Background

In 1997 when the legislature enacted the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) bill, one of the tenets was that work should pay. If we expect people getting public assistance to work, there should be an incentive and there should be supports for that work. They should not lose their grant dollar for dollar for what they earn. The mechanism for operationalizing that tenet is EIDs. This allowed working families to keep $225 and 50 percent of everything else as opposed to a system where they would lose more of their CalWORKs grant.

As the earnings go up the grant gradually comes down. During this time, the family can combine their earnings, their CalWORKs grant, and their work supports like transportation or childcare or to stabilize their housing situation, so that they could gradually move from receipt of aid to self-sufficiency rather than abruptly discontinuing them from the program (bridge versus cliff).

As a result of SB 80 (Chapter 27, Statutes of 2019), effective June 1, 2020, the CalWORKs $225 recipient disregard was increased to $500 and $50 thereafter for two consecutive years up to $600. Effective June 1, 2021, the CalWORKs recipient disregard was increased from $500 to $550. Effective June 1, 2022, the CalWORKs recipient disregard was increased from $550 to $600.

As a result of AB 135 (Chapter 85, Statutes of 2021), effective July 1, 2022, the CalWORKs Applicant EID will increase from $90 per each employed person to $450 per each employed person.