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).

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).

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).

CDSS has issued guidance on determining satisfactory progress in an assigned welfare-to-work (WTW) activity. The guidance states that the satisfactory progress standard for each activity must be stated in the WTW plan. If an individual is not making satisfactory progress, the county should offer learning disability screening and determine whether the client has a learning or physical disability.

If a student does not make satisfactory progress in an education program despite regular attendance and participation, the county should consider alternative classes for the classes that are causing trouble or doing a new assessment and modifying the WTW plan accordingly.

If an individual loses a job because of inability to meet job requirements despite regular attendance and participation, the individual should not be sanctioned and instead the individual should be reassessed to determine a new appropriate WTW activity. ACL 15-80 (10/20/15).