CalWORKs Program: Will Unemployment Benefits Affect CalWORKs?

CalWORKs provides financial assistance and services to needy families who are eligible in California. However, can a family receive both CalWORKs and unemployment benefits? 

Parents with a Child [Photo: Parents]

According to an article on Benefits.gov, to be eligible for the CalWORKs program, an applicant must be an eligible resident of California. They must also have a child below 18 whose parent is unemployed, disabled, in jail, or is already dead. Lastly, the child’s parent or guardian must be a U.S. citizen or an eligible resident of California.

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How will unemployment benefits affect CalWORKs?

An article on MARCA says that a recipient’s family can still be given CalWORKs benefits while the recipient is also eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) unemployment benefits. However, the recipient will not be taken into account once CalWORKs evaluates how much money will be given to the recipient’s family each month.

This guideline means that the family may receive a lower monthly payment than what they would have been given if the recipient was taken into account. Fortunately, the recipient’s SSI will also not be taken into account of the family’s taxable income. This is because the recipient may use their SSI benefits to pay for their own expenses. However, CalWORKs believes that the recipient cannot distribute the benefits to the rest of their family. Therefore, the recipient will not be provided with the same benefits.

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