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Family Reunification (AB 429) Program Overview
AB 429 provides for the continuation of CalWORKs services for the parents of children who have been removed from the home and are receiving out-of-home care. These cases are referred to as FR (AB 429) cases.
Note: The receipt of CWES does NOT include a CalWORKs cash grant.
CalWORKs services include WTW activities, including mental health and substance abuse treatment or any other activities allowable under CalWORKs, including supportive services.
Note: Once a common DFCS/CWES case is identified, staff must start entering their documentation under CalWORKs Common Case Type in the Maintain Case Comment window of CalWIN.
Eligibility
In order to continue receiving CalWORKs Employment Services, the parent or parents must meet ALL of the following conditions:
- The child(ren) has been removed from the parent and placed in out-of-home care and there is a reunification plan, and
- The AU MUST be receiving CalWORKs assistance at the time the child is removed, and
- The DFCS SW has determined that CWES is necessary for family reunification.
Parents who:
- Receive SSI,
- Are undocumented noncitizens,
- Are fleeing felons, or
- Have reached their CalWORKs time-on aid limit are NOT eligible to receive CalWORKs FR services. Parents who are sanctioned may participate in FR (AB 429) services immediately, regardless of how long they have been sanctioned.
Families where some, but not all, of the children were removed from the home, may also become reunification families. The reunification plan may be necessary in order to provide CWES services when the remaining AU members have income that results in financial ineligibility (continue to include entire AU members in the budget). In these CalWORKs reunification cases, child care services are available for the children remaining in the home.
Note: If the AU consists of children that are not removed from the home and continues to be financially eligible for a CalWORKs cash grant, these individuals would not be considered a reunification family. The family will continue to receive a cash grant and services and is subject to all the CalWORKs eligibility and CWES requirements. Good cause can be granted if a client’s participation in FR activities interferes with the individual’s ability to participate in CWES activities for the required number of hours.
Case Status
In a CalWORKs FR case, the eligible child(ren) is considered temporarily absent from the home and the CalWORKs case remains open with a reassigned aid code of 4P or 4R.
Cash Aid Benefits
Although CalWORKs reunification families are eligible for CWES, they will no longer receive a cash grant when all the children have been removed from the home or if the remaining AU members become financially ineligible.
Example: A child is removed from the home August 10. The family is eligible to receive the full grant for August which included the removed child’s needs. If there are other eligible children in the home, the child who was removed is discontinued from the case as of August 31st.
Special Needs
Reunification cases experiencing homelessness may be eligible for temporary homeless assistance, if it is determined that these benefits are necessary for reunification and the family is otherwise eligible (i.e., they are homeless and have no more than $100 in available liquid resources). DFCS staff making the determination for the need of homeless services in the reunification plan should coordinate closely with the CalWORKs eligibility staff to ensure these families can access temporary homeless assistance as appropriate.
Although CalWORKs reunification families may be eligible for special needs such as homeless assistance, these AUs are not eligible to other special needs, such as pregnancy, because these payments are considered cash assistance. The CalWORKs AU may be evaluated for permanent homeless assistance once the children have been returned to the home and are added back into the CalWORKs AU.
DFCS Social Worker (SW)
When the DFCS SW becomes aware that the family receives CalWORKs, they will consider whether the continuation of CWES is necessary for the family to reunify. The DFCS SW
will complete the SCD/SCZ 1811 and email it to the CommonCase@ssa.sccgov.org mailbox. Any documentation made to FR/Common Cases must be documented under the CalWORKs Common Case Type in the Maintain Case Comment window of CalWIN.
Semi-Annual Reporting
FR (AB 429) families are not required to submit a “Semi-Annual Report” (SAR 7) for CalWORKS; however, a SAR 7 will be required if the household continues to receive CalFresh. If a change is reported mid-cycle for CalFresh that results in ineligibility for CalWORKs, mid-cycle action would not be taken. The earliest opportunity to discontinue the CalWORKs case due to ineligibility will be at the end of the current cycle.
Eligibility Redetermination
Although the CalWORKs reunification parents are not required to provide a SAR 7, an eligibility redetermination must be made at six-month intervals in coordination with the county review of the reunification plan. If the children are returned to the home before or after the six-month period, an eligibility redetermination must be done in order to issue cash benefits. All forms that are required at a redetermination must be completed.
Family Reunited CalWORKs Benefits
Once the child has been returned to the home and the family is determined eligible for cash aid, the current EW will change the aid type to the appropriate cash aid type and begin paying cash assistance. The client is not required to go through intake. Since the CalWORKs case remains open for FR (AB 429) with no grant, the children cannot be added back to the CalWORKs case until the 1st of the month following their return to the home; however, if the CW case was discontinued, the family will begin receiving their cash grant from the date of application, if eligible.
Reminder: FR cases are always considered recipient families.
Family Reunited CWES Case
Once the child has been returned to the home and the family is eligible for cash aid, the indicator code on the AB 429 Common Case is updated to identify the case as FM. A new/amended WTW Plan is required.
Extension of the 180-Day Period
A reunification family can be granted a good cause extension of CWES services for a Common case beyond the 180-day period for the following situations:
- If the extension is for the number of days between the date of removal and the court ordered reunification plan.
- DFCS determines that additional time is needed to complete the court ordered plan.
- The court determines that additional time is needed to complete the court ordered plan.
Note: If the court determines that a reunification plan is not possible, then the family is not eligible for reunification services and the CalWORKs case must be discontinued unless there are other CalWORKs eligible children remaining in the home.
CWES Volunteers
If a client has an exemption which does not require him/her to participate in CWES activities, he/she may choose to volunteer to participate in CWES activities.
Notice of Action (NOA)
“Welfare to Work FR Plan” (WTW 34) is an informing notice that tells parents that their cash aid has been reduced because all their children have been removed from the home, the county has determined that they may continue to receive WTW activities and supportive services because those services will assist the family to reunify, and that those services will be provided under the FR Plan, WTW Plan, or both.
The Partnership EC must mail the WTW 34 to the FR client at the time of approval when a FR (AB 429) Plan is adopted in lieu of the WTW Plan, or in other words, the WTW 34 notice must be mailed when there is no WTW Plan signed by the client and supportive services are paid for DFCS activities based on the FR Plan.
CWES Sanctioned Clients
Individuals who are currently serving a CWES or child support sanction are encouraged to cure the CalWORKs sanction. The client will be referred to an Orientation for WTW sanction lift. After the Orientation completion, the client will be assigned to the Partnership EC. The DFCS activities are included in the integrated WTW plan.
AB 429 sanctioned clients are directly assigned to Partnership EC. The Partnership EC will obtain the SCD 1811 from the DFCS social worker, update CalWIN with the DFCS activities, pay supportive services, and issue the WTW 34 approval notice.
Note: In CalWIN: The Partnership EC will change the Sanction status to Curing Sanction and document Maintain Case Comments that this client is a common case client under AB 429.
In order to pay supportive services through CalWIN, the client is placed in a Curing Sanction status. Once the FR plan is completed and the child(ren) is returned to the home, the family may request to have CalWORKs for the family. If the parent did not follow through with the curing sanction plan, a new curing sanction plan is required.
CWES Noncooperation
Individuals who fail to participate in CWES activities or any other activity required under the FR plan are not subject to the non-compliance or sanction process. CWES will continue to offer supportive services for activities that are part of the FR plan when the client continues to attend the DFCS activities until the plan is terminated by DFCS.
Note: The Partnership EC must inform the DFCS social worker of the client’s non-compliance, keep the CWES case open, and pay supportive services for the activities the client actually attends, with proper verification, until the DFCS social worker determines the FR case is closed.
Good Cause
An individual required to participate in other activities as a requirement of family reunification which interferes with the client’s ability to meet the CWES hours of participation requirement must be granted good cause for not participating in his/her activity.
WTW Plan
WTW services may be given based only on the FR Plan in lieu of the WTW Plan; however, this doesn’t preclude the FR client from later participating in WTW activities. FR (AB 429) clients have the option to develop or amend a WTW Plan.
CalWORKs Case Closings
If a CalWORKs case is closed due to the removal of a child from the home and it is later determined the family is eligible for FR services, a new application may not be required. The eligibility for FR services is based on the CalWORKs case status at the time the child(ren) was removed from the home.
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The case has been closed less than 30 days, |
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The case has been closed past 30 days, |
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The assigned EW must assign the proper FR (AB 429) aid code and align the 6-month redetermination with the court’s 6 month review.
Child Placed with a Relative
If a child is placed with a relative who then applies for aid for that child, aid can be granted based on the date of application in the month following the month the child was removed from their parent’s home.
A child was removed from the home on 7/15/12.
- The cash aid is be stopped until 7/31/12.
- The caretaker relative could begin receiving cash aid for the child on 8/1/12.
- The parents of the child are eligible to receive CWES services under the FR program even if someone else is receiving cash assistance for the child.
Cal-Learn Teens
If a Cal-Learn teen meets the requirements for reunification services then he/she is eligible to continue participating in the Cal-Learn Program and receive Cal-Learn case management services as part of their FR plan, this would include nested teens in AUs that remain financially eligible for a CalWORKs grant.
Cal-Learn reunification parents are eligible to receive supportive services in order to attend school as well as the $500 graduation bonus. Cal-Learn reunification parents are not eligible for the $100 satisfactory progress bonus nor can they be sanctioned for failure to make adequate progress or to submit a report card.
Note: In order to better serve the Cal-Learn teen, these cases will remain with the Cal-Learn case manager and not transfer to the Partnership EC. The DFCS activities and the Cal-Learn activities are integrated in the WTW Plan and the teen receives supportive services for these activities.
CalWORKs 60-Month Clock
The months that reunification families only receive supportive services will not count toward the CalWORKs 60-month TOA clock.
Exception: If client receives THA, months will count towards the CalWORKs TOA clock.
Related Topics
Family Reunification (AB 429) Program Overview