Policy

Recipient EIDs (Recipient Financial Eligibility Test)

Senate Bill (SB) 80 implements the following increases to the EID for CalWORKs participants:

Effective June 1, 2020, the EID increased from $225 to $500;

Effective June 1, 2021, the EID increased from $500 to $550; and

Effective June 1, 2022, the EID increased from $550 to $600.

The $600 and 50 percent Recipient EIDs are used to determine the Net Non-Exempt Income (NNI) that is used to determine the Assistance Unit’s (AU’s) Maximum Aid Payment (MAP). The NNI is calculated by disregarding the first $600 of disability-based unearned income and/or any earned income and 50 percent of any remaining earned income. If the AU has earned income only, the first $600 and 50 percent of the remaining earned income is disregarded when calculating the MAP. When the NNI is less than the MAP, the family is considered to have passed the Recipient Test.

Applicant EID (Applicant Financial Eligibility Test)

Effective July 1, 2022, Assembly Bill (AB) 135 increases the Applicant EID for CalWORKs applicants from $90 per each employed person to $450 per each employed person.

The $450 Applicant EID is used as part of the initial Financial Eligibility Test for applicant families. For all applicant families, the $450 (per each employed person) Applicant EID is deducted from the family’s monthly gross earned income. The remaining earned income amount plus any unearned income is compared to the Minimum Basic Standard of Adequate Care (MBSAC) for the family. If the remaining income is less than the MBSAC, then the family moves onto the Recipient EID Test where the recipient disregards will be applied.