Disability Benefits 101: working with a disability in California
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Glossary: CalWORKs
<< Prev | All Topics | AB 925 | ADAP | Benefits at 18 | CalWORKs | CAPI | COBRA | Earned Income Tax Credit | Group Health | Group Disability | Group Life | HIPAA | IDAs | IHSS | Long Term Disability | Medi-Cal | Medi-Cal/HIPP | Medicare | PASS | Pell Grants | PAPs | Private Medical Insurance | SDI | Short Term Disability | SSI | SSDI | TANF | Ticket to Work | Work Opportunity Tax Credit | Workplace Personal Assistance | Youth | Next >>
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A

Adult Basic Education

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Classes offered to CalWORKs recipients that provide basic reading, writing, and math skills.

Ancillary Services

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Protective shoes, clothing, tools, fees, or other services necessary for work.
B

Benefits Planner

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Someone who can help you understand or apply for benefit programs when you become disabled or turn 65. Their goal is to help you avoid financial complications while developing a sustainable plan for the future.
C

CalWORKs Residency Requirement

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To be eligible for CalWORKs, You must be a U.S. citizen, Qualified Alien or someone Permanently Residing Under Color of Law (PRUCOL).

Community Service

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Temporary or transitional work that is performed in the public or private nonprofit sector that provides the Welfare-to-Work participant with job skills that can lead to employment.

Community Work Incentives Coordinator (CWIC)

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The federal government pays benefits planners in communities around the country to help people think ahead about work incentives and benefits issues. CWIC'S are benefits planners who are trained by the Social Security Administration to assist beneficiaries with programs including Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) in addition to other related programs.

Custodial Parent

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A parent that lives with the child.
D

Deemed Income

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The amount of another person’s income – spouse, sponsor, sponsor’s spouse, parent – that is considered to belong to the individual regardless of whether the person receives this money.

Disability (Definition used by CalWORKs)

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A condition that is expected to last at least 30 days and that significantly impairs the individual’s ability to be regularly employed or participate in Welfare-to-Work activities.

To qualify for an exemption from Welfare-to-Work activities due to a disability, a CalWORKs recipient must provide verification from a physician that states the disability, its expected duration, and the extent to which it impairs employment and/or Welfare-to-Work activities. The individual must also actively seek medical treatment to qualify for an exemption.

Domestic Abuse

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Assaultive or coercive behavior that includes: physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, economic control, isolation, stalking, and threats.

Domestic Violence Survivors

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Individuals who have endured domestic abuse.
E

Earned Income (EI)

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Salaries, wages, tips, professional fees and other amounts received as pay for physical or mental work actually performed. Funds received from any other source are not included. (Contrast unearned income.)

Exempt

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When a CalWORKs recipient is not required to participate in the Welfare-to-Work Program.
F

Federal Poverty Level (FPL)

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A table of income amounts used to determine financial eligibility for federal and state programs. Each year, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issues the Federal Poverty GuidelinesOffsite Link in the Federal Register. The Federal Poverty Level for one person is $10,400. For each additional person, add $3,480. For Medi-Cal programs, these figures go into effect in March or April of each year.

Full-Scope Medi-Cal

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Complete medical services offered to beneficiaries such as:
  • Inpatient hospital services (tests, surgeries, procedures)
  • Outpatient hospital services
  • Physician services
  • Medical and surgical dental services
  • Nursing services
  • Home health care
  • Family planning and supplies
  • Rural health clinic and ambulatory services
  • Laboratory and x-ray services
  • Pediatric and family nurse practitioner services
  • Nurse-midwife services
  • Early and periodic screening
  • Diagnosis and treatment (EPSDT) services
  • Prenatal and delivery services
  • Ambulatory services for individuals in an institution
  • Home health services
  • Clinic services
  • Nursing facility services (under 21 years old)
  • Intermediate care facility/mentally retarded services
  • Optometrist services and eyeglasses
  • Prescribed medication
  • TB-related services for TB infected persons
  • Prosthetic devices
  • Dental services
  • Preventative and rehabilitative services
  • Case management
  • Private duty nursing
  • Home respiratory care services
  • Personal care services
  • Home and community based waivers
  • Medical equipment and appliances
  • Diagnostic screening
G

General Relief/General Assistance (GR/GA)

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A county program that provides relief to those who are unable to support themselves by their own means, or by friends or relatives, other public funds, or other assistance programs.

Gross Income

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Income before taxes and other deductions are made.
M

Maximum Aid Payment (MAP)

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Amount of cash aid a CalWORKs applicant is eligible for based on family size. Families who do not have any earned or unearned income are considered exempt and will receive a higher cash payment.

Minimum Basic Standards of Adequate Care (MBSAC)

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A tool used by California’s Department of Social Services to determine CalWORKs eligibility.
O

On-the-Job Training (OJT)

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An employment activity under the Welfare-to-Work Program that provides skills to CalWORKs participants. An employer in the public or private sector can receive compensation for On-the-Job Training of a CalWORKs recipient.
R

Resources

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Accessible cash resources that include: individual/joint checking and savings accounts, retirement accounts, stocks, bonds, mining rights and cash value in a life insurance policy.
S

Sanction

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A financial penalty imposed on an individual who is not following the requirements of the Welfare-to-Work Program.

Satisfactory Participation

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Regular attendance and satisfactory progress in the Welfare-to-Work and Cal-Learn programs. In the Cal-Learn program, satisfactory progress is considered a grade point average of 2.0

Self-Initiated Program

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Full-time vocational training or education that also fulfills the work activity requirements under the Welfare-to-Work Program. The training or program must be expected to be completed within 24 months and take place at an approved school.

Special Need Payment

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A one-time cash payment to homeless CalWORKs families for temporary or permanent housing.

Sponsor

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A person who, by signing an affidavit of support, agrees to support an immigrant as a condition of the immigrant’s admission for permanent residence in the U.S.

Subsidized Employment (Public & Private)

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Employment in which the CalWORKs program partially or fully reimburses a Welfare-to-Work participant’s employer for wages and/or training.
U

Unearned Income (UI)

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Funds received from sources for which no paid work activity was performed. (Examples: Disability benefits such as SDI, SSDI, SSI, STD, and LTD; income from a trust or investment, dividends, profits, or funds received from any source other than work are all examples of unearned income.)

Unemployed

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CalWORKs generally defines unemployed as having worked less than 100 hours in the previous 4 weeks. In a two parent household, one of the parents can work more than 100 per month so long as the family income after deductions (countable income) is below the income limit for the program.

Uninhabitable Residence

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A home that is unfit for living.

Unsubsidized Employment

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Employment that is not reimbursed to an employer by the CalWORKs Program.
W

Welfare-to-Work Activities

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Activities that meet the Welfare-to-Work requirement. Most CalWORKs recipients must participate in 20 hours of core activities. Your county may include all or some of the following as acceptible core activities:
  • Subsidized or unsubsidized employment
  • Work experience
  • On-the-job training
  • Work-study
  • Self-employment
  • Community service
  • Vocational education and training
  • Job search and job readiness assistance

The rest of the Welfare-to-Work requirement can be fulfilled with non-core activities, which may include:

  • Adult basic education
  • Job skills training directly related to employment
  • Education directly related to employment
  • Secondary school
  • Mental health, substance abuse, and domestic violence services

Work Experience

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Welfare-to-Work training activities or community service that provide job skills that will lead to unsubsidized employment.
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