Self-Initiated Program (SIP) Approvals

Definitions

For purposes of meeting the SIP criteria, for ongoing approvals, the following definitions apply:

• “The time the recipient is required to participate” means the date the orientation/appraisal takes place.
• “Enrolled” means that an individual has applied for and has been accepted into a private for-profit postsecondary educational institution and continues to meet and fulfill all conditions imposed by the institution offering the program to maintain current enrollment status.

Refer to Self-Initiated Program (SIP) Not Approved (SNA) for additional information on SNA.

Approval Criteria

A client who requests that their SIP be approved must meet all the following criteria:

• Provide written verification of enrollment in an approved program at the time of the Welfare-to-Work (WTW) Orientation and Appraisal.
• Written verification must identify a major area of study that will lead to an undergraduate degree or certificate that leads to employment.
• The participant is making satisfactory progress in the program.

Note: Any individual who possesses a baccalaureate degree will not be eligible to participate in a SIP unless the individual is pursuing a California regular classroom teaching credential in a private for-profit college or university with an approved teacher credential preparation program.

• The institution must be accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Schools (ACS), Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) or approved/exempted by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (MPP 42-701; MPP 42-711).
• SIP is on the County’s approved Education or Training Program Matrix; Programs not listed on the Matrix may be approved if the participant provides any labor market information that supports the training/education will lead to employment.

Note: A SIP request that does not meet this criteria may be considered as a SNA for a limited period of time.

Refer to Self-Initiated Program (SIP) Not Approved.

Prior CalWORKs SIP

A client may be approved for a SIP more than once when there has been a break in cash aid for more than 30 days, and the client meets the SIP criteria at the time of the WTW Orientation and Appraisal.

Marketable Skills

A SIP cannot be denied even if the client already has marketable skills which would allow him or her to obtain a job.

Cal-Learn

Cal-Learn students already enrolled in a degree or certificate program at the time they are required to attend a CalWORKs Employment Services orientation/appraisal, may have a SIP approved provided that all SIP approval criteria are met.

Required Hours of Participation

The weekly participation requirement for a SIP is an average of 30 hours per week, with some exceptions.

For one-parent Assistance Units (AUs), the SIP participation requirement is 30 hours per week. And when the:

• Individual has a 20-hour weekly participation requirement; the SIP requirement is 20 hours per week.
• Household has a 35-hour participation requirement, then the SIP requirement for the first parent is 30 hours per week, which means that the remainder of the hours can be met by the SIP parent, or shared by the other non-SIP parent in the home.

Supervised Study Time

Structured or supervised study/homework time, hereafter referred to as supervised study time, is done in a location such as a structured academic setting, where the student is also supervised by designated staff. The study is embedded within WTW activities for any school that provides a structured setting for studying.  Supervised study time is based on the actual verified hours the SIP participant spends in supervised study.  The actual hours of supervised study time must be documented and verified by the educational institution.  

Unsupervised Study Time

Non-credit study time is also referred to as unstructured or unsupervised study/homework time, hereafter referred to as unsupervised study time, where the student studies in a location that is not a structured academic setting where the student is also not supervised by designated staff.

Hours assigned as unsupervised study time cannot exceed one hour for each hour of class time. Unsupervised Study time is embedded within the WTW activity.

Note: Unsupervised study time is in addition to supervised study time.

Reminder: The total hours of assigned supervised and unsupervised study times must not exceed the hours required or advised by the education program. 

30 Calendar Days

Clients have 30 calendar days from the date the WTW Plan is signed to increase the number of hours to come into compliance with the hourly requirement. The assigned Case Manager (CM) Employment Counselor (EC) must indicate this requirement in the “Comments Section” of the Welfare-to-Work Plan Activity Assignment (WTW 2) for the client to increase hours to the required minimum hours.

Example: A single parent with a child age 7 is attending DeVry University.  The client’s class time is 12 hours per week which allows for a maximum of 12 hours per week of unsupervised study time. The class instructor does not provide structured study time. The client selects the maximum of 12 hours of unsupervised study time. Within 30 days the client obtains employment at 6 hours per week, meeting the weekly participation requirement of 30 hours per week.

2-Parent Families Where Both Are SIP

The 35-hour participation requirement cannot be shared when each parent in a two-parent household is participating as a SIP, because per SIP rules, each parent is subject to the 30-hour weekly SIP participation requirement, unless one parent is an exempt volunteer.

Example: Both dad and mom are mandatory participants attending Unitek College. The dad and mom are each enrolled in classes totaling 12 hours per week, including each participating 6 hours per week of supervised study time. Each client selects 12 hours per week of unsupervised study time. The total countable hours for each client are 30, each meeting the SIP requirement of 30 hours per week.

2-Parent Families Where One Is SIP

When one parent is in SIP status, that parent has an individual SIP requirement of 30 hours per week. The remainder of the 35 hours must be met by either the individual in a SIP or the other parent in the household. If the other parent who is not in SIP status is exempt (other than disability), then the SIP individual must participate in an additional 5 hours, unless the exempt individual chooses to volunteer for 5 hours.

Example: Mom is exempt due to providing care to their 6-month child and dad is mandatory. The dad attends Carrington College and has a SIP requirement of 30 hours per week. His weekly class time is 12 hours per week with 6 hours per week of supervised study time. He selects the 12 hours per week of unsupervised study time. Within 30 days, he finds a college work study job working 5 hours per week, where he now meets the 30-hour per week SIP requirement, and 35-hour per week Two Parent requirement.

12-Month VTR Clock

For the federal Work Participation Rate (WPR) mandatory individuals in SIP or SNA status are subject to the 12-Month lifetime Vocational Training (VTR) Clock.

New Plan After 30 Days

The client has 30 days to increase their hours and complete a new WTW plan.

Distance Learning/Online Courses

Online courses are a distance learning method. Clients enrolled as a SIP are allowed to enroll in online courses and are subject to Making Satisfactory Progress (MSP) requirements. Educational institutions must be accredited to offer online courses.

Unsupervised study time is allowed for distance learning, which includes online classes. The student should provide school documentation of recommended/required class time hours, which will become the basis for the maximum number of hours for unsupervised study time.

Allowable Concurrent Activities

Concurrent WTW activities that can be counted towards meeting the SIP weekly participation requirements include, but are not limited to:

• Work Experience
• Community Service
• Activities that are embedded as part of a SIP
• Supervised/Unsupervised Study Time
• Laboratory
• Internship or Externship
• Work Study
• Employment
• Elective and remedial classes (such as foreign language, structured Home Room, computer classes, and general education requirements) must be counted if they count toward the degree or certificate
• Special classes or tutorials deemed necessary by an educational institution for learning-disabled individuals.

Note: Clients participating in Work Study, Laboratory, or any other non-classroom activities must provide appropriate signature verification with their Attendance Report each month to document that hours were completed.

Required Forms to Verify SIP Enrollment

The EC must issue the following form to verify SIP enrollment, as appropriate:

• The WTW Appointment Notice (SCD 1783) is a return appointment notice. The form is to be hand-issued or mailed to the client as a reminder for a return appointment to meet with their worker, to provide appropriate verifications, or to sign a WTW 2. The form provides a checklist of verifications needed.