5180 Department of Social Services
Program Descriptions

16 - WELFARE PROGRAMS

The Department's public assistance programs provide financial assistance to California residents who are unable to support themselves. This program is comprised of five components:
  • California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs)
  • Other Assistance Payments, including Foster Care, Adoption Assistance Program, Refugee Cash Assistance, and Food Assistance Programs
  • Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment Program
  • County Administration and Automation Projects
  • Disaster Relief

The objectives of this program are to provide temporary financial assistance to eligible needy and dependent persons to enable achievement of self-sufficiency or to provide safe living environments for vulnerable adults and children, and to monitor, administer, and improve the quality of all welfare services.

16.30 - CalWORKs:
The CalWORKs program is California's version of the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. CalWORKs is California's largest cash aid program for children and families and is designed to provide temporary assistance to meet basic needs, such as shelter, food, and clothing, in times of crisis, while encouraging personal responsibility. CalWORKs includes specific welfare-to-work requirements and provides supportive services, such as child care, to enable an individual to meet these requirements. Child care services currently are provided through a three-stage system to current and former CalWORKs recipients with children through the age of 10 (or up to 12 under certain conditions). Presently, Stage One is administered by the Department of Social Services, and the Department of Education administers Stages Two and Three. Stage Three is available only to the extent that funding is provided by the annual Budget Act or other source. Parents have the right to choose child care among center-based, family child care home, or license-exempt providers. CalWORKs families are then able to meet both goals of moving from welfare into the work force and engaging children in child care and development services.

16.65 - Other Assistance Payments:
The Foster Care program provides support payments for children in out-of-home care. This program is administered by the counties in accordance with regulations, standards, and procedures set by the Department of Social Services as authorized by federal and state law. The Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program provides support payments to relative guardians of children who were previously in the foster care system.

The Adoption Assistance Program provides ongoing support payments for families wanting to adopt children who, because of their ethnic background, race, color, language, physical, mental, emotional or medical handicaps, age, or because they are a sibling, have become difficult to place in adoptive homes. This program encourages adoptions of children who would otherwise remain in long-term foster care by removing financial barriers for these families.

Refugee/Entrant Cash Assistance is provided to the following individuals if they do not qualify for CalWORKs or Supplemental Security Income: refugees, Cuban and Haitian entrants (including Cuban medical professionals), asylees, certain Amerasians from Vietnam, Iraqi and Afghan Special Immigrants, and certified victims of human trafficking. Benefits are available for a maximum period of eight months.

The CalFresh Program, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program and federally referred to as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), provides for improved levels of nutrition among eligible low-income households by offering them a benefit amount, posted to a debit card, for the purpose of purchasing food. The cost of CalFresh benefits is borne entirely by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The CalFresh Employment and Training Program requires certain non-assistance CalFresh recipients to participate in employment and training activities.

The Department also administers the state-only California Food Assistance Program to provide food benefits to legal immigrants who meet federal SNAP eligibility criteria except for their immigration status.

The Emergency Food Assistance Program provides USDA commodities to local food banks for distribution to the working poor, low-income, unemployed, and homeless persons. This program is supplemented with food purchased by food banks using private donations and taxpayer contributions to the Emergency Food Assistance Program Fund made through a state income tax checkoff, as well as surplus fresh fruits and vegetables donated by farmers and businesses.

16.70 - Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment Program:
The Federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program provides cash grant assistance to aged, blind, or disabled persons who meet the program's income and resource requirements. California supplements the federal SSI payment with a State Supplementary Payment (SSP). The SSI/SSP program is administered by the Federal Social Security Administration which determines eligibility, computes grants, and disburses the combined monthly payment to recipients.

16.75 - County Administration and Automation Projects:
Federal, state, and county governments share the cost of operating expenses and the salaries and benefits of county staff who administer public assistance programs. County Administration for CalWORKs is in Program 16.30.

Federal, state, and county funds are used to finance major data automation projects of the Department of Social Services.

16.90 - Disaster Relief:
The objective of the Disaster Relief Program is to provide monetary assistance to individuals and households who have suffered eligible losses from a Presidentially-declared disaster that are not covered by other federal, state, or private assistance programs.