CalWORKs: family violence option and gender-based violence information.

Assembly Member Celeste Rodriguez's CalWORKs reform legislation revises how counties handle program requirements for recipients who have experienced domestic abuse or gender-based violence. The measure modifies existing waiver protocols to require counties to exempt abuse survivors from program requirements unless there is evidence that such exemptions would not aid in escaping abuse or would result in unfair penalties.

The bill establishes new notification requirements for counties regarding waiver decisions. Counties must inform applicants about waiver status at the time of application approval and provide recipients with decisions within 10 days of their request. For existing waivers, counties may conduct reevaluations no more frequently than every six months, except when considering additional welfare-to-work requirement exemptions.

By January 2026, the State Department of Social Services must develop standardized materials and forms in consultation with domestic violence coalitions and advocacy organizations. These resources will include information about available services, confidentiality protections, waiver processes, and safety planning. Counties must provide these materials in recipients' preferred languages and supplement them with local service provider information. The materials will also be accessible through the CalSAWS system and BenefitsCal website.

The Department must implement these changes through an all-county letter by January 2026 and issue formal regulations by January 2027. Counties will receive state reimbursement for costs associated with these new mandates, as determined by the Commission on State Mandates.