Transcript CalWORKs

CalWORKs
California Work Opportunity
and Responsibility to Kids
October 2007
1
FEDERAL
California Department
of
Social Services
(CDSS)
CLIENTS
COUNTIES
STAKEHOLDER
GROUPS
Administration for Children and Families
(ACF)
STATE
Federal – State – Stakeholder - County- Client Relationship
County Welfare
Directors
Association
(CWDA)
ACF
Provides funding
and
minimal Program
rules.
CDSS
Oversees the
Program
Advocates
58 Counties
58 Counties
Administer the
Program
Clients
Clients
Benefit from the
Program
2
A Little History
3
Aid to Families with Dependent
Children (AFDC)
• Federal/State Relationship
• Entitlement Program
• “No Limits”
4
1996 Federal Welfare Reform


Personal Responsibility and Work
Opportunity Reconciliation Act
(PRWORA)
Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF)
-
Federal/State Relationship Change
Block Grant Funding
Time-Limited Aid
Flexibility
Reauthorization
5
CalWORKs
• CalWORKs is a major component of
California’s implementation of TANF
(Temporary Assistance for Needy Families),
the federal welfare reform effort authorized
by the Personal Responsibility and Work
Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) in
1996.
• CalWORKs was enacted by state legislation
(Assembly Bill 1542) and became effective in
California January 1, 1998.
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Principles of CalWORKs
• Welfare is temporary in times of crisis – time limited cash
aid.
• Personal responsibility/accountability is encouraged and
rewarded – assisting families to achieve self-sufficiency.
• “Work first” attitude is fostered through strict work
requirements – minimum hourly participation requirements.
• Counties have flexibility to meet recipients’ needs for
services.
• Requirement for new and expanded partnerships.
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CalWORKs Caseload
 Total caseload = 424,060
- Single-parent families = 166,378
- Two-parent families = 29,455
- Child-only = 158,066
- TANF timed-out = 26,868
- Safety net = 43,293
*Data source: CalWORKs Cash Grant Caseload Movement Report (CA 237), June
2007
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CalWORKs Budget
 $7.3 Billion
- State, local, and federal funds
• $5.1 billion CalWORKs program, incl.:
- CalWORKs cash grants
- Employment Services/Admin.
-Automation
• $2.2 billion non-CalWORKs assistance, incl.:
- Foster care
- Adoption assistance
- Refugee cash assistance
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CalWORKs Eligibility. . .
– Caretaker Relatedness
– Child must be deprived of parental care or support
due to:
• Death
• Incapacity
• Absence
• Unemployment
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Other Eligibility Factors
− Property
− Income
− Minor Parent Requirements
− WTW requirements
− Time Limits
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Personal Responsibility and
Accountability
• Immunizations
• School attendance
• Child support
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CalWORKs Grants...
• Grant Levels
– Two Grant Structures Region 1 & 2
• Region 1--Higher cost of living (coastal
•
counties)
Region 2--Lower cost of living
− Exempt/Non-Exempt Maximum Aid
Payment (MAP)
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Who’s In the Assistance Unit?
• Child for whom aid is requested
• Any eligible sibling or half-sibling in the home
• The parents of all eligible children
• Optional persons
– Non-parent caretaker relative
– Other eligible children
– Other essential persons
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Who’s Ineligible?
• FLEEING FELONS
• DRUG FELONS
• FRAUD
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Special Needs
• Pregnancy
• Homeless assistance
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Determining Eligibility
• Application
• Annual Redetermination
• Quarterly
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60-Month Time Limits
• Adult parents are eligible for 60 months of cash aid.
• “Clock Stoppers”--exemptions that stop month(s) of
aid from counting toward the 60-month time limit.
• “Time Extenders”--exceptions that can result in a
recipient’s remaining on aid beyond the 60-month
time limit.
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CalWORKs Time Limit Exemptions
“Clock Stoppers”
• Eligible for,
•
•
•
•
participating in, or
exempt from CalLearn program.
Living in Indian
Country
Advanced Age
Disabled
Aid reimbursed by
child support
• Grant amount $10 or
•
•
less
Employed and
receiving only
supportive services
Caretaking
responsibilities for:
– Ill or incapacitated
person
– Dependent child of the
court or child at risk of
placement in foster
care
• Unaided
• Domestic Abuse (Good
Cause)
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CalWORKs Time Limit Exceptions--”Time
Limit Extenders”
• Advanced Age
• Caretaking
responsibilities
• Disabled--receiving
SDI, TDI, IHSS or SSP
benefits and the
disability impairs ability
to work/participate
• Unable to maintain
employment or
participate
• Unaided
• Domestic Abuse (Good
Cause)
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Safety Net
• Eligible children continue to get cash aid
after their parents have exhausted their
60-month time limit.
• “Timed-out” adults are not eligible for
General Assistance until the youngest
child on aid is 18.
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CalWORKs Focus on Families
• CalLearn: services for CalWORKs pregnant and
parenting teens to help them stay in school and get a
high school diploma or equivalent.
• Family Planning Project: family planning services
information material for CalWORKs clients.
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CalWORKs Family Reunification
Program
• Established May 2002
• Eligibility:
– CalWORKs recipient families whose children are
removed from the home and determined to need
CalWORKs services for family reunification
• Up to 180 days of services, with exceptions
• No CalWORKs cash aid or cash-linked
MediCal: eligible for Food Stamps
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Meeting the Challenge
• Eligibility’s role in supporting work
efforts
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Welfare-To-Work
•Federal reauthorization and reforms
•California’s challenge to meet federal WPR
requirements
•CalWORKs WTW participation requirements
•Services to remove barriers to employment
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2006 Welfare Reform
• TANF Reauthorization
− In the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005
• Signed by the President February 8, 2006
– Federal Interim Final Rule
• Published June 29, 2006
• Governor’s Budget 2006-07 (AB 1808)
– Approved by Governor and filed with the
Secretary of State July 12, 2006
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Major Impacts of
TANF Reauthorization
• Recalibration of the caseload
reduction credit
• Newly identified work eligible
individuals
• Work activities defined
• Work verification plan requirement
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Work Participation Rate
Those participating
the required number
of hours
-------------------------Those required to
participate
• All-families = 50%
• Two-parent = 90%
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Caseload Reduction Credit and
Work Participation Rate
• Caseload Reduction Credit (CRC) base year
changed from 1995 to 2005
Projected All Families CRC for Federal Fiscal Year 2007
4.5
50%
45.5
46.5
3.5
1995 Base Year
CRC (caseload decline)
2005 Base Year
WPR Requirement
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Projected WPR for FFY 2006
with New Populations
Projected All Families
WPR: 22.2% (FFY 2006)
50%
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Who is work eligible?
• Adult (or minor child head-of-household)
receiving assistance under TANF or SSP
• Non-recipient parent living with a child
receiving assistance (child-only recipients)
• Work-eligible individuals that are in Separate
State Programs funded with state
Maintenance of Effort dollars (two-parent
recipients)
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Effect on WPR Denominator
Cases in WPR Denominator "Work Eligible Individuals"
Based on 2005 Caseload Data
Single Parent
(Aided Adult)
15%
Two Parent
1%
12%
Safety Net
179,216
12%
Denominator Prior to
DRA
60%
Drug and
Fleeing Felons
Sanction (less
20%)
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Welfare-To-Work
•Federal reauthorization and reforms
•California’s challenge to meet federal
WPR requirements
•CalWORKs
WTW participation requirements
•Services to remove barriers to employment
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The Challenge:
Balance between
CalWORKs and TANF
• CalWORKs is designed to provide flexibility
to counties to meet the unique needs of their
diverse populations
– Participation requirements are different, more
flexible in CalWORKs than TANF
• Required hours of participation vary from TANF
• Activity time limits vary from TANF
• Exemptions/Disregards vary from TANF
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The Challenge:
Balance between
CalWORKs and TANF (Cont.)
• CDSS and others have worked hard to
maintain the structure of the CalWORKs
program
• Goal: Find balance between maintaining the
fundamentals of CalWORKs while meeting
federal requirements and safeguarding the
state from fiscal penalties
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Meeting the Challenge
• Maintain the participation level of those
currently meeting the WPR requirements
• Increase participation for those partially
participating
• Fully engage those who are not participating
• Re-engage sanctioned and noncompliant
cases
• Strive for better data
36
AB 1808 Policy
• Required data master
plan and data publishing
• Required county peer
reviews
• Ended durational
sanctions
• Clarified shared penalties
• Required county plan
addendum
37
Welfare-To-Work
•Federal reauthorization and reforms
•California’s challenge to meet federal WPR
requirements
•CalWORKs WTW participation requirements
•Services to remove barriers to employment
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Typical CalWORKs Flow
• Orientation
• Appraisal
• Job Search (4 weeks)
Exception to flow
– Self-Initiated
Programs (SIPs)
– Full-timed employed
(no WTW Plan)
• Assessment
• WTW Plan with assigned
activities
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Welfare-to-Work Plan
• After assessment, able-bodied recipients must enter
into a written WTW Plan.
• Exempt recipients who volunteer to participate must
also have a WTW Plan.
• Plans include:
− Activities and services that will move the participant into
employment and toward self-sufficiency
− One or more core and/or non-core activities for the required
minimum hours. No minimum hours for volunteers
− Adult basic education, when necessary
− Description of needed supportive services (transportation, child
care, ancillary expenses)
− School attendance requirements for children
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CalWORKs Work Requirements
•Strict work requirements support the program’s focus
on “work first”
•Single parents must participate 32 hours per week
•
2-parent families must participate 35 hours per week
Noncompliance with work requirements results in a financial
sanction equal to the adult’s portion of the family’s grant. The
adult is removed from the AU
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Work Requirement Exemptions
− Under age 16
− Age 16, 17, or 18 and attending school full time
− Age 16 or 17 with a high school diploma (or equivalent)
and enrolled or planning to enroll in postsecondary
educational, vocational, or technical school training
− 60 years of age
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Work Requirement Exemptions
(cont’d)
− Disability that significantly impairs ability to be regularly
employed
− Nonparent relative caring for a dependent/ward of the court or
child at risk of foster care placement
− Caring for a disabled family member
− Parents with very young children
− Pregnancy that impairs ability to be regularly employed
− Full-time VISTA volunteer
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CalWORKs Work Activities
− At least 20 hours per week in core activities
directly related to work.
− The balance of the 32/35 hour participation
requirement can be spent in non-core activities.
− Some non-core hours can be counted toward the
20-hour core requirement.
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CalWORKs Core Activities
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Unsubsidized employment
Subsidized private or public sector employment
Self employment
Job search and job readiness assistance
Work experience
On-the-job-training (OJT)
Grant-based OJT
Supported work or transitional employment
Work study
Community service
Vocational education and training (up to 12
months)
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CalWORKS Non-Core Activities
Non-core work activities that can count toward 20-hour
core requirements
•
Adult basic education
•
Education directly related to employment
•
Job skills training directly related to employment
•
Satisfactory progress in secondary education
•
Barrier removal activities - mental health, substance
abuse, and domestic abuse services
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CalWORKS Non-Core Activities (cont’d)
Non-core activities that cannot count toward the 20-hour core
requirement
• Vocational education and training
(after counting as core for 12 months)
Participation in non-core vocational education
prohibits counting any non-core activity toward
the 20-hour core requirement
• Participation required by the school to ensure a child’s
attendance
• Other activities necessary to assist an individual in obtaining
unsubsidized employment
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Supportive Services
• Child Care
– Three-phase system
– Child care reimbursement rates are standardized with
the California Department of Education (CDE).
• Transportation
− Counties provide reimbursement for the least costly
form of public transportation.
− If public transportation not available, mileage
reimbursement for individual to use vehicle.
• Ancillary
− Books, tools, clothing specifically required for the job,
fees and other necessary costs (tuition is not considered
an ancillary expense.)
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Good Cause for Temporarily Not
Participating in CalWORKs WTW
Activities
• Lack of necessary supportive services
• Child care not reasonably available during hours of
training or employment
• Other reasons, as defined by county, such as:
– Death in the family
– Court appearance
– Sick child
• Individuals who are excused from participation with
good cause are subject to the 60-month time limits
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Noncompliance
• When determined noncompliant, within 20 days,
the recipient can
− Provide a good cause reason not participating
− Agree to a compliance plan when no good cause exists
• With no good cause reason and no compliance
plan, a financial sanction is imposed
− Noncompliant participant removed from assistance
unit, resulting in a reduction in family’s cash grant
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Noncompliance
• Noncompliance means a participant
− Failed to sign a WTW Plan
− Failed to participate in assigned activity
− Failed to provide proof of satisfactory
progress
− Failed to accept or continue employment at
same level of earnings
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Welfare-To-Work
•Federal reauthorization and reforms
•California’s challenge to meet federal WPR
requirements
•CalWORKs WTW participation requirements
•Services to remove barriers to employment
52
Learning Disabilities (LD)
• LD: A heterogeneous group of disorders manifested by
significant difficulties in the acquisition and use of
listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning or
mathematical abilities
• Enrollees screened no later than appraisal and at other
specified times, such as in good cause determinations
• Recipients can waive right to LD screening
• Referred to LD evaluation when screening shows
potential LD
• When evaluation shows LD, the WTW Plan will include
accommodation based on evaluation
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Mental Health and Substance Abuse
Services
• Mental health services include assessment,
case management, treatment, and
rehabilitation services
• Substance abuse services include assessment,
treatment, employment counseling, provision of
community service jobs, or other appropriate
services
• Counties must work with mental health and
substance abuse treatment providers to
establish linkages to treatment services
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Domestic Abuse Services
The Federal Family Violence Option
PRWORA of 1996 allows states to address domestic violence in
state welfare plans under TANF by:
•
Confidentially screening applicants for domestic
abuse
•
Providing referrals for counseling and supportive
services
•
Granting good cause waivers
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Goals of CalWORKs Provisions for
Domestic Abuse
• Victims are not placed at further risk or
unfairly penalized by CalWORKs requirements
• Program requirements do not encourage a victim
to remain with the abuser
• Participation in WTW activities is encouraged
to enable clients to obtain employment and move
safely toward self-sufficiency
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Domestic Abuse Waivers
• A county may waive, on a case-by-case basis with
good cause, any program requirement, including, but
not limited to
 Time limits on receipt of aid
 Work and education requirements
 Paternity establishment
 Child support cooperation requirements
 Maximum family grant rule
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Domestic Abuse Waivers (cont’d)
• Program requirements that cannot be waived
 Deprivation
 Assets
 Income
 Homeless assistance
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Importance of Collaboration Between
Child Welfare Services and
CalWORKs
• 60 percent of Child Welfare Cases have
history of welfare receipt
• Close collaboration can ensure program
requirements do not conflict
• Families receive services they need to achieve
child well being and self-sufficiency
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Questions and Answers...
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