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

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

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 2021-22 Budget: Analysis of the Governor’s CalWORKs Proposals

Feb 3, 2021 - However, public health concerns may play some role in either or both of these trends. For example, a growing number of applications are now completed online rather than in county offices, where staff could be available to answer applicant questions.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4341

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

Estimating the CalWORKs Take-Up Rate

Feb 2, 2021 - Cash Assistance. Since 2011, adults generally have been limited to no more than 48 cumulative months of receiving cash assistance, although this limit is set to return to its original 60 months in May 2022.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4340

The 2026-27 Budget: County Administration and H.R. 1 Implementation

Mar 5, 2026 - What role do state policy decisions about eligibility processes play in affecting the complexity of operations and increasing or reducing the error rate in each program? Are there changes in state policy the state could consider that would reduce errors?
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5149

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