CalWORKs is a program that helps eligible families become self-supporting through temporary cash aid and assistance in finding and keeping a job (Employment Services). It is California’s Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) Program and provides a number of services, including cash aid, child care, and job search guidance. When receiving CalWORKs cash aid, the family also receives Medi-Cal and may be eligible for Food Stamp benefits.

Generally, adults can get up to 60 months of cash aid. There are, however, certain circumstances that, if present, enable the adult to be exempted from this time limit. When cash aid stops for the adult family members, money may still be available to help support minor children in the home.

The eligibility information listed below will give you an idea of whether you may be eligible to receive CalWORKs assistance.  However, eligibility for the program can only be fully evaluated by an Eligibility Worker (EW).

Basic Eligibility Requirements

Deprivation – A parent or caretaker relative may be eligible for CalWORKs assistance if he/she cares for an eligible child who is without parental support because one or both parents are either absent from the home, disabled, deceased, or unemployed.

Age – Eligibility requirements that relate to age include the following:

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Children are eligible until their 18th birthday.  Eighteen-year-olds may continue to be eligible if they are full-time students, regularly attending high school or the equivalent, and expected to graduate before their 19th birthday.

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Pregnant or parenting teens (under the age of 18) must live with their parent(s) or other appropriate relative in order to receive CalWORKs.

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Children age 6 and older must regularly attend school. Proof that children under the age of six have had age-appropriate immunizations is also required.

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Children age 19 or older are NOT eligible for CalWORKs, but may continue to be eligible for other programs, such as Food Stamp or Medi-Cal.

Income Limits and Payment Amounts – The following rules are related to income and how it is used when figuring out CalWORKs eligibility and payment amounts:

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A family’s gross non-exempt income, minus $90 for each employed individual, must fall below the amount shown on the Minimum Basic Standard of Adequate Care (MBSAC) Chart below. (The MBSAC Chart, for example, shows that for a family of three, MBSAC is $975. This means that, in order to qualify for CalWORKs, this family’s gross [before taxes] non-exempt income, minus $90 for each employed individual, must be under $975.)

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Any money the family currently has available to meet their needs is counted as income.  Income includes but is not limited to: Job earnings, Unemployment Insurance Benefits, Disability Benefits, Social Security Benefits, and so on. The net income amount must be less than the amount shown on the Maximum Aid Payable (MAP) Chart for the family size.

The chart below shows income limits as well as the maximum amount of money a family can get each month through CalWORKs. The amounts are set by the State.  Your Eligibility Worker will tell you exactly how much money you will get after figuring out how much money you already have coming in.  To figure out what monthly payments to you will be, the Eligibility Worker will also look at other information such as how much the things you own are worth.

Maximum Aid Payments (MAP) and
Minimum Basic Standards for Adequate Care (MBSAC) Charts
Effective September 1, 2007 to June 30, 2008 

Note: Payments are not based on the actual living expenses of the family.  If eligible, the family receives a set amount of money, and it is their responsibility to determine how to meet their household expenses.

Property – A CalWORKs family can own up to $2,000 of real and personal property. Real property includes land, houses, and other buildings. Examples of personal property include checking and savings accounts. If a family has a parent or caretaker 60 years of age or older, the property limit is increased to $3,000.

If you own and live in your home, it is not counted as property.

Citizenship – The applicant and his/her family must be United States citizens or have satisfactory immigration status. The immigration status of all non-citizens is verified with the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS), formerly Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS).  If an immigrant entered this county as a sponsored non-citizen, the income and resources of the sponsor will be considered in determining CalWORKs eligibility.

Employment – Once it is determined that you meet the CalWORKs eligibility requirements, another determination is made based on whether the adults are employable or unemployable.

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All parents or caretaker relatives must participate in CalWORKs Employment Services activities unless they are exempt.

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Employment Services participants are assigned to activities meant to lead to a job and eventual self-sufficiency. Necessary supportive services, such as child care and transportation, will be provided.

Child Support – All absent parents are responsible for the financial support of their children. The custodial parent or caretaker relative must provide sufficient information to locate the absent parent(s) to determine the absent parent’s financial responsibility.

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The absent parent will be contacted by the Local Child Support Agency (LCSA) to pay back all or part of the CalWORKs money received.

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Child support is counted as income and CalWORKs recipients who receive direct child support are required to assign their support rights to the County.

Diversion Program

The Diversion Program is available to potentially eligible CalWORKs applicants to help the family overcome a short-term crisis. It is intended to provide immediate financial assistance that can help individuals keep or start a job and continue to be self-supporting. 

If it is determined by the Eligibility Worker (EW) that a family may be better served by receiving a one-time Diversion Program payment instead of monthly cash payments, the EW will discuss this option with the applicant.

Special Needs

Additional benefits are available to CalWORKs recipients for special diets, pregnancy needs, and Homeless Assistance. The Homeless Assistance payment is a once-in-a-lifetime payment.

Time Limits

CalWORKs parents or caretaker relatives are limited to a total of 60-months of cash assistance. This also applies to any months (from January 1998 on) in which the parent(s) received cash aid from any state. There are, however, certain exemptions to the 60-month lifetime limit which can be explained by your Eligibility Worker. Once the CalWORKs 60-month lifetime limit is reached, unless an exemption is authorized, the adult will no longer be eligible for CalWORKs. However, the children may remain eligible.

Statewide Fingerprint Imaging System (SFIS)

On August 1, 2000, fingerprinting and photo imaging became a requirement for adults applying for Food Stamp benefits and CalWORKs assistance.  To receive Food Stamp or CalWORKs benefits, applicants must agree to have their fingerprints and photo images compared with the images of other welfare recipients in the Statewide Fingerprint Imaging System (SFIS) database. 

This is a statewide eligibility requirement that is meant to prevent fraud by NOT paying cash aid or NOT authorizing Food Stamps for the same person in more than one case.  SFIS information is highly confidential and WILL NOT be shared with other agencies.

Direct Deposit and Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT)

CalWORKs benefits are provided to eligible persons using one of the following two methods:

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Persons eligible for CalWORKs cash benefits have the option to have benefits “directly deposited” into their checking or savings account.

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If Direct Deposit is NOT selected, cash benefits are received through a plastic Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card at automated teller (ATM) and point-of-sale (POS) machines.

Applying for CalWORKs

To receive CalWORKs cash aid, families must apply at one of our Social Services Agency Intake Offices. A decision on whether or not you are eligible for CalWORKs can only be made by a CalWORKs Eligibility Worker.

Documents You Will Need to Bring When You Apply

Your Eligibility Worker will tell you what documents you need to provide. The documents will be used to see if you are eligible for CalWORKs, and to figure out what the payments to you and your family will be. The following list contains examples of the kind of documents you may need to give your Eligibility Worker.

 
Applying for Food Stamps
If you believe you may be eligible for Food Stamp benefits, you may apply at the Tehama County Department of Social Services.

Documents You Will Need to Bring When You Apply

Your Eligibility Worker will tell you exactly which documents you need to provide. The documents will be used to see if you are eligible for Food Stamp benefits and to figure out the amount/value of Food Stamp benefits you will get. The following list contains examples of the kind of documents you may need to give your Eligibility Worker.

Medical Assistance

You may also be eligible for medical assistance through the Medi-Cal Program.

Financial Assistance

If you are the parent or caretaker relative of an eligible child or eligible children, you may be eligible to receive cash assistance through the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) Program.

If you are an immigrant who is 65 years of age or older, or are blind or disabled, you may be eligible for cash assistance through the Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants (CAPI) Program.

If you have Refugee Status, you may be eligible to receive cash assistance through the Refugee Cash Assistance Program.

If you are NOT eligible for cash assistance from other State and/or Federal programs, you may be eligible for a cash loan through the General Assistance Program.

Program Categories

Medi-Cal is made up of almost 40 different programs, each with different eligibility requirements. To provide a general understanding of these different programs, they have been divided into health insurance categories for:

The Medi-Cal program provides free health care coverage to certain low-income families with children under 18 years of age through the Section 1931(b) Program.
Families who don’t qualify under this program may be eligible for other Medi-Cal programs with a share of cost (similar to a monthly deductible).

The eligibility information listed below will give you an idea of whether you may be eligible to receive Medi-Cal coverage under Section 1931(b). However, eligibility for Medi-Cal can only be fully evaluated by an Eligibility Worker (EW). If and when you decide to apply, your EW will explain in further detail what requirements specifically apply to your situation.

Basic Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for Medi-Cal under Section 1931(b), families with children must be in one of the following groups:

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CalWORKs Recipient. (Note: Families with children in this category automatically receive Medi-Cal coverage.)

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Families eligible for CalWORKs but who do not want to apply for CalWORKs.

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Persons/families being discontinued from CalWORKs (in most cases).

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Families who meet the more liberal income and property requirements of the non-cash-based Section 1931(b) Program. (See chart below)

Families must also meet the following requirements:

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Children must be deprived of parental support because one of the parents is deceased, incapacitated, unemployed, or absent from the home.

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Any money the family currently has available to meet their needs is counted as income.  Income includes but is not limited to: Job earnings, Unemployment Insurance Benefits, Disability Benefits, Social Security Benefits, and so on. The net income amount must be less than the amount shown on the Maximum Aid Payable (MAP) Chart for the family size.

The family’s income and property must be within the program’s limits. (See chart below)

Section 1931(b) Income & Property Limits Chart

Children must be under 18 years of age. (Note: Children age 18 to 21 may still be eligible under other Medi-Cal programs.)

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Custodial parents must cooperate with the Local Child Support Agency when there is an absent parent. If parents do not cooperate with the child support agency requirements, only the parents will be ineligible for Medi-Cal; children remain eligible.

Applying for Medi-Cal

If you would like to apply for Medi-Cal health coverage under Section 1931(b) you may:

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Apply in person by going to one of the Social Services Agency Offices and filling out an application, or

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Call our office and ask for a mail-in Medi-Cal application.

Documents You Will Need to Bring When You Apply

Your Eligibility Worker (EW) will tell you exactly what documents you will need to provide as proof of identity, income, property, residence, and so on.  The following list contains examples of some of the most common items you may need to provide so that your EW can see if you are eligible for Medi-Cal benefits.