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

Mar 5, 2024 - The 2024-25 Budget: Overview of the Federal Fiscal Responsibility Act's Impacts on CalWORKs 24 Failed a Due to the American Recovery and Investment Act of 2009, states could receive the caseload reduction credit from either 2007 or 2008 for WPR calculation from 2008 to 2011.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4877

The 2026-27 Budget: Food Assistance Programs

Feb 18, 2026 - Able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs) generally are limited to three months of CalFresh assistance in a three-year period unless they work or participate in qualifying activities for at least 20 hours per week.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5126

The 2023-24 Budget: Broadband Infrastructure

Mar 20, 2023 - Recent Major Funding Increase for Federal Broadband Programs Federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) Included $65   Billion for Broadband Programs Nationwide. In November 2021, the federal IIJA was signed into law providing $65  billion for broadband programs.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4747

The 2025-26 Budget: Overview of the Federal CalWORKs Pilot

Feb 21, 2025 - Given our office ’s assessment that the 2025-26 budget is roughly balanced, the budget does not have capacity for new augmentations for CalWORKs this budget year without reductions or other solutions elsewhere across the budget.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4978

Trends in CalWORKs: Participant Characteristics

Jun 16, 2025 - Increased Earned Income Disregard (EID). The EID for applicants and participants (or the monthly dollar amount applicants and participants can earn before further income affects eligibility) changed multiple times over the last decade.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5057

The 2022-23 Budget: Analysis of the Care Economy Workforce Development Package

Mar 10, 2022 - Without this information, and without information on what additional number of care economy providers —by provider type —is necessary to fulfill statewide need, assessing what workforce gaps would be addressed by the proposed package and the extent to which particular workforce gaps would be filled is difficult.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4572

The 2025-26 California Spending Plan: Human Services

Nov 21, 2025 - The spending plan reflects an additional set of requirements that providers will need to satisfy in order to be eligible to earn the quality incentive portion of rate models beginning in July 2026. Specifically, providers will need to comply with Electronic Visit Verification, federal Home- and Community-Based Services (HCBS), and independent audit and fiscal review requirement s.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5086/1

Implementing California’s Child Welfare Prevention Services Program

Jan 28, 2026 - In theory, counties will achieve foster care cost savings once they implement effective child welfare prevention services—meaning there is a natural incentive to invest in prevention programs. However, achieving those savings will require significant upfront investment, which may not be possible using only local funds.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5106

Estimating the CalWORKs Take-Up Rate

Feb 2, 2021 - Families may earn non-CalWORKs income of up to $500 a month without affecting their grant, but for each additional dollar they earn above $500 their grant is reduced by 50 cents. In 2019 ‑20. the maximum family grant for a family of three was $785.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4340

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

Mar 5, 2026 - Without a methodology that links funding to workload, funding could become insufficient or exceed what is required for efficient operations without a clear way of assessing what adjustments are needed.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5149