Noncompliance - Financial Sanctions

Sanction Rule

A financial sanction must be applied when a mandatory (nonexempt) CalWORKs Employment Services (CWES) client fails or refuses to comply with CWES program requirements, without good cause, and:

• Compliance efforts have failed, or
• The individual has not fulfilled the terms of the written compliance plan that he or she agreed to complete.

To avoid a sanction, the client must agree to enter into a compliance plan within the 20-day period and subsequently complete the plan as required. A sanction will result in a reduction to the family’s grant by removing the non-complying individual from the Assistance Unit (AU) until the client contacts the county to cure their sanction.

90-Day No Sanction Period

No Welfare-to-Work (WTW) financial sanctions may be imposed within the first 90 calendar days from the date that a non-exempt individual is approved for CalWORKs cash aid.  The 90-day no sanction period will begin anew if an individual leaves CalWORKs cash aid and later reapplies for CalWORKs.  Associate Employment Counselors (AECs)/Employment Counselors (ECs) may initiate noncompliance during the 90-day no sanction period when a client has failed or refused to comply with CWES program requirements; however, no WTW sanction is to be implemented until after the 90-day window expires.

Note: The 90-day No Sanction Period applies to new or re-applying participants.  A participant who is actively sanctioned must still successfully cure the sanction by engaging in the simplified curing process.

Reminder: An exempt volunteer who is not in compliance with CWES is exempt from the 90-Day No Sanction Period.

Sanction Period

There is no minimum sanction period to cure financial sanctions. A client who is financially sanctioned may contact the county and request to cure his or her sanction, at any time, regardless of the number of times they are sanctioned.

Time Excluded from 60-Month Limit

Any month in which a client is under a sanction and removed from the AU will not count as a month toward the 60-month time limit.

Sanction Effective Date

The WTW sanction effective date is the first day of the calendar month following the date the individual is discontinued from cash aid, provided that timely and adequate notification has been issued.

Exception: When an individual meets CWES program requirements prior to the effective discontinuance date, the financial sanction is not imposed. [Refer to "Stopping a Sanction Before Financial Penalty" for additional information]

Determining Who to Sanction

During the sanction period, aid must be discontinued for the individual, depending upon the relationship of the non-complying individual to the AU.

The spouse or second parent in a two-parent case will not be sanctioned along with the CWES registrant until he/she has gone through their own noncompliance process and is subsequently removed from the AU on their own sanction.

Child Care Requirements Prior to Imposing a WTW Sanction

AECs/ECs are required, prior to imposing WTW sanctions, to provide all eligible clients with the CalWORKs Child Care Request Form and Child Care Payment Rules (CCP 7) and Notice of Action - Child Care Approval (NA 832) forms.  If the client is eligible for child care, the AEC/EC must also ensure that the child care has been secured.

Securing Child Care Prior to Mandating WTW Participation

AECs/ECs cannot mandate clients to participate in WTW activities until it is confirmed that participants who are eligible for, and have requested, child care have secured it.  The term "secured" means that the participant has found a child care provider who has enrolled their child and that can provide appropriate care during the hours needed by the parent to participate in activities.  If a WTW participant is eligible for child care, indicates a need, and has not secured suitable child care, they are considered to have good cause for non-participation and cannot be sanctioned.

Note: Senate Bill (SB) 119 does not affect existing timelines and guidelines for securing suitable child care.  Clients are still allowed up to 30 calendar days to secure child care before participation in early engagement activities becomes mandatory.