500 Appraisal

GAIN

500 Appraisal

Release Date

11/26/2019

Section Heading

Purpose

Revision of existing policy and/or form(s)

What changed?

The revised policy adds the Remedial (REM)/High School Diploma (HSD) or equivalent activity as an additional option participants may choose as their initial Welfare-to-Work (WtW) activity following Appraisal.

Policy

The Appraisal interview is a mandatory activity required by State regulations, which is conducted by the GAIN Services Worker (GSW)/Contracted Case Manager (CCM) on an individual basis with the participant. Appraisal is the first activity in the WtW flow and includes the Online CalWORKs Appraisal Tool (OCAT). During the interview, the GSW/CCM explains all participant rights and responsibilities, including the WtW 24-Month Time Clock, 48-Month Time Limit, the exemption criteria, engages and communicates with the participant to identify what services the participant needs to be successful in GAIN, identifies barriers, and works to resolve those barriers to facilitate GAIN participation.

Background

With the passage of Assembly Bill 74, the State requires OCAT to be used during the Appraisal interview to identify destabilizing situations/barriers that might prevent the participant from participating in GAIN. Barriers can be identified at the Appraisal interview or at any other time during the participant’s WtW activity.

Definitions

Terms and Descriptions

Appraisal

An individual meeting between the participant and his/her GSW/CCM where the participant is provided information of the program rules and regulations, WtW 24-Month Time Clock, 48-Month Time Limit, hourly participation requirement, rights and responsibilities, and identifies barriers to participate utilizing OCAT.

CalACES

The electronic data processing system used by DPSS for participant tracking, payment authorization, reporting, and available resources inventory.

ADA-PUB4 “Do you need help because of a disability?”

The ADA-PUB4 notice informs participants that DPSS is ready to help people with disabilities access the benefits and services it offers.

REM/HSD or Equivalent

An activity to which participants can be assigned following their Appraisal, in order to obtain a diploma from a secondary school or a certificate obtained from successfully taking the California High School Proficiency Exam or State board-authorized High School Equivalency Test (HiSET).

Requirements

CalWORKs participants are required to participate in GAIN WtW activities as a condition of eligibility for cash assistance.
Participants are to be informed and regularly reminded of the benefits of early entry into the workforce and are to be regularly screened for barriers interfering with their ability to participate in WtW activities.
Participants are asked if they have a HSD or equivalent. Participants who do not have a HSD or equivalent are recommended to complete the REM/HSD or equivalent activity as their first activity to prepare them for the HiSET or California High School Proficiency Exam (see ePolicy Chapter 920 Remedial Education). Participants are not required to complete a Vocational Assessment prior to beginning the REM/HSD or equivalent activity.
Participants who decline a referral to REM/HSD or equivalent activity, must complete and sign a PA 853, Affidavit.
Participants are offered assistance with child care, transportation, and any other barrier which could prevent them from attending their Appraisal appointment.
All interactions with the participant and all actions taken are documented on the Journal Detail page.

Requirement and Limit/Condition

Assigned GAIN Region

CalWORKs participants are assigned to the appropriate GAIN Region from the corresponding feeder district to the GAIN Program.

Scheduling of Appraisal

For the automated process, the system automatically assigns the worker and, updates the Program Status from Pending to Active-Enrolled. The system also schedules and sends the Appraisal Appointment Letter and creates the appropriate activity.When a manual process is required, the Scheduling Clerk initiates the appointment. The Scheduling Clerk manually selects the participant from the Pending Unassigned Employment Services Program List page (unassigned pool), assigns the worker, updates the appointment and generates the appointment letter.

GN 6053-1, GAIN Appraisal Appointment Notice

The GN 6053-1 notice is used to schedule the Appraisal appointment. Participants who requested child care during their CalWORKs approval process will remain in the unassigned pool for 15 calendar days from the date the participants were first placed in the unassigned pool. On the 16th day, the participants will be scheduled for an Appraisal appointment.

Verification Docs

If the participant is unable to participate, he/she must present verification to be exempted from the GAIN Program in accordance with ePolicy Chapter 1330 - Non-compliance and Good Cause. Pending determination of an exemption or when the participant is employed in unsubsidized employment and is unable to attend the Appraisal appointment, the GSW/CCM can complete the Appraisal over the phone to gather as much information as possible after confirming with the participant that he/she is in a confidential/safe environment and has the time necessary to respond to the questions.

Attachments

N/A

DPSS ePolicy

NAVIGATION

500 Appraisal

Section Heading

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Policy

Background

Definitions

Requirements

Verification Docs

Attachments

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