County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency HHSA CalWORKs Program Guide CalWORKs and Employment Services Overview Number Page 10001 1 of 2 Revision Date 1112019 Purpose The purpose of this revision is to provide a current overview of the CalWORKs and Employment Services programs and to reformat this section to the current standards Background The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act PRWORA became federal law on August 22 1996 and established a cash assistance program Temporary Assistance to Needy Families TANF which limited federal funding to a maximum of 60 months in a lifetime and required states to develop and implement programs that would move individuals from dependency to selfsufficiency through employment The WelfaretoWork act of 1997 established the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids CalWORKs program which is Californias version of TANF The CalWORKs program was originally implemented with a 60month lifetime limit for nonexempt adults which was later changed to a 48month lifetime limit and with a provision to allow children to continue receiving aid until they reach 18 years of age Effective January 11998 the CalWORKs program began helping families achieve selfsufficiency through the WelfaretoWork program also known as the Employment Services ES program that has participation requirements and a WorkFirst emphasis while at the same time supporting families by offering services that help remove barriers to employment and encourage independence Per SB 72 effective July 1 2011 the CalWORKs time limit changed from 60 months to 48 months A month does not count against the time limit when the adult meets one of the exemption criteria and there are certain situations that will qualify an individual to an extension of time on aid Per SB 1041 effective January 1 2013 a 24month time clock was implemented limiting the number of months participants can choose freely from the full range of activities offered by the Employment Services program without meeting core work participation hours After the 24months have been used a participant must meet minimum hourly participation requirements in core work activities Other ES activities are allowed if core work participation requirements are met Employment Services Employment Services help participants find employment stay employed move to higher paying jobs and eventually to become selfsufficient The services provided include job search job preparation education and training paid and unpaid work experience and other services to remove employment barriers such as Substance Abuse Treatment Mental Health Services Domestic Violence Counseling Housing Support Family Stabilization Services and Home Visiting Services Financial assistance is provided for child care transportation and work or training related costs Participation Requirements If the hourly participation and work activity requirements are not met participants are sanctioned which means their cash aid is reduced by removing the adults portion of the cash aid There are some good cause reasons for failure to meet ES requirements and some individuals are exempt from participation References CPG 10002 Work Participation Requirements CPG 10003 Employment Services 24Month Clock CPG 10005 Employment Services County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency HHSA CalWORKs Program Guide CalWORKs and Employment Services Overview Number Page 10001 2 of 2 CPG 10020 Exemptions and Good Cause CPG 10025 Compliance and Sanctions CPG 15100 Time on Aid CDSS ACL 9765 9838 9927 9990 9990E 12671269 1416 1621 1701 1870 18123 CDSS MPP 40107a4A 42301 MPP 42302 42711 42714 Sunset Date This policy will be reviewed for continuance on or before 11302022 Approval for Release Rick Wanne Director Eligibility Operations