Are You Eligible?
CalWORKs is California's welfare program for people who have children under 19 years old. CalWORKs provides money for children and the relatives caring for them. Work and training are required of most adults. Most adults can only get CalWORKs cash aid for sixty months in a lifetime. If you qualify for cash aid, you are also entitled to Medi-Cal for health care and food stamps. In Los Angeles County, the welfare agency is called DPSS. Children and the adult relatives who care for them can get cash aid.
Both one parent and two-parent families can get cash aid. In two-parent families, one of the parents must be disabled or have worked less than 100 hours in the last four weeks before applying for cash aid. Children must live with a related adult and be 18 years old or under. 18 year olds can get cash aid until their 19th birthday IF: They are likely to graduate from high school or vocational school on or before their 19th birthday OR: They are disabled and the disability resulted in them not being able to graduate on or before their 19th birthday.
Applicants for cash aid (or those who have not yet applied for cash aid) can not have "too much" income. Their countable income must be below the Maximum Aid Payment ("MAP"). Countable income means what you have left after deductions, and some other types of income.
If you are receiving cash aid, or contemplating applying for cash aid, and are interested in obtaining education and training towards a career, please contact the staff in the CalWORKs office at (626) 852-8023 so that we may answer any questions or concerns you may have about the application process.