Domestic Abuse Exemption/Extender

60-Month Time Limit

Exemption

Active CalWORKs clients approved for a DA exemption will not have their TOA counted against their CalWORKs 60-month time limit.

Extender

Previous CalWORKs clients who have been aided as adults for 60 cumulative months may receive CalWORKs beyond the 60-month time limit when the client is a victim or a survivor of past or present DA, are granted good cause, and are otherwise eligible for aid but for the time limit. Individuals may qualify for an extender at any time after being discontinued.

The TOA extender begins:

For a Safety Net case, the first of the month, following the month verification is received, or the first of the following payment period if it results in a grant decrease. Refer to Adding Persons to the AU and Beginning Date of Aid.
The date of re-application for a family applying for cash aid, or the date verification is provided, whichever is later.

Refer to Chapter 43 Time Limits for more detailed information regarding TOA exemptions/extenders.

Coding TOA Exemptions in CalSAWS

An individual approved for a TOA exemption/extender due to DA is also exempt from WTW participation.

To record the DA exemption/extender correctly in CalSAWS, the EW must take the following actions prior to running EDBC/authorizing results:

DA Exemption

If the EW initiated the DA referral, then the EW will revise the “Domestic Abuse” case flag’s end date to match the end date that is listed on the CalWORKs Domestic Abuse Participation Status (SCD 1554).
CalSAWS runs daily and monthly batch jobs to add the Good Cause exemption to the time limits when the WTW program is in good cause status, so the EW does not need to take any action. However, for DA waivers granted retroactively, the EW must manually enter the DA time limit exemption in CalSAWS as follows:
- On the Statewide Cash Aid Time Limits (SCATL) Program Detail page, select “Good Cause” from the Exception Type drop-down list.
- Select “401 - 60 Month Limit” from the Exception Reason drop-down list, then click Save.
- Important: If the client receives a Good Cause exemption before the case reaches an AEC/EC, the EW must also follow the manual steps above.

DA Extender

If the EW initiated the DA referral, then the EW will revise the “Domestic Abuse” case flag’s end date to match the end date that is listed on the SCD 1554.
The CalSAWS batch jobs to add the Good Cause exemption to the time limits are for clients who still have time on their clocks. If the client is timed out, the EW must manually enter the DA time limit extension in CalSAWS as follows:
- On the Time Limit Summary page, go to the Time Limit Extension Request section and click Add.
- Fill out the required fields, select “605 - CW - Domestic Abuse Good Cause” from the Reason Code drop-down list, then click Save.
- Update the Status from “Pending” to “Approved”, then click Save again.

For AEC/EC actions, refer to CWES Handbook Welfare-to-Work (WTW) Waiver Time Frames.

TOA Exemption Priority

The DA exemption takes precedence over all other exemptions.

When a DA waiver/exemption expires and will not be extended, the EW must review the case for any other exemption for which the client may qualify. If the client does not meet any other exemption criteria, EDBC must be run, since the client is a mandatory registrant.

Reminder: The DA exemption stops the 60-month CalWORKs clock, and the SCATL Program Calendar and Program List page should display as "Exempt" under the CalWORKs column.