The 2024-25 Budget: CalWORKs

Mar 4, 2024 - LAO Assessment ESE Elimination May Impact Employment and Earnings of Some CalWORKs Recipients. As mentioned, about 1,240 individuals participated in ESE each month in 2022 ‑23. Additionally, ESE has helped some participants secure higher ‑paying employment.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4872

Estimating the CalWORKs Take-Up Rate

Feb 2, 2021 - More recently, the state allocated $2  million in 2016 ‑17 and 2017 ‑18 to improve awareness and take-up of the California Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which provides money to low-income workers.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4340

The 2025-26 California Spending Plan: Human Services

Nov 21, 2025 - Participants in the self-determination program are provided an individual budget, a fixed amount of money with which to purchase the services of their choosing. Participants then decide how to use the money in their individual budget by developing a spending plan, which identifies the services and items the participant needs.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5086/1

The 2023-24 Budget: CalWORKs

Feb 22, 2023 - CalWORKs provides cash grants and job services to low-income families. The program is administered locally by counties and overseen by the state Department of Social Services. CalWORKS Provides Cash Assistance to Low-Income Families.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4699

The 2022-23 Budget: Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment (SSI/SSP) Program

Feb 2, 2022 - Background The SSI/SSP program provides cash grants to low ‑income aged, blind, and disabled individuals. Grant levels for SSI/SSP are determined by both the federal government and the state. Specifically, the federal government pays for the SSI portion of the grant while the state pays the SSP  portion of the grant.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4514

The 2022-23 Budget: Analysis of the Governor’s CalWORKs Proposals

Feb 11, 2022 - Increased the earned income disregard for applicants (or the amount CalWORKs applicants can earn before further income effects their eligibility for the program) from $90 to $450 per month. (The 2022 ‑23 budget includes $79.5  million General Fund to implement this change starting in March  2023.)
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4530

The 2025-26 California Spending Plan: Human Services

Nov 21, 2025 - The total funding for this program also includes costs associated with two other state-funded grant programs: (1)  the Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants, which provides grants to individuals ineligible for SSI/SSP solely due to immigrant status, and (2)  the California Veterans Cash Benefit program, which provides a supplemental grant payment to veterans receiving payments from the federal Special Veterans Benefit program.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5086/4

The 2024-25 Budget: Overview of the Federal Fiscal Responsibility Act's Impacts on CalWORKs

Mar 5, 2024 - About 178,000 WINS cases also met TANF work requirements, creating a total TANF/MOE-funded cash assistance caseload of approximately 624,000. Between federal fiscal year 2014 ‑15 and 2022 ‑23, the TANF/MOE-funded cash assistance caseload declined by almost 40  percent, as shown in figure  4.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4877

The 2022-23 California Spending Plan: Human Services

Oct 21, 2022 - Adopted in 2022 ‑23 budget Court ability to establish earning capacity Codify courts ’ ability to impute income based on earning capacity. Also codifies requirement for courts to consider specific circumstances of the parent, including the parent ’s assets, educational attainment, and health when determining earning capacity.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4640/6

Trends in CalWORKs: Participant Characteristics

Jun 16, 2025 - CalWORKs Provides Cash Assistance and Supportive Services to Low‑Income Families.  To qualify for CalWORKs, families generally must earn less than about 80 percent of the FPL (about $20,000 annually or $1,700 per month for a family of three in 2024) and have limited savings or other assets.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5057