Background

The California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) Child Care Program helps families to access immediate, quality, and affordable child care as they move through their Welfare-to-Work (WtW) activities towards unsubsidized employment. It promotes parental choice and ensures that families have child care that is stable enough to move off cash assistance. The program is administered by the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) and the California Department of Education (CDE).

The CalWORKs Child Care Program is administered in three Stages, as follows:

Stage 1 Child Care

Stage 1 Child Care (S1CC) is funded by CDSS and locally administered by DPSS through contracts with ten local Resource and Referral/Alternative Payment Program (R&R/APP) agencies. S1CC begins with a parent’s entry into a County-approved WtW activity or employment. Each family may be served in S1CC for up to six months or until the family’s work activity becomes stable. Families may also remain in S1CC if there is insufficient funding in Stage 2 and Stage 3 Child Care. When a family receiving S1CC services terminates from CalWORKs cash assistance, the family must be transitioned to Stage 2 to continue child care services.

Key Points

Child care is available to current and former CalWORKs participants who are employed and/or in an approved WtW activity.

Child care is available to a child in the CalWORKs Assistance Unit (AU) under the age of 13 and for special needs children under 18 years of age who are physically or mentally incapable of caring for themselves.

There are two types of child care providers that a participant may choose including license or license-exempt. The participant exercises parental choice when selecting a provider.

Parents may utilize multiple providers if a single provider cannot accomodate the need for care.

Child care is considered available and the participant is not eligible for subsidized child care when there is an able and available parent, guardian, or adult member of the AU in the home. Reimbursements cannot be made when the child care services are provided by an individual who is under 18 years of age.

License-exempt child care providers who are not the aunt, uncle, or grandparent, by blood, marriage, or court decree of the child for whom child care is provided must pass a criminal background check and be TrustLine-registered to receive a subsidized child care reimbursement.

CalWORKs/GAIN and contracted staff must ensure that child care is offered at every point of contact and referrals to R&R/APP agencies are made timely, to avoid delays in child care reimbursements.

Stage 2 Child Care

Stage 2 Child Care (S2CC) is funded by CDE and locally administered by the R&R/APP agencies. S2CC begins when the parent’s employment and child care arrangements are stable or when a family terminates from CalWORKs cash assistance. Families may remain in S2CC for up to 24 months after their CalWORKs cash assistance is terminated.

Stage 3 Child Care

Stage 3 Child Care (S3CC) is funded by CDE and locally administered by the R&R/APP agencies. S3CC provides child care benefits for: 1) former CalWORKs participants who are working, no longer receiving cash assistance, and who have exhausted their 24-month eligibility in S1CC and/or S2CC; and 2) families who receive a CalWORKs diversion payment.

LOCAL R&R/APP AGENCIES The R&R agencies provide parents with information to assist in making an informed decision in the selection of a licensed or license-exempt child care provider. The APP agencies determine child care eligibility and issue provider reimbursements. R&R/APP agencies provide co-located services in DPSS GAIN regional offices and weekly visits to CalWORKs district offices to disseminate child care information and expedite child care services to families. The R&R/APP agencies ensure families are seamlessly transitioned between the various Stages of CalWORKs Child Care as they stabilize and progress towards achieving self-sufficiency.