Federal/State Declared Disasters - Applications

• Homeless evacuees must be informed of their option to apply for temporary and permanent housing assistance. Temporary homeless assistance may be granted to apparently eligible applicant families prior to the final determination of eligibility.
• Applicant families who have already received homeless assistance in the last 12 months are entitled to an exception to the once every 12-month time limit. When the homelessness is the direct and primary result of a state or federally declared disaster, all 16 days of temporary homeless assistance may be issued in one lump sum payment. Once the family is approved for CalWORKs, referrals to additional programs like the CalWORKs HSP or other homeless services available in the community should be made.

Refer to Homeless Assistance. 

Recipients may be eligible for nonrecurring special needs payments due to emergencies resulting from sudden and unusual circumstances beyond the control of the family, such as damage to or loss of shelter or belongings as a result of the disaster.

Funds may be used to repair or replace clothing or household equipment, or repair damage to the home.  The total amount paid for household emergencies must not exceed $600 for each incident.

A family is ineligible for a nonrecurring special needs payment if they have over $100 in nonexempt liquid resources, with the exception of funds deposited in a restricted account (with the exception of homeless assistance).

Applicants are in an emergency situation and should be evaluated for an immediate need payment. Emergencies include, but are not limited to, a lack of housing, food, or transportation. Applicants seeking an immediate need payment must not have liquid resources of a value that could be converted to cash in time to meet the immediate need. Many evacuees of a disaster will not have time to convert resources to cash prior to or after evacuation.

Refer to Immediate Need. 

The written statement of the applicant is acceptable to establish the intention to reside in California and in the county of application for the foreseeable future. For example, many evacuees may wish to return to their home counties once it is allowable, safe, and feasible to do so, but are unlikely to know when (or if) that will occur. In these cases, neighboring counties should accept applications, carry the case if approved, and initiate inter-county transfers to the home disaster county if appropriate.
Receipt of an aid payment at an address outside of California for two consecutive months or longer must not be considered evidence of the recipient's intent to move out of state if their return to California is prevented by displacement due to an emergency situation.

Refer to Residence. 

Due to a disaster, some evacuees may not have income that can be anticipated. Reasonably anticipated income is defined as income expected to be available to or received by an applicant/recipient, and available to meet their needs during the SAR or AR/CO payment period. It is expected that some evacuees, due to the disaster, will no longer have income that can be reasonably anticipated.

Note: For refugee families applying for CalWORKs, the Receptions and Placement (R&P) income may or may not be counted depending on the method of disbursement by the Resettlement Agency. However, if the R&P income is counted as income in the month received and the applicant is found to be ineligible for CalWORKs due to R&P income, then a determination of RCA/ECA must be completed.

Refer to Availability of Income.

Many evacuees will not be able to access, occupy, or sell their property at the time of application.The applicant’s ability and circumstances in meeting the property requirements shall be taken into consideration and EWs will make a good faith effort to assist the applicant to obtain needed verification or accept a statement signed under penalty of perjury.

Refer to Availability and Inaccessibility.

If an evacuee family member expects to reunite with the applicant family within one full calendar month, consider that member to be temporarily absent from his/her family.

Existing CalWORKs recipients can maintain a home in a county different from the county where they are physically residing if they intend to return to that home within four months.

Refer to Temporary Absence.

Many families are in a state of crisis and will not be able to participate in Welfare-to-Work (WTW) activities. To ensure these families receive appropriate assistance, EWs should make a WTW good cause exemption determination. This should be completed at the eligibility determination so that families are not needlessly required to attend a WTW orientation and appraisal. All good cause determinations or WTW exemptions are made on a case-by-case basis

If an applicant or recipient expresses the need for CalWORKs barrier removal services, such as mental health services, HSP or temporary homeless assistance, refer them to CWES who will provide these services as expeditiously as possible.

Refer to CalWORKs Employment Services Program.