CalWORKs Referral Criteria

EAS 82-508

Who is Referred

A referral to the DCSS for securing child/medical support from the parent(s) is required when aid is requested for:

A child whose parent(s) is absent from the home.
- Note: When CalWORKs is paid only for the parent/caretaker relative of an SSI/SSP child, the absent parent(s) of that SSI/SSP child are NOT referred to the DCSS. The CalSAWS Absent Parents page must be completed to establish that deprivation exists for the SSI/SSP child; however, it should be documented in the Journal Detail page that the child is SSI/SSP. If the caretaker wishes to have the DCSS involved in the child support process for that SSI/SSP child, refer that individual directly to DCSS at 880 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose, CA 95131. DCSS considers these cases to be "Non-Welfare" cases.
A minor parent who is NOT living with both senior parents. The senior parent(s) not living in the home with the minor parent must be referred to the DCSS.
A child whose parent(s) is deceased, but death is unverified.
A child whose parents are unmarried and for whom paternity has never been established either by COURT ORDER or a voluntary Declaration of Paternity which has been signed and filed appropriately.
- Reminder: A "Declaration of Paternity" (CS 909) OR a "Notice and Agreement for Child, Spousal and Medical Support" (CW 2.1 N&A) and "Support Questionnaire" (CW 2.1Q) is required when both unmarried parents are living in the home and paternity has not previously been established (i.e., an unemployed parent case with unmarried parents where both parents are in the home).

Who is NOT Referred

EAS 82-504

All AUs are subject to Child Support enforcement with the following exceptions:

Pregnant Woman Only (AU of 1) or
Pregnant Minor Parent or
Both married (natural or adoptive) parents of the child(ren) are living in the home or
Single Parent Adoptions or
Deceased parents or
Both unmarried parents live in the home and paternity HAS been established either by COURT ORDER or a voluntary Declaration of Paternity which has been signed and filed appropriately or
Non-minor dependents age <19 or
Non-minor dependents residing with his/her child in FC or
Single-Parent Families (aid code K1) and Two-Parent Families (aid code 3F) for Safety Net, and Fleeing Felon cases. Cases with these aid codes are no longer required to assign support rights or cooperate with child support requirements as a condition of eligibility for CalWORKs.

Deferral of Referral for Pregnant Women

A referral for child support and/or to establish paternity is NOT made for pregnant women or for pregnant minor mothers until after the child is born.

The following rules apply:

Child support or paternity referrals are NOT made on the absent/unmarried parent of an unborn child until after the child is born.
Child support or paternity referrals are made on the absent/unmarried parent of other eligible children in the Assistance Unit. This rule applies, regardless of whether the absent/unmarried parent of the other eligible children is the same, or different, parent of the unborn.
The EW must not require the recipient to provide the child support information for the unborn until after the child is born.
The CalSAWS Absent Parents page must still be completed.

ExampleExample A pregnant woman gives birth to her newborn on July 5, 2008. A referral for child support is made as part of the process of adding the newborn to the AU.

When to Make a Child Support Referral

A child support referral to the DCSS for obtaining child support and/or establishing paternity is made at the following times:

When approving the CalWORKs application, unless this is a restoration with less than a one calendar month break in aid.
When adding a newborn to the Assistance Unit.
When restoring or adding an eligible child to the AU who has not been referred in the previous 12 months.
At redetermination, if:
- There is new information on a parent previously referred.
- An absent parent has not been previously referred.
- The previous DCSS case has been closed more than one year.
When CalWORKs deprivation changes to absent parent from any other basis of deprivation. ExampleExample The unemployed father leaves the home and deprivation changes from unemployed parent deprivation to absent parent deprivation.
When a child was born prior to 1997 and the parents were unmarried at the time of the child’s conception (this applies to paternity referrals only).

FRED Referrals

The EW must also make a referral to the District Attorney’s FRED division when, during the child support referral process for an applicant, it is determined that:

The father of the child(ren) for whom aid is requested is "unknown."
The whereabouts of the absent parent(s) is unknown.