DPSS ePolicy

To convert existing policy to new writing style only - No concept changes

When a participant declares during the GAIN Appraisal appointment that they are enrolled in a private school for an education/training activity, the participant MUST be evaluated for a Self-Initiated Program (SIP) activity.

The approval SIP criteria listed below is used by the GAIN Services Workers (GSWs)/Contracted Case Managers (CCMs) to complete the SIP evaluation.

Note: Participants who declare they are attending a public, private-nonprofit, or nonprofit during their GAIN Appraisal, MUST be evaluated under Student Training and Education Program criteria. Refer to Chapter 925 Vocational Education and Training for additional guidance. 

Approval Conditions

SIP Criteria

1. The participant was enrolled in a private school on or before the date of the initial GAIN Appraisal appointment;
   or
   The participant missed the initial GAIN Appraisal appointment with Good Cause and enrolled in a private school on or before the rescheduled Appraisal.
   Note: If the participant missed the initial GAIN Appraisal appointment without Good Cause and enrolled in a private school on or before the rescheduled Appraisal, then the activity may NOT be approved as a SIP. The participant will be referred to the next appropriate Welfare-to-Work (WtW) activity.
   
   
2. The program leads to an undergraduate degree or certificate, or a California regular teaching credential.
   Note: Participants who possess a baccalaureate degree valid in the United States will not be eligible to participate in a SIP unless they are pursuing a California regular classroom teaching credential.
   
   
3. The program is likely to lead to employment.
   Note: The program is determined to lead to employment if: The program is included in the GN 6141, Los Angeles County’s List of Approved Self-Initiated Programs; or the participant provides alternate documentation that the program will lead to employment.
   
   
4. The participant is making satisfactory progress.

N/A

SIP

An approvable SIP is an undergraduate degree or certificate program that leads to employment or a post-baccalaureate degree program for a California teaching credential in which a CalWORKs participant is enrolled in a private school prior to their initial GAIN Appraisal appointment date.

Enrolled

Enrolled means the participant has applied for and has been accepted into a degree or certificate program and continues to meet the conditions by the school offering the program to maintain current enrollment status.

General Education Classes

A set of standard college ready classes in a wide array of disciplines, outside the student’s specific area of study or major. General Education classes included, but are not limited to: English, Math, Science, Art, and History.

Unapprovable SIP

Unapprovable SIPs are programs that meet all the SIP criteria except the criterion that the program will lead to employment or a participant who has not declared a major and is completing only general education classes. These programs/courses are denied but processed as “unapprovable SIPs”.

Appraisal 

The Appraisal interview is mandatory. During the Appraisal interview, the participant will receive an overview of the GAIN Program and services and be evaluated for a SIP activity, if the participant states they are enrolled in an education/training activity. 

Note: GAIN Orientation is excused when the participant in a SIP activity cannot miss school to attend.

Exclusions 

• A participant who possesses a baccalaureate degree will not be eligible to participate in a SIP unless the individual is pursuing a California regular classroom teaching credential.
  

• General Education courses alone are not approvable SIPs. To approve a SIP, participants completing general education must declare a major in an approval SIP prior to the next term (semester/quarter). (Refer to SIP Chapter 620 Self-Initiated Program Denial and Unapprovable for additional information.)

• Remedial (REM) Programs such as High School Diploma, General Education Development (GED), Adult Basic Education (ABE) and English as a Second Language (ESL) are not approvable SIPs.

Break in Aid and SIP Approval

A previously approved CalWORKs participant who re-enters GAIN after a break in CalWORKs cash aid for six months or more, may be evaluated for a SIP if they are enrolled in a private school before the time of the current Appraisal. 

Teen Parents 

Nineteen-year-old custodial parents who are not enrolled in Cal-learn may be evaluated for a SIP activity and subject to SIP criteria.

Acceptable Documents

Identification of a SIP: GN 6004 - Self-Initiated Program Identification.

SIP Evaluation and Verification: GN 6005A - Verification of Welfare-to-Work Participation Hours, with a copy of the class schedule and a list of all required courses.

SIP Leading to Employment - GN 6141 or An Acceptable Alternate

• A signed statement or an employment offer letter from an employer(s) who will offer the participant a job in that occupation upon completion of the program;
• A current classified advertisement of at least three employers in the local job market who have frequent openings in the occupation at a skill level that can be achieved by the participant through the courses offered by the program;
• A statement from the school the participant is attending that the program is likely to lead to employment; or
• A statement or job list from the Employment Development Department (EDD) office identifying the occupation as in demand in the local labor market.

Accredited Approved/Exempted Schools

Documentation showing accreditation and approval/exempt status of the private school from the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE) (https://bppe.ca.gov/search/) and  accreditation from the Accrediting Commission for Schools Western Association of and Colleges (WSCUC) (https://www.wscuc.org/directory/) or the appropriate regulatory board/agency’s website.