DPSS ePolicy

Conversion of existing policy and/or form(s).

The benefit of participating in Transitional Subsidized Employment (TSE) should be discussed with and offered to all participants experiencing homelessness.  Participants who are identified as homeless in the Living Arrangements page in the California Statewide Automated Welfare System (CalSAWS) and/or who are using the district address as their physical address may be expedited into any of the following three TSE activities:

• Paid Work Experience (PWE);
• Specialized Work Experience (SWE); or 
• On-the-Job Training (OJT). 

Participants experiencing homelessness do not have to complete  Focus 360 (formerly known as Job Club) or Job Search (JSR) to qualify for PWE, SWE, or OJT. However, they must have a Vocational Assessment on file prior to being referred to America's Job Centers of California (AJCC) or Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) for a TSE activity. 

Participants who are at risk of being homeless are still required to complete Focus 360/JSR and Vocational Assessment activities to qualify for the TSE program.

GAIN Services Workers (GSWs)/Contracted Case Managers (CCMs) must review any employment plan already on file to determine whether TSE activities are included or if a new Vocational Assessment or amendment is needed. GSW/CCM should work closely with the TSE Liaison to expedite enrollment into a TSE activity and be flexible to accommodate the participant's unique needs due to experiencing homelessness.   

Participants who are receiving assistance from a Homeless Case Manager (HCM) should be immediately transferred to the Homeless Supportive Services (HSS) GSW/CCM.

Participants should be able to work an average of 20 hours per week to participate in TSE activities. This information must be provided to all GAIN participants interested in TSE Programs, including volunteers.

GSW/CCM should offer Enhanced Transitional Subsidized Employment (E-TSE) and evaluate the participant for any concurrent Specialized Supportive Services (SSS) to address additional barriers. 

Enhanced Transitional Subsidized Employment

GAIN Services Workers (GSWs)/ HSS GSWs/ CCMs may refer participants experiencing homelessness to the E-TSE Program.  This program is specifically designed to address the unique needs of homeless CalWORKs participants who are interested in employment.  It lasts up to twelve months but may be subject to change based on funding availability.  E-TSE offers flexibility in work hours and provides support to help participants overcome challenges associated with homelessness while enhancing their job readiness.

The following populations are eligible to participate in the E-TSE:

• Participants who are homeless or at risk of being homeless (i.e., facing eviction) according to the CalWORKs definition;
• Participants who are homeless and have been a victim of Domestic Violence (DV); or
• DPSS homeless participants who are Family Reunification (FR) Linkages mutual participants.

CBOs have been contracted to provide services to identified populations due to their experience in working with the homeless community. They offer job preparedness and placement services through a holistic approach. CBOs are well-equipped to address the unique challenges faced by homeless participants. The key distinction between the regular TSE program and the ETSE program lies in the E-TSE program's focus on helping participants overcome additional employment barriers arising from their homelessness.

CBOs will assist homeless participants with the following services in E-TSE:

• Conduct a thorough evaluation of participants' current job readiness, barriers to employment, skills and abilities, past work experiences, etc.;
• Make referrals to or provide resources for personal care services such as showers, storage, laundry, etc.;
• Refer to Blueprint Training, and upfront paid accelerated job readiness curriculum;
• Provide workshops and, when funding is available, Short-Term Vocational Training (STV) to enhance skills for greater success in PWE/SWE/OJT activities;
• Offer Transitional Work, which is a flexible period of time in which participants can learn/apply proper work habits in a supportive learning environment through an accommodating schedule that can start at 20 hours per week and transition to increased hours;
• Offer coaching, mentoring, and support;
• Assist participants and employers to work through challenges that may arise in the workplace;
• Utilize designated Program District Assistants as Job Coaches to assist E-TSE participants with job retention;
• Help participants search for unsubsidized employment in the last four months of the subsidized assignment; and
• Follow-up with participants' progress at least every 30 days for 180 days once the participant has been placed in unsubsidized employment.

Participants referred to the E-TSE program may be assigned to a PWE, SWE, or OJT activity and have the flexibility to be placed in an STV activity prior to starting PWE/SWE/OJT, if it is recommended as a step to enhance skills for a more successful assignment.  Participants may participate in either of two classroom training paths: 

• Path One- STV offered at a local school selected from the I-Train System
  • When the CBO contacts the TSE Liaison with the recommendation for STV, the TSE Liaison will ensure the STV activity is opened on the system with the CBO as the provider (similar to an AJCC, per STV policy) and the appropriate training program.  The STV activity may be assigned concurrently with the E-TSE activity if appropriate and based on funding availability.
• Path Two- On-site workshops provided by the CBO 
  • When the CBO recommends workshops as part of job preparation, the workshops are included in the E-TSE activity (PWE/SWE/OJT) the participant was referred to, and no additional activities need to be opened in the system. 

Domestic Violence (DV) Participants

If a participant is homeless or is at risk of being homeless and has disclosed being a survivor of DV; and has an interest in working, they can be referred to the TSE Liaison for evaluation to E-TSE.  Participants who have declared DV do not necessarily need to be accessing DV services in order to be eligible for E-TSE.  Homelessness is the primary eligibility criteria for E-TSE.  Regardless of the participant's participation in DV services and the number of hours the DV service provider recommends, the participant must be able to meet the minimum requirement of at least 20 hours offered through transitional work; this is in addition to the number of participation hours in DV services.  The referral is sent to the TSE Liaison for evaluation, but the case will be managed by the Specialized Supportive Services Worker at the Region, due to the confidential DV flag. 

Family Reunification (FR) Participants

Participants who have an open FR case with the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and are a "mutual family" to the Department of Public Social Services (DPSS) are eligible for TSE or E-TSE if they have received a FR Housing Subsidy. Families are considered mutual if they are part of the Linkages Partnership and have an FR Plan in place. The referral is sent to the TSE Liaison for evaluation, but the case will be managed by the appropriate Linkages GSW at the Region. 

If the FR Plan is closed in the course of participating in TSE/E-TSE, the FR worker must notify the  TSE Liaison within one business day. The TSE Liaison must also communicate with the AJCC/CBO, within on day that the participant is no longer eligible for TSE/E-TSE. The participant must stop working as there is no more CalWORKs eligibility. If the participant reunifies and reapplies and is determined eligible for CalWORKs once again, the participant may be reinstated to the worksite through the same AJCC/CBO to complete the remaining months left in the TSE/E-TSE Program.

Effective July 2013, the State of California allocated additional funding to the counties to expand the TSE Program. To streamline homeless participants into subsidized employment, special qualifying criteria were developed for CalWORKs participants who are homeless. 

In February 2016, the Board of Supervisors passed a comprehensive plan to combat homelessness in Los Angeles County.  The Homeless Initiative document is made up of 47 strategies that tackle homelessness from multiple fronts.  The document is divided into six areas:  A. Prevent Homelessness, B. Subsidized Housing, C. Increase Income, D. Provide Case Management and Services, E. Create a Coordinated System. and F. Increase Affordable/Homeless Housing.  The Homeless Strategy C1- Enhance the CalWORKs Subsidized Employment Program for Homeless Families was implemented in December 2016 and the E-TSE Program was developed as a result of the plan and with the purpose of increasing income for homeless participants.  

Homeless

The California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) definition of homeless is a family who:

• Lacks a fixed and regular night-time residence;
• Is sharing a residence with family or friends on a temporary basis;
• Has a primary residence that is supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living accommodations;
• Is residing in a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings (i.e., living in a car, living in a shelter, out in the street, etc.)
• Receives a notice to pay rent, quit, or an eviction notice.

Note: Homeless CalWORKs families may use the District Office address as their physical address but use a different mailing address.

Homeless Flag

An indicator in the Case Flags List page in CalSAWS.

TSE Program

An activity that provides the participants with an opportunity to learn new skills and attain work experience in a subsidized employment assignment while they transition into unsubsidized employment.  The TSE program consists of the following activities:

• Paid Work Experience
• Specialized Work Experience
• On-the-Job Training

E-TSE Program

An enhanced subsidized employment program for participants experiencing homelessness where they can be placed in public, non-profit, or private for-profit worksites to gain work experience while earning a wage.  E-TSE focuses on giving the participant the flexibility to remove unique employment challenges that arise as a result of homelessness.

Vocational Assessment

A one-day activity with a licensed vocational assessor to jointly determine the participant's employment goals and develop an employment plan.

HCM

GSW in the CalWORKs District Office or Family Solution Centers (FSCs) who provides case management and facilitates access to appropriate benefits/services for homeless CalWORKs families.

HSS GSW

A supportive services GSW/CCM at the GAIN Region who specializes in working with homeless participants who are either being assisted by an HCM or are otherwise unable to participate in a WtW activity.  The HSS GSW assists with homeless supportive services/ancillaries.

Homeless Family Solutions System (HFSS)

The HFSS was implemented in all eight Service Planning Areas (SPAs) throughout Los Angeles County, effective July 1, 2014, to provide shelter, case management, and financial assistance to homeless CalWORKs WtW participants.

FSC

FSCs provide a service delivery system specifically for homeless families that provides better coordination and access to needed resources while keeping families within their own communities. A HCMs is collocated at each FSC site.

CBOs

Community-Based Organizations provide assistance to homeless participants through the E-TSE Program.  They assess the participant's overall situation, identify barriers to employment, and connect them to homeless resources, personal care needs, and other necessary resources to assist in their job readiness. 

TSE Liaison

A GSW assigned to be the TSE point-of-contact for the CBOs and all Case-Carrying Workers.  TSE liaisons evaluate interested participants' eligibility for E-TSE, make referrals to local CBOs, and keep close communication with all involved parties.

Blueprint Training

Blueprint Training is a paid 30-hour in person/16-hour virtual work readiness program for TSE participants.  It provides job readiness skills to participants, regardless of work experience, to better prepare them for successful entry into a PWE, SWE, or OJT activity.  This training is mandatory and offered to all TSE/E-TSE participants within ten days of meeting with their assigned AJCC/CBO/Regional Worksource and is pending placement at a worksite. 

Participants experiencing homelessness and interested in participating in subsidized employment must meet the following requirements:

• Be homeless or at risk of being homeless, and CalSAWS must have the "Use Office Address" box selected as the Physical Address Type under the Address Detail page.
  • The Living Arrangements List/Detail pages may be reviewed for homelessness.  See GAIN policy 1910 Homeless Identification for additional information on identifying homeless status. 
• Have a Vocational Assessment on file recommending TSE activities to attain an employment goal.
  • If the employment plan is older than 12 months and the employment goals have not changed, continue to use this employment plan contingent that it is physically available to provide with the TSE/E-TSE referral packet.
  • If the employment goals have changed and the employment plan is less than 12 months old, an amendment to the employment plan must be requested.
  • If the employment goals have changed and the employment plan is older than 12 months, a new assessment activity will need to be assigned. 
• Be willing and able to work at least 20 hours a week.
• The CalWORKs case is approved at the time of referral unless it is a Linkages Family Reunification mutual case.
• Timed-off homeless participants volunteering for Post-Time Limited (PTL) services must complete the TSE activity during the PTL months, per PTL policy, when available.  Refer to GAIN chapter 2100 Post-Time Limit Services for additional information.
• No current PWE/SWE/OJT activity open in CalSAWS.
• Two TSE/E-TSE assignments are allowed in a lifetime with at least one year gap in between TSE/E-TSE assignment completions.
• No evident pattern of recurring sanctions.

Note: Completion of Focus 360 is not a mandatory participation requirement for homeless participants; however, the benefits of participating in Focus 360 must be explained and offered to the participants. 

Refer to GAIN Policy chapter 960 Transitional Subsidized Employment for additional information on TSE requirements for Live Scan and mandatory Blueprint Training. 

Mandatory Job Search

Homeless TSE participants are required to conduct job search for unsubsidized employment and are allowed up to 16 hours per month of paid time for job search. Participants in regular TSE conduct job search in the last three months of their assignment and participants in E-TSE may begin one month earlier. Participants will be referred to a designated AJCC/CBO for additional employment resource during the job search period. AJCCs/CBOs may co-enroll participants into the Cal-Jobs System to meet Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) requirements which took effect July 1, 2015. WIOA provides additional job search/job retention services.  

See GAIN Policy chapter 960 Transitional Subsidized Employment for the list of forms that are included in the TSE/E-TSE referral packet to the AJCC/CBO. 

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