This three-day workshop introduces participants to the fundamentals of CalWORKs eligibility. It is intended for staff with little or no experience in determining eligibility (within CalFresh and/or Medi-Cal), General Assistance workers needing cross training, or current CalWORKs workers needing a comprehensive refresher. After attending this program, participants will have a basic understanding of the CalWORKs program and the skills necessary to determine eligibility and benefit amount.
CalWORKs Boot Camp Topics
CalWORKs Eligibility Criteria (Day 1, Morning)
Families who apply for temporary assistance must verify that the children in the home meet deprivation criteria and that the caretakers/parents are cooperating with the Welfare-to-Work requirements of CalWORKs. The eligible children must meet specific age, immunization and school attendance requirements. This workshop defines and explores these determinants of eligibility.
Topics include:
- Criteria to establish and verify deprivation for children
- Determining parents’ welfare-to-work status and requirements
- Age-related eligibility criteria
- Child care and supportive services
Participants will learn to apply regulations for determining eligibility for temporary assistance on the basis of eligible children being deprived of parental support due to death, incapacity, absence or unemployment. Workers will also understand welfare-to-work and other cooperation requirements for parents.
CALWORKs Standard Filing and Assistance Unit Composition (Day 1, Afternoon)
This workshop presents the overall view of standard filing and assistance unit composition for new and experienced workers.
Topics include:
- Eligible children
- Caretaker relative requirements
- Establishing the standard filing unit
- Understanding criteria for persons who are mandatory, optional and excluded
- Establishing multigenerational and single-person assistance units
- Understanding the impact of the maximum family grant and teen pregnancy disincentive on the assistance unit
Participants will learn to accurately determine assistance unit composition for a variety of household situations.
CalWORKs Property Determinations (Day 2, Morning)
This workshop compares and contrasts the treatment of both real and personal property for the two programs. Participants will review the regulations, limits and value of property items. Case examples are used.
Topics include:
- Definitions of real and personal property
- Ownership of property
- Excluded property
- Valuing property and resources
- Overview of valuing vehicles
- Differentiating between property and income
- Overview of real property holdings and liens
Participants will learn to correctly determine the value of frequently encountered property items and their impact on eligibility determination for the two programs.
Treatment of Income for CalWORKs Eligibility Determinations (Day 2, Afternoon & Day 3)
This workshop presents an overview of the various sources of income received by CalWORKs applicants and recipients. Participants learn how to determine countable income and exemptions for use in CalWORKs income tests and benefit calculations.
Topics include:
- Income definitions
- Semi-annual reporting
- Earned income
- Self-employment
- Disability based income
- Earned and unearned income
- In-kind income
- Availability of income
- Differentiation of property and income
- Exempt income
- Lump sum income
- Income tests
- Calculating the grant
Participants will learn to ascertain sources of income used to determine income eligibility and compute the amount of countable income for benefit computation. Participants will also be able to encourage client employment by sharing the benefits of the earned income incentives.