CDSS has issued instructions regarding CalWORKs issues for disaster victims. The instructions reiterate several important facts of the CalWORKs rules as they relate to disasters including: 1) the county must accept statements under penalty of perjury when documents are unavailable because of a disaster, 2) disaster relief payment do not count as income for purposes of CalWORKs, 3) disaster is an exception to the once in a lifetime limit on homeless assistance benefits, 4) disaster victims should be evaluated for immediate need, 5) written statement is sufficient to establish residency and 6) disaster victims should be evaluated for good cause for non-participation in welfare-to-work.

In addition, disaster related issues can be good cause for late filing of semi-annual reports and annual redetermination. For the first month after a report is late, the county must evaluate for good cause for late filing. After the first month, the client must request a good cause evaluation for late filing. ACIN I-85-15 (10/14/15).

CDSS has issued several questions and answers regarding the new Online CalWORKs Appraisal Tool (OCAT) (See ACL 15-43 for background about OCAT). Most importantly, the questions and answers state that an individual cannot be sanctioned for not answering particular OCAT questions. This should include questions about disability and domestic violence. An individual can be sanctioned for refusing to do the OCAT appraisal at all.

In addition, the questions and answers state that an OCAT appraisal can be done by telephone as a reasonable accommodation or when coming to the welfare department would interfere with work or class schedule. ACL 15-69 (9/17/15).

CDSS has clarified that residence in California, but not in a particular county, is required for CalWORKs eligibility. Although recipients are required to report address changes within 10 days, failure to report an address change, by itself, is not a basis for adverse action against the recipient. For example, not reporting moving from a Region 1 (higher grant) county to a Region 2 (lower grant) county would cause an overpayment because of the difference in the grant level, but not because of the failure to report.  In addition, a recipient can temporarily reside in another county for up to four months without changing their home county as long as they intend to return. CDSS provided five examples to illustrate the CalWORKs home county rules. ACIN I-63-15 (7/27/15).

CDSS has issued 15 questions and answers about the Family Stabilization Program (FSP). FSP provides intensive case management services to CalWORKs Welfare-to-Work (WTW) participants who are experiencing an identified situation or crises. The program is described in ACL 14-12 . Among other items, the questions and answers clarify that FSP services are available to adults who are exempt from WTW participation, and adults in the family who are not included in the assistance unit if there is at least one mandatory WTW participant in the family.

Regarding FSP plans, the questions and answers clarify that a client in sanction status can use an FSP plan to cure their sanction, and each adult in a household must have a separate FSP plan. CDSS also clarified that FSP is not mandatory. In addition, CDSS states that if a client has a crisis outside of the scope of a county’s FSP plan, the county should still assess such clients for WTW exemption and provide services for removal of barriers to WTW participation outside of the FSP program. ACIN I-64-15 (7/29/15)

CDSS has clarified that temporary illness from pregnancy is good cause for non-participation in Welfare-to-Work. If a pregnant participant is unable to participate in Welfare-to-Work activities for at least half of her participation requirement in a month, that month does not count toward the 24 month time clock. If pregnancy significantly impairs a woman’s ability to participate in
Welfare-to-Work for at least 30 days, she can be exempt from Welfare-to-Work for disability.

CDSS has also reminded counties of the one-time young child exemption that allows an exemption for a parent or caretaker relative caring for a child under age 23 months to be exempt from Welfare-to-Work. In addition, a parent caring for a child under age six months can be exempt from Welfare-to-Work once and exempt for 12 weeks for subsequent children.

In addition, CDSS reminded counties that Civ. Code Section 43.3 and SB 252 allow a mother to breast feed her child in any public or private location, including a county welfare department office. ACIN I-38-15 (6/3/15).