the county must use the Response to Request to Inspect Case Record form to inform the client that documents are being withheld and why. CDSS recommends that counties establish an informal dispute resolution process to resolve these disputes. Case file access disputes can also be raised during administrative hearings.

For an administrative hearing, the county must allow a claimant to examine their case record during normal business hours. The county must provide the claimant with any and all information that can assist the claimant in preparing for the hearing. The county cannot charge for copies of CalFresh documents. For CalWORKs documents, the county can copy requested documents without charge or for a charge related to the cost of copying.

Claimants are entitled to access to fraud investigation files when the county has taken an administrative action based on the fraud investigation and the claimant has requested a hearing to challenge that action. The claimant can examine relevant, non-privileged, non-confidential documents from the fraud investigation file that the county used in making its decision to take the administrative action that is the subject of the hearing. ACL 16-02 (January 20, 2016).

2016 CalWORKs IRT

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The CalWORKs Income Reporting Threshold (IRT) is the income amount which CalWORKs recipients are required to report mid-period. The CalWORKS IRT is the lower of 1) 55% of the Federal Poverty Level plus the amount of income used to calculate the assistance unit’s current grant or 2) the amount of income likely to make the assistance unit ineligible for CalWORKs.

CDSS issued a chart of the IRT levels effective October 1, 2015. Counties are required to notify each assistance unit of their new IRT level.

CDSS also reminded counties that, upon reporting of income over the IRT, the county must determine if that income is reasonably anticipated to continue. If the income over IRT is reasonably anticipated to continue, the county recalculates the grant amount based on the new reasonably anticipated income. ACL 15-75 (10/1/15).

CalWORKs learning disability screening

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CDSS issued new forms for learning disability screening and waiver of learning disability screening and evaluation. CDSS also issued rules about using these forms. Counties must offer learning disability screening both verbally and in writing. Counties must provide all information about learning disability screening before discussing waiver and cannot offer or require WTW participants to sign a waiver in lieu of offering learning disability screening or referral for evaluation.

Counties must provide learning disability screening to all WTW participants who request it. If screening is not available in the participant’s primary language, the participant may request referral for an evaluation.

If the participant has a previous learning disability evaluation, the county must decide whether to accept it. If the county accepts the prior evaluation, the participant signs a waiver of a new screening. If the county does not accept it, the county must offer a new screening, and the participant can accept the new screening, waive screening, or request a hearing to challenge the county’s decision not to accept the prior evaluation. ACL 15-101 (12/18/15).

CalWORKs, CalFresh and EITC

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CDSS issued guidance about treatment of federal and state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for purposes of eligibility for CalWORKs and CalFresh. For both programs, both federal and state EITC is permanently excluded as income and does not count as a resource for 12 months. CDSS strongly encourages counties to notify recipients.

CDSS also describes eligbility for both federal EITC and the new California EITC that begins for the 2015 tax year. ACL 15-87 (11/2/15).

Unticking CalWORKs clock for zero participation months

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CDSS has issued guidance about unticking months on the 24 month time on aid clock for adults with zero participation hours. Months should be unticked from the 24 month time on aid clock if, for any six consecutive month period between January 1, 2013 and September 30, 2015, the adult was aided, had zero WTW participation hours and the 24 month clock ticked.

In addition, good cause should be found and months unticked from the 24 month time on aid clock when either the client was unengaged in WTW prior to initiation of WTW compliance process, or months when more than 60 days passed between the initiation of WTW compliance and imposition of a sanction.

Counties are required to identify these cases and send an informing notice that months are being added to the 24 month time on aid clock.  ACL 15-99 (12/1/15).