Family Services Program

Refer to Family Services for background information.

Eligibility Criteria

With the exception of the CHSP criteria, FS participants must meet eligibility criteria:

An active CWES registrant, or
In Good Cause Status, or
Exempt Status, or
WTW sanctioned who agree to cure sanction and sign curing sanction plan; or
An active CWES registrant’s family member in the AU, and
Have time remaining on the WTW 24-month time clock.

Family Services Referral

Eligible WTW clients may be referred for FS at any point in the participant flow as follows:

Client request (self-referral)
Service Provider recommendation
Eligibility Worker
Employment Counselor
Social Worker

Family Services Housing Assistance

Housing is a major barrier to WTW participation and family stability. As part of its wrap-around services, the Family Services Program helps eligible CalWORKs families with housing assistance and support. The Family Services Program includes the Family Stabilization Housing Assistance Program, which focuses on homeless prevention, while the CHSP aims to assist families who are already homeless or At-Risk of homelessness by providing housing support. Each of the two housing programs has its own rules and procedures, although some may be the same.

CWES clients who are eligible for either program are referred to the Family Services Unit for housing assistance and support. The first housing program options to be explored with the client is CHSP and the At-Risk (Office of Supportive Housing) Services.

Supplemental Housing Assistance Payments

In coordination with Eligibility Workers, FS Employment Counselors issue supplemental housing assistance payments to eligible CalWORKs families who are in receipt of THA. The Eligibility Worker issues the first homeless assistance payment, followed by the FS EC who issues supplemental payments via the Employment Services Subsystem. Refer to Homeless Assistance Payment Information for the Family Services Supplemental Housing Assistance Payments Process.

CalWORKs Housing Support Program

CHSP is designed to assist eligible CalWORKs families who are experiencing homelessness. This program is separate from the Homeless Assistance that is issued by the Eligibility Worker, and is in addition to the Family Stabilization Housing Assistance program. The FS ES Specialist is to explore CHSP as the primary housing program. The CHSP is included within the menu of services offered through the FS Unit. The FS EC Specialist coordinates these services for eligible CWES participants and initiates the referral to the CHSP service provider. Refer to CalWORKs Housing Support Program for more information.

Cal-OAR Measure

The California Outcomes and Accountability Review (Cal-OAR) includes the Homeless Assistance (HA), both Temporary and Permanent housing, and CHSP. The calculation for the measure is a combined measure for both the HA and CHSP.

Eligibility Workers complete the CalSAWS pages for both HA and CHSP (in CalSAWS that will be the Housing Support Program (HSP) when there is a HA request and the client meets the eligibility criteria listed in Home Visiting Program Benefits and Services Available or Eligible CalWORKs Families. Entries in CalSAWS are as follows:

EW - completes the Homeless-Temp Detail page and process Temporary Homeless Assistance.
EW - adds a Status of "Active" to the Housing Support List and the Begin and Request Date based on the current process.
HSP - adds the Need Category of "Housing Support Program (HSP) and "Approved" Status in the Service Arrangements List page.

Note: Services are defined generally as any initial related HSP services.