Making Satisfactory Progress (MSP) - Unpaid Welfare-to-Work (WTW) Activities

Definition of Unpaid WTW Activities

Unpaid WTW activities are defined as:

• Vocational Training
• ABE
• GED
• ESL
• WEX
• CS
• Job Search and Job Readiness Assistance (Part-Time Job Search, and Supervised Job Search)

Verifying Hours for Unpaid WTW Activities

The SCD 1755A is completed by the client and submitted to the service provider(s) for review and sign-off before it is submitted to the assigned case manager. With the exception of Self-Employment, the assigned case manager reviews the SCD 1755A for completion and enters the actual weekly hours of participation into CalWIN Attendance window.

Reminder: For Self-Employment, actual hours are entered until required to increase earnings. After the one year period to increase earnings, use calculated hours.

Countable Hours for Unpaid WTW Activities

Each month, attendance hours are reported by the client on the SCD 1755A and entered into the CalSAWS Attendance window. Countable hours of unpaid WTW activities that are entered as part of attendance hours include the following:

• The maximum number of hours of combined excused absences and holidays in any given month, for each work-eligible individual, is 16 hours per month. Excused absences could be for the following reasons:
  • Other Non-Approved state holidays
  • Temporary illness of the client
  • Attending to the illness of a client’s family member
  • Job interviews
  • County approved meetings
  • Appointments (e.g. medical, school, counseling, housing or legal)
  • Providing child care when not available
  • Transportation problems
  • Family emergency
  • School breaks up to 16 hours per month.
• Unsupervised study time cannot exceed one hour for each hour of class time and is to be documented recorded on the SCD 1755A, as self-certified by WTW participant.
• Actual hours of supervised study time that is documented and verified by the service provider. Documentation of hours of participation is to be recorded on the SCD 1755A.
• Supervised study time conducted at the library, Employment Connection Centers, school labs, Work to Future Centers, or other approved methods. Documentation of hours of participation is to be recorded on a SCD 1755A.
• Make-up hours in the same month at Employment Connection Centers, school labs, libraries or Work to Future Centers.

Excused Absences

A client may be absent for more than 16 hours per month for good cause; however, only a maximum of 16 hours can be counted monthly as excused absences per federal WPR requirements.

The client must indicate the reason for the absence on the SCD 1755A. The EC must record the absences in CalSAWS as follows:

• A maximum of 16 hours/month in the Excused Absences field,
• If the excused absence exceeds 16 hours/month, document the excused absence in Case Comments.
• For hours that are unexcused, input the hours in the Unexcused Absences field. Excused absences that exceed 16 hours per month are not to be recorded in either CalSAWS field but is documented in case comments.

Ten State-Approved Holidays for Unpaid WTW Activities

The following are the ten state approved holidays, which count towards the combined 16 monthly hours of holiday/excused absences:

• New Year’s Day
• Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday
• President’s Day (Washington’s Birthday)
• Memorial Day
• Independence Day
• Labor Day
• Veteran’s Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• Day after Thanksgiving
• Christmas Day.

In order to count holiday time as actual countable hours of participation, the individual must have been scheduled to participate in the activity for the holiday. The EC must record the number of holiday hours in the Holiday Hours field in the [Attendance] tab in CalSAWS.

Note: Other holidays that are not approved, such as Columbus Day/Indigenous Day, Juneteenth and Cesar Chavez must be recorded as excused absences and/or good cause when the maximum excused absences has been recorded.