DPSS ePolicy

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

A participant’s Self-Initiated Program (SIP) is denied as a Welfare-to-Work (WtW) activity when not all the SIP criteria are met. When the SIP is denied, the participant MUST be provided with a notification of SIP denial (GN 6146 - Self-Initiated Program (SIP) Notice) and referred to the next appropriate WtW activity.

A participant, who at the time of the initial Appraisal is attending classes in an unapprovable SIP, will be allowed to finish the current term (quarter or semester), when the participant is:

• Making satisfactory progress in an undergraduate degree/certificate program, but the program is not on the GN 6141, County List of Approved Self-Initiated Programs and the participant has not provided proof that the SIP will lead to employment; or
• Making satisfactory progress but has not declared a major and is only completing general education classes.

At the time the educational break occurs, the participant is required to participate in the next appropriate GAIN activity or transfer to a program that is approvable as a SIP.
 

N/A

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”.

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 include, but are not limited to: English, Math, Science, Art, History, and other prerequisites required by the college.

Notification for SIP Denial

The GN 6146, Self-Initiated Program Notice of Action, along with a copy of the NA BACK 9, Your Hearing Rights form, must be given or mailed to the participant within three-business days of the date the SIP is denied.

Appraisal Appointment

If the participant failed to attend their GAIN Appraisal Appointment and did not have Good Cause, the SIP activity will be denied and the participant will be referred to the next appropriate WtW activity.

If the participants did NOT enroll in their program on or before the date of their GAIN Appraisal Appointment, the SIP activity will be denied and the participant will be referred to the next appropriate WtW activity.

County Approved SIPs 

Programs not on the County’s approved SIP or training list will be denied as a SIP, but will be processed as unapprovable SIPs, if the participant cannot provide any of the acceptable documents listed on the GN 6093, Alternate Documentation that the Self-Initiated Program Leads to Employment, as proof that the program will lead to employment.

General Education Courses

General Education courses alone will be denied as a SIP but will be processed as an unapprovable SIPs.

Participants completing general education who declare a major in an approved SIP prior to the next term (quarter/semester) will be assigned to an approvable SIP activity.

Accredited and Approved or Exempted School

If the private postsecondary school is not accredited by the appropriate regulatory board/agency, such as Western Association of Schools and Colleges - Senior College & University Commission (WSCUC) ( https://www.wscuc.org/directory/ ),

and approved or exempted by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE) (https://bppe.ca.gov/search/),

or the program will be denied as a SIP and the participant will be referred to the next appropriate WtW activity. 

Note: Certain out-of-state private schools/programs educational institutions must register with the BPPE (https://bppe.ca.gov/search/ ) and comply with specified laws and regulations. GSWs/CCMs are to verify that the private out-of-state postsecondary educational institution operating in the state of California but without a physical presence is registered with the Bureau before approving the school/program.

Remedial (REM) Programs

REM Programs such as High School Diploma or General Education Development, Adult Basic Education and English as a Second Language will be denied as SIPs and cannot be processed as unapprovable SIPs.

Post-Graduate

Post-Graduate programs that are not for a California regular teaching credential will be denied as a SIP. Participants will be referred to the next appropriate WtW activity.

Satisfactory Progress and Transfer to an Approvable SIP 

A participant in an unapprovable SIP who is not making satisfactory progress and/or fails/refuses to transfer to a program that is approvable as a SIP will be referred to the next appropriate WtW activity. 

Transfer to an Approvable SIP

A new GN 6005A, Verification of Welfare-to-Work Participation Hours, with a copy of the new class schedule is required.

SIP Leading to Employment

1. 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;
2. 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;
3. A statement from the school the participant is attending that the program is likely to lead to employment; or
4. A statement or job list from the Employment Development Department office identifying the occupation as in demand in the local labor market.