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The People's Guide 2015 10 CalWORKs GAIN and REP Activities 1. Appraisal Soon after you apply for CalWORKs, you will receive an appointment letter to go to an Appraisal appointment. This will most likely take one hour or longer. You will meet with your GAIN or REP worker in a one-on-one meeting where you will talk to your worker about your work and educational history and what kind of services you need to get back to work. If you have problems due to mental health, substance abuse, or domestic violence, tell your worker at this time so that you can get services immediately. Tell your worker if you are already enrolled in an education or training program. It might qualify as what they call a Self- Initiated Program. This will let you do the education and training as your welfare-to- work activity instead of going through Job Club and the rest of the GAIN process. 2. Job Club & Search The first day of Job Club is called Orienta- tion, during this day you will learn about the rules and regulations of the GAIN Program and they will try to give you motivation to find employment. The first four weeks of GAIN are spent in Job Club and Job Search. You don't have to do job search if: • It would interfere with a full time job or approved training you already have, or • You are in the Cal-Learn program or • Doing a job search would not help you (example-you need basic English or literacy training first) • You need other help with domestic violence, mental health, or substance abuse. 3. Assessment When unsubsidized employment is not found within the first three weeks of Job- Club you will attend Vocational Assessment at mid-week of the fourth week. A Voca- tional Assessment will help identify your interests and strengths as well as determine if you have any barriers to finding and/or keeping employment. This information will help the Vocational Assessor develop a personalized Employment Plan. Your personalized Employment Plan will identify the training, subsidized employ- ment, on-the-job training, and other welfare-to-work activities needed to reach your employment goal. Stand Alone Assessment: Stand Alone Assessment is for participants who, dur- ing their appraisal interview or after Job Club are: • Employed full or part time • In a Self Initiated Program (SIP) • In need of a clinical assessment: or • Post Employment Career Assessment for participants who find a full-time job of 32/35 hours or more per week and request Post-Employment Services. 4. Your Welfare to Work Plan and Activities After the assessment you will meet with your Worker, to sign a "welfare to work" plan in which you agree to go to welfare to work activities. The plan must be based on the assessment of your needs and skills. Your plan can include: • Counseling • education and training at adult schools or community colleges, • ESL,math or GED classes, • or other work activities that will help you reach your employment goal. All WTW participants are required to sign a Welfare-to-Work Plan, including those who are employed full-time. 5. Make Job Training Part of Your Welfare to Work Plan You can request that your Employment Plan includes any job skills training of- fered by DPSS or other private or public agencies. You can request the Transitional Subsidized Employment program, in which you are paid to work at a non-profit agency (called Paid Work Experience) or you recieve On-the-Job Training at a for-profit business.DPSS, the community colleges, and adult schools may offer special job training programs for people with limited English-speaking skills. 6. If You Don't Agree On The Welfare to Work Plan If you and the assessor can't agree on the employment plan, you can request an independent "third party assessment" by another agency. DPSS must let you know about the third party assessor when you disagree and must help you with the request. You and DPSS will be bound by what this independent assessor decides. If you disagree with the result of the third party assessment, you may request a fair hearing (see pg.66). If you still think your welfare to work plan will not work for you, you have these op- tions: • Ask for a change within the first three days from the date you signed the plan. • If you have already begun an activity, you have 30 days to request a change to another activity. Your worker must grant your request if the other activ- ity is consistent with your plan and likely to lead to employment. You can request for this grace period only once. 7. Self-Initiated Programs (SIP) For Students Self-Initiated Programs (SIP) is a college or vocational program you chose and began on your own before your first GAIN appointment (appraisal). If on the date of your GAIN appraisal you have already enrolled in either an undergraduate degree or certificate program for school or train- ing, your education or training may count as your GAIN activity. If you already have a 4-year college degree, you cannot do a SIP unless it is for a teaching credential. To continue in a SIP you must be making satisfactory progress toward a degree or certificate that leads to employment. If your approved SIP is interrupted because of a good reason, such as illness, you can go back to that program later, so long as you were in good standing when you left. If your self initiated program takes less than the required number of hours a week, you must also participate in other welfare to work activities to get to the total required number of weekly participation hours.(See pg. 8 ) 8. Help To Keep The Job—Post Employment Services Once you have found a job, GAIN can still help you with money for transportation , training, tools, uniforms, and similar costs. Also you may be able to get two years of child care payments. You must ask for this money to get it. Transitional CalFresh and Medi-Cal: You can continue to get Medi-Cal and CalFresh (food stamps) when you leave CalWORKs. DPSS should send you a notice explaining how this works.