Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/431369
The People's Guide 2015 8 CalWORKs Services Worker (GSW). If you have been in the U.S. less than 5 years and have legal immigrant status as a refugee or granted asylum, you are assigned to the Refugee Employment Program titled "REP". The GAIN program is a work-first program that provides employment-related ser- vices to help you find employment, stay employed, and move to higher paying jobs which lead to self-sufficiency and independence. There is a Welfare To Work 24-Month Time Clock (within the CalWORKs 48-month time limit). The WTW 24-Month gives you more activity options and requires fewer participation hours for single-adult families. During this 24 month period you can participate in several activities to keep getting cash aid including: • work • education • training • mental health, substance abuse, and/ or domestic abuse services. When your WTW 24-Month Time Clock runs out, you will have a shorter list of activi- ties to choose to participate in to continue receiving the same amount of cash aid. The shorter list may include employment, work experience, and community service. Vocational education and training may also be allowed for up to one year after your WTW 24-Month Time Clock ends. Your county office will send you a notice before you reach the end of your WTW 24-Month Time Clock. They will provide you with the shorter list of activities to choose from, and instructions on what you will need to do next in order to continue receiving the same level of cash aid. The months on your WTW 24 Month Time Clock may not be months that come in a row, but months added up over all the time you are getting aid. Months in which the families meet the federal participation requirements do not count towards the WTW 24-Month Time Clock. Once your WTW 24-Month Time Clock ends, if you do not meet your new par- ticipation requirements, your cash aid may be lowered and it may affect your supportive services. 5 Get Immunizations ("Shots") For Your Children When you apply for CalWORKs or at your annual redetermination, you must show proof that your children under age 6 have had their shots. You have 30 days from the approval of your Medi-Cal application (done at the same time as your CalWORKs application) or 45 days from your rede- termination to submit the immunization record or doctor's statement. If you do not prove your children are im- munized and do not have good cause (either lack of access or a sworn statement that immunization is against your religious or other beliefs), all cash aid to adults will be cut off until you provide the proof. The DPSS will extend the time period by 30 days if you have not been able to find shots for free. You can call the County Health Department at (800) 427-8700 to find free shots. 6.Keep School-Age Children in School If your child is under 16 and not attend- ing school regularly without good cause, the adult's cash aid will be cut off. If your child is over 16 and not attending school, or welfare to work activities, without good cause, only that child's aid will be cut. In either case, the cash grant will be restored when you prove to DPSS that the child is in school or has good cause. Work Requirements As a CalWORKs recipient, you are required to participate in "Welfare-to-Work" (WTW) activities in order to stay on cash aid. Participation in WTW is mandatory for all CalWORKs participants unless you are exempt or have a "good cause" for non- participation. • Exemptions and "good cause" require documentation, verification, and ap- proval of the Welfare-to-Work case manager. • Exempt participants may volunteer to participate in WTW program services. The welfare-to-work programs in Los An- geles County are called GAIN and REP. "GAIN" ("Greater Avenues to Indepen- dence") is the main program for English and Spanish speaking participants. If your primary language is not English or Spanish your welfare to work case will be handled by a program case manager, or a GAIN Your WTW 24-Month Time Clock Stops When: • You are in appraisal, job search, as- sessment, or in the process of developing a new WTW plan. • You are meeting the required number of participation hours in certain activities. • You are in Cal-Learn. • You are exempt from participating. • The county determines that you have a good reason for not participating (called good cause). • You are sanctioned. 1. Weekly Participation Hours As of July 2014, the hours of participation are as follows: #of Adults Average Weekly Hours in Family of Participation Single-adult with a child under 6 years old............ 20 Single-adult with no children under 6 years old............ 30 Two-parent families (hours may be combined between both parents).................. 35 2. Getting Excused from GAIN ("Exempt" or "Good Cause") You may be eligible to be exempt from GAIN or REP if you are: • A youth under 16 years old • A youth from 16 to 18 in school full time • Caring for a first child under 12 months old, or any later child under 6 months old • Pregnant, and have medical verification that being pregnant harms your ability to participate or work • Pregnant, and DPSS decides that work or training is not the right thing to do based on the medical verification • A full time volunteer in the Volun- teer in Service to America (VISTA) program. Any months exempted for the following reasons do not count against the 48 month CalWORKs time clock: • Disabled due to a physical or mental reason for 30 days or more • 60 years or older • Taking care of an ill or disabled house- hold member, only if DPSS agrees that this prevents you from participating in the program or working.