CalWORKs.

Assembly Member Patel's CalWORKs reform legislation modifies how parents maintain aid eligibility when their children enter out-of-home care, while establishing new requirements for county welfare departments to coordinate services. The bill authorizes the Department of Social Services to extend beyond six months the period during which parents are considered to be living with their children for purposes of receiving aid, provided this extension is cost-neutral or generates savings.

The legislation requires counties to incorporate welfare-to-work activities into either a CalWORKs reunification plan or a jointly developed child welfare and welfare-to-work plan. These integrated plans must detail all activities and services provided through both the welfare-to-work program and child welfare case planning to support family reunification. The bill also ends any sanctions related to child immunization verification when a child enters out-of-home placement.

To implement these changes, counties must adapt their administrative processes while maintaining fiscal neutrality. The legislation specifies that no additional state appropriations will fund these modifications, though counties may receive reimbursement for state-mandated costs as determined by the Commission on State Mandates. The Department of Social Services retains authority to issue implementation guidance through all-county letters until formal regulations are adopted.