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The Basics
CalWORKs (California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids) helps families with children who do not have enough money for their basic needs because a parent is unemployed, disabled, not around to care for the children, in jail, or has died. The person who takes care of the children may not be able to afford to pay for the family's food, rent, clothing, and other basic living expenses.
CalWORKs helps the parent, or other person taking care of children, with:
- Money
- Finding a job
- CalFresh (formerly Food Stamps)
- Medi-Cal, and
- Sometimes additional benefits.
The money for CalWORKs comes from a federal program called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), so you might hear it called that sometimes. In other states, it has different names. Some people just call it “welfare.”
Note: Officially, a family getting CalWORKs cash benefits is called an "Assistance Unit" or AU. To keep things simple, DB101 calls an AU a "family."
Each of California’s 58 counties runs its own CalWORKs program. To learn more about what benefits or services you might get, contact your county social services agency.
Learn more
Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
SSI helps people with disabilities and seniors who have low income and resources.
Medi-Cal
Medi-Cal covers people with and without disabilities who have low income.
Programs That Support Work
Learn about programs that can help you prepare for and find work.
CalWORKs
- The Basics
- Eligibility & Application
- The Cash Benefit
- Welfare-to-Work
- Example
- FAQs
- Pitfalls
- Resources
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Eligibility & Application
CalWORKs gives money and other help to families in need based on their family situation, resources, and income.
Family Requirements
Only families that meet these requirements can get CalWORKs:
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The parent or caretaker must:
- Be a U.S. citizen or meet residency requirements
- Live in California
- Not be a fleeing felon or a convicted drug felon
- Be taking care of at least one child who is under the age of 18 (or 19, if the child is expected to graduate from high school before their 19th birthday)
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Children must:
- Be "deprived" by having at least one parent who is unemployed, disabled, absent (not around to care for the child), in jail, or has died
- If under age 6, have all standard immunizations
- If school-age and under age 16, be attending school regularly
CalWORKs doesn’t always count everyone in your family when it checks to see if your family can get cash benefits and how much.
CalWORKs calls a family an "Assistance Unit (AU)." An AU includes people who:
- Are related to each other (family members)
- Live in the same home, and
- Get CalWORKs cash benefits
For CalWORKs, one or more of your family members might not be counted as part of your AU. For example, an AU might not include people who get SSI, foster children, non-citizens, drug felons, and fleeing felons.
To keep things as simple as possible, we always call an AU a "family."
Resource Limits
Your family can only get CalWORKs if it has $11,634 or less in resources ($17,452 if the family includes someone with a disability or someone 60 or over).
CalWORKs does not count some things as resources:
- Your home
- Household goods (like furniture or appliances)
- Some types of trusts
- Your car, if it’s worth $32,968 or less
- Assets in a tax-free ABLE account. Learn more about ABLE accounts.
Income Limits
Your family’s income must be under a certain limit based on your family size and where you live. Remember that CalWORKs may not include everybody in your family when it figures your family size and income.
If you want to figure out if you’ll qualify for CalWORKs, you can’t just check your family's income by adding up all your paychecks and benefits checks. That’s because CalWORKs doesn’t count some things as income, including:
- Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
- Loans and grants
- The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), and
- Federal Relocation/Disaster benefits.
Here are the steps CalWORKs takes to calculate your income:
- Ignore any types of income you have from the list above
- Look at your earned income
- Subtract $450 of earned income for each working family member
- Add that to any unearned income not listed above, like Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), investment income, or other money you get that isn’t from work
- The total is your countable income for eligibility
If your countable income for eligibility is less than the limit for your family, you can get CalWORKs benefits. The limit is called a “needs standard” or “Minimum Basic Standard of Adequate Care” (MBSAC), and it is based on your family size and where you live. See the MBSAC for different situations.
Note: Your countable income for eligibility is different than your countable income for figuring your benefit amount. So, the MBSAC is not the amount of money you will get if you qualify for CalWORKs. We’ll explain how to calculate your benefit amount on the next page.
Dennis and Rebecca live with their three young children in Oakland. Dennis is on SSI and has no other income. Rebecca makes $1,000 a month babysitting other kids as she also takes care of her own children. They don’t have any money in the bank and their car is a 1994 Suzuki. They know they meet the family and resource requirements, so they apply for CalWORKs because their income isn’t enough for the family to live on.
When CalWORKs looks at their income, they ignore the money Dennis gets from SSI and only look at Rebecca’s earnings. They subtract $450 from her earned income, leaving the family with just $550 in countable income for eligibility. Since Dennis receives SSI he is not included in the family when determining eligibility for CalWORKs; only Rebecca and the 3 kids are counted. The MBSAC for a family of four in Oakland is $2,170, so the family qualifies for CalWORKs.
We’ll figure out how much money Dennis and Rebecca’s family gets from CalWORKs each month on the next page.
Application
To apply for CalWORKs:
- Apply online at benefitscal.com, or
- Contact your county social services agency
There is a simple initial application form you’ll need to fill out. Then someone from the county will contact you to schedule an eligibility interview. During the interview the county eligibility worker will ask more detailed questions to see if your household qualifies for benefits. You will be given more forms to fill out, and you will need to submit other documents, like identification and birth certificates.
If you have a disability that makes it hard for you to do the usual application process, ask your county social services agency staff for help (called a reasonable accommodation), like helping you fill out the forms or reading the forms to you.
While you’re applying for CalWORKs, you can also apply for CalFresh (formerly Food Stamps) and Medi-Cal. If you are not eligible for CalWORKs you may apply for General Assistance/General Relief. You may also be able to get some money immediately if you are in an emergency situation.
If you are accepted for CalWORKs, you will get a letter that explains how much you will get each month and the program rules.
Learn more
Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
SSI helps people with disabilities and seniors who have low income and resources.
Medi-Cal
Medi-Cal covers people with and without disabilities who have low income.
Programs That Support Work
Learn about programs that can help you prepare for and find work.
CalWORKs
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The Cash Benefit
If you qualify for CalWORKs, you’ll get a monthly cash benefit for up to 60 months, as long as you continue to qualify and meet the Welfare-to-Work requirements explained on the next page (children continue to receive cash aid after the 60-month limit).
Note: The 60-month limit is a lifetime limit. That means that if you got benefits for 12 months, went off CalWORKs for a while and got back on later, you would only have 48 months of cash benefits remaining.
You might get CalWORKs benefits for more than 60 months if you:
- Meet certain exemptions, or
- Qualify for an extension to the time limit.
For example, you may be able to get more than 60 months of benefits if you are disabled and not getting SSI or if you are caring for an ill or disabled person in your home.
To learn more about these exemptions or others, talk to a benefits planner or with your county social services agency.
How Much You Get Each Month
To decide how much you should get, your county social services agency will take these steps:
- Decide who counts as part of your family under CalWORKs rules
- Decide if your family is “exempt” (if you are, you get more money each month)
- Figure out the highest CalWORKs benefit your family can get based on your family’s size, living situation, and location (where you live)
- Figure out how much of your family income is counted under CalWORKs rules
- Subtract your family’s income (figured in step 4) from the maximum benefit possible for a family like yours (figured in step 3), which gives the amount your family can get each month.
Here we’ll explain these steps in greater detail.
Who is a part of your family?
Not everybody who lives with you is considered part of your family when the county is deciding how much money you’ll get each month from CalWORKs. These are the main groups of people who may not be considered part of the family, even if they live in your home:
- People who get SSI
- People who are not U.S. citizens or do not meet residency requirements
- Foster children getting foster care payments
- Immigrants whose needs are met by a sponsor or sponsor’s agency
- Drug felons or fleeing felons
- People who have been "sanctioned" for not following CalWORKs rules without good cause
Larger families qualify for larger benefits, so if CalWORKs doesn’t count some people in your family, your benefit could be lower.
Is your family exempt?
If all of the adults in the family are disabled and receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI), In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS), State Disability Insurance (SDI), or Worker’s Compensation, you will get a higher cash benefit. The higher benefit is called the “exempt” amount.
What is the maximum possible benefit a family like yours can get?
The maximum possible CalWORKs benefit depends on your family size, whether your family is exempt, and where you live. When they look at where you live, they’ll give your family slightly more if you live in an urban area (a city) than if you live in a rural area (the country). That’s because rent, food, and other basic living expenses cost more in cities than in the country.
See the maximum benefit amounts for different situations.
How do they count your income when deciding how much you get?
Your countable income to decide how much you can get in benefits is completely different than your countable income to decide if you can get benefits. To figure out how much you can get, we have to ignore what we did before and start over with a new income calculation.
Here are the steps your county social services agency will take when it calculates your income:
- Add up all of the money you get from disability benefits, including SDI, private disability insurance, workers' compensation, and SSDI. Remember, any family members who get SSI won’t be counted as part of your family by CalWORKs, so you don’t have to include their SSI benefit or any other income they may have when you add up your family’s disability benefits.
- Subtract $600 from the combined total of your disability benefits to find your countable disability income. This $600 is called the disability-based income (DBI) disregard.
- Add your countable disability income to any other unearned income you have, such as unemployment benefits or other sources of money that are not from work. The combined total is called your countable unearned income.
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If your family has earned income:
- Add up the earned income your family members have from different sources.
-
If your family got the disability-based income disregard (DBI) when figuring unearned income in step 2 and you get less than $600 in disability benefits (which means you didn’t use the entire $600 DBI on unearned income) you can subtract whatever is left over from that $600 from your earned income.
- Example: You get $180 each month in SDI. That’s less than $600, so you can subtract $420 from your family’s earned income.
- If your family did not use the DBI when figuring unearned income in step 2, subtract $600 from your earned income. This $600 is called the earned income disregard.
- Divide your family’s remaining earned income by 2. This is your countable earned income.
- Add your countable unearned income from step 3 to your countable earned income from step 4 to find your total countable income.
On the previous page, we saw that Dennis and Rebecca qualify for CalWORKs. Dennis gets SSI and has no other income, while Rebecca makes $1,000 a month babysitting other kids as she also takes care of their own three children. The county reviews their application to figure out how much this Oakland family will get in CalWORKs aid.
The first thing the county looks at is the family's unearned income. The county totally ignores Dennis and the $1,182.94 he gets in SSI and does not subtract the $600 earned income disregard from the family’s income. That’s because CalWORKs doesn’t consider him part of the family when calculating how much the family gets in benefits. Since the family has no other unearned income, the family’s total countable unearned income is $0.
Then, the county looks at the family’s earned income – the $1,000 that Rebecca makes each month. First, the county subtracts the $600 earned income disregard from this, leaving $400. Then, the county divides that by 2, which leaves them with $200.00 in countable earned income. Since there was no unearned income, the family’s total countable income is $200.00.
Note: Remember that countable income for figuring out how much a family gets from CalWORKs is completely different than countable income for deciding if a family can get CalWORKs. Dennis and Rebecca have $200.00 in countable income for determining the benefit, but had $550 in countable income for figuring out eligibility.
How much will I get?
To calculate your monthly cash benefit, subtract your total countable income from the maximum possible benefit a family like yours could get. Your benefit will be directly deposited into a bank account or you get it via an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card, which is a debit card.
The county worker looks up the maximum possible benefit amount for Dennis and Rebecca’s family. Remember, the family:
- Has 4 family members (Rebecca and the 3 children; Dennis is not counted because he is on SSI)
- Is not exempt because Rebecca does not have a disability
- Lives in Oakland, which is part of Region 1 because it is an urban area (Alameda County)
The maximum benefit chart shows that the most a family like this can get would be $1,416 a month.
The county subtracts the family’s $200.00 in countable income from the $1,416 and figures out that the family gets $1,216.00 per month from CalWORKs.
Other Benefits
Besides cash, CalWORKs also provides other benefits:
- Help with Welfare-to-Work activities (described on the next page)
- Emergency cash if you are about to lose your home, are experiencing homelessness, or some other emergency
- Family planning and Child Health & Disability Prevention (CHDP)
After your CalWORKs benefits end, you get another 12 months of transitional Medi-Cal health coverage and 24 months of child care.
Learn more
Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
SSI helps people with disabilities and seniors who have low income and resources.
Medi-Cal
Medi-Cal covers people with and without disabilities who have low income.
Programs That Support Work
Learn about programs that can help you prepare for and find work.
CalWORKs
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Welfare-to-Work
One of the benefits CalWORKs provides is help getting a job, so in the future you can support your family. CalWORKs helps you do this, but you must take steps to find work. This part of CalWORKs is called Welfare-to-Work.
Welfare-to-Work can include different types of activities. How many hours of these activities you have to do each week to keep getting CalWORKs depends on the age of your children and whether you have a disability. We’ll describe how this works below, but first let’s look at the people who don’t have to meet these Welfare-to-Work requirements.
People who don’t have to do Welfare-to-Work
CalWORKs knows that some people can’t work, and gives them exemptions from Welfare-to-Work requirements. If you are exempt, you won’t have to do the Welfare-to-Work activities described on this page. You can get an exemption if you are:
- Disabled for at least 30 days
- Under 16
- Under 19 and in school full-time
- Over 60
- Caring for a relative’s child who is a ward of the state or is in danger of being placed in foster care, and who requires care that prevents you from working
- At home because you are caring for a sick or injured household member
- Taking care of a baby under a year old
- Pregnant and medically unable to do Welfare-to-Work activities
If you are exempt, you can still volunteer to get the help offered through the Welfare-to-Work program.
Note: If you don't qualify for an exemption, you might get approved for a "good cause" that makes you unable to do Welfare-to-Work, like homelessness, not being able to get child care, your car broke down (no transportation), or a child is sick and has to stay home from school.
A parent of a child 0 – 23 months old can have an exemption one time during the parent’s lifetime. During this exemption, which is a year longer than is usually allowed for a baby, that parent won’t have to do Welfare-to-Work activities. Even though the parent keeps getting CalWORKs, those months won’t count as part of the 60-month lifetime limit.
The Standard Rules
If you are not exempt from the Welfare-to-Work rules, you have to do various things to keep getting CalWORKs benefits. If you don’t, you may stop getting the monthly cash benefit.
Welfare-to-Work Activities
You can be on CalWORKs for up to 60 months during your lifetime. Those months do not have to be consecutive (in a row); if you are on CalWORKs for the first time and only receive benefits for 3 months, you have 57 months remaining during which you can get benefits over the rest of your life. If you need CalWORKs again 5 years later and only get CalWORKs for 10 months, you would still have 47 months remaining.
The Hourly Requirement
During those 60 months, you must spend a minimum number of hours each week doing Welfare-to-Work activities, unless you are exempt. The exact number of hours depends on your situation.
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If you are single:
- 30 hours per week if there are no children under age 6
- 20 hours per week if there is at least one child under 6
- A couple must do 35 hours per week (adding their hours together), unless one parent is exempt. If a parent is exempt, the other parent needs to do 30 hours per week.
What Activities Qualify
Each county has its own list of acceptable activities, so the rules in your county may be a bit different from the activities listed here.
- Subsidized or unsubsidized employment
- Work experience
- On-the-job training (OJT)
- Work-study
- Self-employment
- Community service
- Grant-based OJT
- Vocational education and training (12-month lifetime total)
- Job search and job readiness assistance
- Mental health, substance abuse, or domestic violence services (possibly with assigned time limits)
- Providing child care for someone in the CalWORKs community service program.
- Adult basic education
- Job skills training aimed at getting a job
- Education aimed at getting a job
- Satisfactory attendance in a secondary school or GED (high school equivalency) program.
- Mental health, substance abuse, or domestic violence services (beyond assigned time limits)
- Vocational education and training beyond the 12-month lifetime total
- Other activities needed to find work
How the CalWORKs Program Helps You
CalWORKs helps you meet the Welfare-to-Work requirements and find employment in a number of ways:
- You go to a group orientation that explains the cash benefit and Welfare-to-Work rules.
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You meet with a county worker who looks at your work history, skills, and discusses any additional services you feel you might need, such as:
- Child care. You can get help paying for child care if you are working or doing approved Welfare-to-Work activities.
- Transportation costs related to your employment.
- Other services, like job training and counseling.
- Most people then participate in a 2-to-4-week job club or job search program. You might get extra help if you are in difficult circumstances, like experiencing homelessness or if you are not safe because of domestic abuse, mental health issues, or substance abuse.
- If you haven’t found a job at the end of those 4 weeks, you meet with an employment counselor, who helps you make a Welfare-to-Work plan listing your activities. This plan should help you find a job that lets you support your family after your 60 months of CalWORKs benefits end.
- If you don’t follow your plan, your CalWORKs benefit may go down.
Learn more
Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
SSI helps people with disabilities and seniors who have low income and resources.
Medi-Cal
Medi-Cal covers people with and without disabilities who have low income.
Programs That Support Work
Learn about programs that can help you prepare for and find work.
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Example
Nancy and Dave's Story
Nancy and Dave are married with a 7-year-old daughter. Dave was recently in an accident and now gets $200 a month in State Disability Insurance (SDI). Nancy makes $800 a month working at a local bakery for 20 hours a week. She also volunteers 16 hours a week at a local animal shelter, where she hopes to eventually get an entry-level job. The money she earns isn’t enough to pay for the food and clothing their daughter needs, so they decided to visit the county social services agency.
There, Nancy and Dave speak with Ms. López, an eligibility worker. They tell her about their situation, and she tells them, “CalWORKs is a program for families that can’t financially support their children. We accept a number of reasons for not being able to provide this support, and one of them is having at least one of the child’s caretakers have a disability, like you Dave.”
Nancy asks, “So we’ll be able to get help from CalWORKs?”
“First we have to see if you meet all the requirements. Fill out this form to see if you might be eligible.” When they are done, Ms. López looks it over. “You seem to meet the resource requirement with no problem,” Ms. López says.
Nancy asks, “What’s that?”
Ms. López replies, “Resources are things you own. You have to have less than $11,634 worth of them. Resources can include things like bank accounts, investments, or other property, but your house and the first $32,968 in value of your car don’t count. Your 1996 Volvo is obviously worth less than $32,968 and you don’t have anything else, so it seems like you’re okay. I have to do a quick calculation to see if you meet the income limits. Nancy, you said you make $800 a month, and Dave, you get $200 a month in SDI. Combined, that is $1,000 a month. $450 is subtracted for each working family member, which means you have $550 in countable income. Now we just compare that to the limit. Where do you live?”
“San Francisco,” Dave says. “Why does that matter?”
“Well, there are different limits depending on whether you live in a rural county or urban county. San Francisco is an urban county, so it’s in Region I.” Ms. López pulls out a chart and tells them, “The program's income limit for a family of 3 in Region 1 is $1,829.”
“So we’re under the income limit!” Nancy exclaims. “Does that mean we get $1,829 a month? That would be great.”
“Sorry, but that’s not what you get. I know this is confusing, but after we find that you’re eligible, we use an entirely different calculation to figure out your benefit amount. First we have to decide out how much of your income to count,” Ms. López says.
“But didn’t we just do that?” Dave asks.
“Yes, we did. As I just said, we have to start over and do a completely different calculation now,” Ms. López explains. “We take your monthly disability-based income and subtract $600. Dave, you get $200 a month in SDI, so we don’t count any of that. We take the $400 that are left from that calculation, and subtract them from Nancy’s earned income.”
“So that’s my $800 minus $400, which is $400. Is that our countable income?” Nancy asks.
“Almost,” Ms. López replies. “We then take that $400 and divide it by two, which gives $200.00. That’s the amount of your income that we think you can use to pay for your family’s basic living expenses. We’ll subtract that from the maximum grant amount, which for a family of 3 in Region I with one disabled parent is $1,175. $1,175 minus $200.00 is $975.00. That’s how much CalWORKs will give you in cash aid.”
“So, they’ll do that calculation and then we just wait for a check to come in the mail?” Dave asks.
“The application usually takes a month or so to process. If you are approved, you’ll get money every month through direct deposit to a bank account or through an ATM-like card called Electronic Benefits Card. If you have any emergency needs, we could get you money sooner. Are you about to be evicted, or do you have any urgent financial problems?”
“No,” Nancy says.
“Okay, good. Usually, adults in the family have to fulfill a work requirement, but since Dave is disabled, he will be exempt. Nancy, you’ll already be fulfilling your work requirement, because you’re working 20 hours a week and doing another 16 hours of volunteering. You might be able to get other services, like child care and counseling, and you qualify for free health coverage through Medi-Cal. Let me get this paperwork started and give me a call if you have any questions.”
Learn more
Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
SSI helps people with disabilities and seniors who have low income and resources.
Medi-Cal
Medi-Cal covers people with and without disabilities who have low income.
Programs That Support Work
Learn about programs that can help you prepare for and find work.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is CalWORKs?
CalWORKs is the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids program. It provides a monthly cash benefit, help finding work, and other services to needy families.
Is CalWORKs known by any other names?
Yes. CalWORKs may also be called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), which is the name of the federal program that pays for CalWORKs. Some people call it "Welfare."
What is an Assistance Unit (AU)?
For CalWORKs, an Assistance Unit (AU) includes the people who:
- Are related to each other (family members)
- Live in the same home, and
- Get CalWORKs cash benefits
To keep things simple, DB101 just calls an AU a "family."
What does CalWORKs provide and how long will it last?
CalWORKs offers a monthly cash benefit, help preparing for and finding work, and other services. Generally adults can get the monthly CalWORKs cash benefit for up to 60 months. Children continue to receive the monthly benefit after the 60-month limit.
You may get CalWORKs benefits for more than 60 months if you:
- Have a disability and do not get SSI
- Take care of an ill or disabled person
- Are pregnant and unable to work
- Are 60 years old or older
- Are a child up to 19 years old, even if your parent(s) stop getting CalWORKs because they are over the 60-month limit
- Are a victim of domestic violence, or
- Live in Indian Country where at least 50% of the adults are unemployed.
There may be other exceptions to the time limit not included in this list.
Who is eligible for CalWORKs?
To be eligible for CalWORKs, a family must have a child who:
- Is under age 18 (or under age 19 if the child is currently attending high school or vocational school), and
- Has at least one parent who is unemployed, disabled, gone (not around to care for the child), in jail, or has died.
In addition, the parent or caretaker must:
- Be a U.S. citizen or meet residency requirements
- Live in California
- Not be a fleeing felon or a convicted drug felon
CalWORKs benefits may be available to the following people in a family:
- Children
- Parents
- Pregnant women in their last trimester
- Minor mothers
- Certain non-parent relatives who are caring for the children
What will I have to do to participate in CalWORKs?
To get a monthly cash benefit from CalWORKs, you must do weekly Welfare-to-Work activities, unless you're exempt. You also must report changes to your income and living situation. You will have to report changes annually if only your children are receiving assistance, or every 6 months if both a parent(s) and the children are included in the monthly cash benefit. You must report certain changes immediately. CalWORKs will tell you what those situations are when you start getting benefits.
Are there any medical eligibility requirements to enroll in CalWORKs?
Sometimes. If you are applying for CalWORKs as a parent with a disability, you have to meet the disability eligibility requirements. CalWORKs considers you disabled if your disability:
- Is expected to last at least 30 days, and
- Stops you from being able to work or do Welfare-to-Work activities.
Does what I have in the bank and/or what I own affect my eligibility for CalWORKs?
Yes. To be eligible for CalWORKs, your family cannot have more than $11,634 in resources ($17,452 for a family with a member 60 years old or older).
Note: One house that the family lives in and one car with a value of $32,968 are not counted as resources, so you may own them and still get CalWORKs. Also, if you have a disability that began before you turned 26, you can open an ABLE account where you can save up to $18,000 each year and not have it counted by CalWORKs. Learn more about ABLE accounts.
How do I apply for CalWORKs?
- Apply online at benefitscal.com, or
- Visit your county social services agency
If you meet the basic requirements, someone from the county will schedule an appointment with you, give you more forms to fill out, and ask you to submit other documents, like identification and birth certificates.
If you have a disability that makes it hard for you to do the usual application process, ask the agency staff for help (called a reasonable accommodation), like helping you fill out the forms or reading the forms to you.
How soon can I be eligible for benefits from CalWORKs?
When you apply, the county has to schedule an intake appointment within 7 days, and your CalWORKs application must be accepted or rejected within 45 days. However, many applications are approved more quickly, depending on the county you live in and your family’s circumstances.
What if I need financial help right away?
- If you have less than $100, are unable to pay for basic needs (like rent, food, utilities, clothing, and medical care), and it looks like you qualify for CalWORKs, the county must give you up to $200 (typically within 1 to 3 working days), and they must process your CalWORKs application within 15 days.
- If you are being threatened with eviction, you can choose between an immediate need payment of up to $200 (typically in one to three working days) or having your CalWORKs application processed within 15 working days, so you can start getting your full monthly benefit as soon as possible.
- You can get CalFresh (formerly Food Stamps) within 3 days if your family's gross income is less than $150 a month and you have less than $100 in resources, or if your income and cash on hand added together are less than your monthly rent and utilities.
- If you are applying for CalWORKs, have not been approved yet, and need money for a special circumstance, CalWORKs may give you a one-time diversion payment of up to $2,000 so that you don't need to go on the program (your CalWORKs application will be withdrawn or turned down if you accept the diversion payment). Diversion payments can be used for things like car repairs, moving expenses for a new job, required tools or uniforms for a job, child care, or emergency housing. If later on you need to go on CalWORKs, the diversion payment will either count as one of your 60 months or be considered an overpayment, depending on the number of months between your diversion payment and going on TANF.
Can I get CalWORKs benefits while I am eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI)?
Your family can, but you will not be considered as a family member when CalWORKs decides how much your family gets each month. This means that your family gets a smaller monthly benefit than if you were counted as a family member. However, your family's countable income will not include your SSI.
The reasoning behind this rule is that you use your SSI benefit to pay for your own basic living expenses. CalWORKs won't give you money to cover these same expenses, but realizes that you can't share that money with the rest of your family.
Can I get CalWORKs while I am in the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program?
Yes. You can get CalWORKs benefits while you are getting SSDI. However, some of your SSDI benefit amount will count as income when deciding if you can get CalWORKs and how much you can get each month.
How do I stay in CalWORKs?
To stay in CalWORKs, you need to keep meeting the requirements for:
- Income
- Resources
- Welfare-to Work (unless exempt)
- School attendance, and
- Immunizations for children
Are there rules for immigrants to qualify for CalWORKs?
Yes. To qualify for CalWORKs you must be a California resident. In addition, you must be either a:
- U.S. citizen
- Qualified Alien,
- Permanently Residing Under Color of Law, or
- Domestic abuse survivor
Does working affect CalWORKs?
Yes. If your family's countable income goes up, your cash benefit may go down. If your family’s countable income is more than the Maximum Aid Payment for your family size, your monthly cash benefit may stop completely. You may continue to get other benefits (like child care) even if you stop getting a cash benefit.
Can I receive Welfare-to-Work services if I’m disabled?
Yes. Many people with disabilities who get CalWORKs benefits are not required to be in the Welfare-to-Work Program, but can voluntarily choose to use Welfare-to-Work services and get paid child care.
Learn more
Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
SSI helps people with disabilities and seniors who have low income and resources.
Medi-Cal
Medi-Cal covers people with and without disabilities who have low income.
Programs That Support Work
Learn about programs that can help you prepare for and find work.
Try It
Frequent Pitfalls
Not thinking about the 60-month time limit
Any month you get a cash payment from CalWORKs counts toward the 60-month lifetime limit on benefits, even if you are only getting a small amount. The months do not have to be in a row, and after a total of 60 months you cannot get any more CalWORKs cash benefits for the rest of your life. This 60-month limit does not apply to children or if you are exempt. You may be able to "stop the clock" on the 60-month limit if you have an approved "good cause" why you can't participate in Welfare-to-Work activities.
Enrolling in CalWORKs just to access Medi-Cal or CalFresh for your family
Your family may be able to get Medi-Cal or CalFresh (formerly Food Stamps) through other programs. When you use CalWORKs just to get these other benefits, those months count against your 60-month lifetime limit on CalWORKs benefits. If you only qualify for a small CalWORKs benefit each month, it might be better to find another way to get Medi-Cal or CalFresh in case you need CalWORKs later on.
Learn more about Medi-Cal eligibility in DB101's Medi-Cal article.
Confusing the CalWORKs benefits and Welfare-to-Work benefits
CalWORKs is a large program that provides both cash aid and help preparing for and getting a job. If you get CalWORKs monthly cash benefits you must be in the Welfare-to-Work Program, unless you are exempt. However, even if you aren’t getting CalWORKs cash benefits, you may still be able to get Welfare-to-Work services to help you find a job.
Learn more
Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
SSI helps people with disabilities and seniors who have low income and resources.
Medi-Cal
Medi-Cal covers people with and without disabilities who have low income.
Programs That Support Work
Learn about programs that can help you prepare for and find work.
Try It
Resources
CalWORKs Resources
The California Department of Social Services provides information about programs in CalWORKs such as child support and child care.
Los Angeles County provides a comprehensive description of the CalWORKs program.
Contra Costa County offers an overview of Welfare-to-Work services.
The People's Guide is a comprehensive source of CalWORKs information.
Legal Services of Northern California lists CalWORKs self-help resources, including tips for Getting What You Need in the Welfare-to-Work Program and Welfare-to-Work: How It Works.
The CalWORKs program is governed by the Welfare and Institutions Code, Section 11000 et. seq. The California Department of Social Services interprets these laws through Letters and Notices to All Counties and its Manual of Policy and Procedures, Divisions 40-45, and 80-82.
Getting Help with Your Benefits
If you get Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), or Childhood Disability Benefits (CDB), and you're looking for a job, a trained Benefits Planner can help you avoid problems with your job plan. If you need help or have questions about your situation, you can call the Ticket to Work Help Line at 1-866-968-7842 or 1-866-833-2967 (TTY), Monday through Friday.
View DB101's full list of experts who can help you understand different benefits.
Community-Based Organizations
Various community-based organizations guide people through state, federal, public, and private health and income programs. Some organizations may work with specific populations while others work with people with any type of disability. Here are a few examples
Goodwill Industries services range from personal evaluation and office skills training to career counseling, childcare, and transportation. Some Goodwill Industries centers also do benefits planning for people who get SSI, SSDI, and Medicare. Find locations at www.Goodwill.org, or by calling (voice) 1-800-466-3945.
The California Foundation for Independent Living Centers lists centers serving people with all disabilities. Many of these centers do benefits planning for people who get SSI, SSDI, and Medicare. If they don't offer benefits planning themselves, Independent Living Centers can refer you to local benefits planners. Find the list of independent living centers at www.CFILC.org, or by calling (voice) 1-916-325-1690 or (TTY) 1-916-325-1695.
The California Department of Public Health's Office of AIDS lists 1,300 organizations offering HIV/AIDS services throughout California. Some of these organizations provide case management, benefits planning, and benefits counseling services that can include help with public and private benefits programs. You can search the list online, or call (voice) 1-800-367-AIDS (2437) or (TTY) 1-888-225-AIDS (2437).
Disability Rights California provides representation for consumers of public programs who are disabled. Website publications include topics on health care, benefit programs, and In-Home Supportive Services.
Learn more
Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
SSI helps people with disabilities and seniors who have low income and resources.
Medi-Cal
Medi-Cal covers people with and without disabilities who have low income.
Programs That Support Work
Learn about programs that can help you prepare for and find work.