California
Benefit
California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids
Also known as: CalWORKs, California TANF, Welfare
CalWORKs is California's TANF program, providing temporary cash assistance and services to families with children.
At a Glance
- Must have a dependent child under 18 in the household,or be pregnant.
- Income must be below the Minimum Basic Standard of AdequateCare (MBSAC) for your family size and ...
- Countable resources must be $15,649 or less (one vehicleper licensed adult driver excluded, plus ...
- Must be a California resident.
- + 3 more requirements below
Eligibility Requirements
Dependent Child
RequiredMust have a dependent child under 18 in the household,or be pregnant.
has_dependent_child
=
true
Exempt if any:
-
OR
has_child_under_18= true -
OR
is_pregnant= true
California Residency
RequiredMust be a California resident.
state_residency
=
CA
Citizenship/Immigration
RequiredMust be a U.S. citizen or qualified immigrant.Five-year bar applies to some qualified immigrants.
citizenship_status
in
[us_citizen, qualified_alien]
Welfare-to-Work Participation
RequiredAdults must participate in Welfare-to-Work activitiesunless exempt (disability, caring for infant, etc.).
participates_in_welfare_to_work
=
true
Time Limit
Required48-month lifetime limit for adults (children's aid continues).Extensions available for good cause.
calworks_months
<
48
Ruleset effective: 2024-01-01
View as JSON
{"service_id":"calworks","effective_date":"2024-01-01","rules":[{"id":"has-child","key":"has_dependent_child","operator":"equals","value":true,"requirement":"required","label":"Dependent Child","description":"Must have a dependent child under 18 in the household,\nor be pregnant.\n","any_of":[{"id":"child-present","key":"has_child_under_18","operator":"equals","value":true,"description":"Has child under 18 in home"},{"id":"pregnant","key":"is_pregnant","operator":"equals","value":true,"description":"Is pregnant"}]},{"id":"income","key":"household_income","operator":"less_than","value":"mbsac","requirement":"required","label":"Income Limit","description":"Income must be below the Minimum Basic Standard of Adequate\nCare (MBSAC) for your family size and county.\n","source_url":"https://www.cdss.ca.gov/calworks"},{"id":"assets","key":"countable_assets","operator":"less_than_or_equal","value":15649,"unit":"dollars","requirement":"required","label":"Asset Limit","description":"Countable resources must be $15,649 or less (one vehicle\nper licensed adult driver excluded, plus other exclusions).\n","source_url":"https://www.cdss.ca.gov/calworks"},{"id":"residency","key":"state_residency","operator":"equals","value":"CA","requirement":"required","label":"California Residency","description":"Must be a California resident."},{"id":"citizenship","key":"citizenship_status","operator":"in","values":["us_citizen","qualified_alien"],"requirement":"required","label":"Citizenship/Immigration","description":"Must be a U.S. citizen or qualified immigrant.\nFive-year bar applies to some qualified immigrants.\n"},{"id":"work-participation","key":"participates_in_welfare_to_work","operator":"equals","value":true,"requirement":"required","label":"Welfare-to-Work Participation","description":"Adults must participate in Welfare-to-Work activities\nunless exempt (disability, caring for infant, etc.).\n"},{"id":"time-limit","key":"calworks_months","operator":"less_than","value":48,"requirement":"required","label":"Time Limit","description":"48-month lifetime limit for adults (children's aid continues).\nExtensions available for good cause.\n"}]}
Quick Info
- Agency
- CDSS
- Category
- Income support
- Last Verified
- 2026-01-13