DPSS ePolicy

Revision of existing policy and/or form(s)

What changed?

1. To provide staff with guidance on the new definition of fleeing felon.
2. The ABP 4058, Public Defender Contact Information Flyer (06/2015) has replaced the ABP 4047, Public Defender Contact Information Flyer (04/2014).
3. The attachment with Los Angeles County Superior Court Locations has been updated.
4. References to the Leader Replacement System have been replaced with the California Statewide Automated Welfare System (CalSAWS).
5. References to the Electronic Document Management System have been replaced with CalSAWS Imaging Solution (CIS).

Note: Changes are shown highlighted in gray throughout the document.

Welfare and Institutions Code regulations prohibit General Relief (GR) applicants or participants who are fleeing to avoid prosecution or custody/conviction of a felony from receiving benefits. Benefits from these programs may be discontinued or denied when the Department of Public Social Services (DPSS) is informed that an applicant or participant has an outstanding felony warrant. Information on outstanding felony warrants is provided to DPSS by:

1. The applicant or participant through self-declaration;
2. California Department of Social Services (CDSS) Fleeing Felon Monthly Match Abstracts; and
3. Assembly Bill (AB) 109-Probation Violators List.

Warrant information provided by CDSS/Probation is validated manually and may become obsolete on a daily basis as applicants and participants resolve their warrants. Therefore, the policy in this release was developed to:

1. Avoid GR discontinuance or denial to applicants or participants who were previously identified as fleeing to avoid prosecution, and have since resolved their felony warrant;
2. Provide applicant and participants the opportunity to rebut the warrant; and
3. Assist applicants and participants with information on the warrant resolution process.
    

The definition of fleeing felon has been revised pursuant to Senate Bill (SB) 345 (Chapter 260, Statutes of 2023) to clarify how a person is determined to be a fleeing felon. This bill has been added to the WIC Section 11486.5.

Prior to SB 345, WIC Section 11486.5 prohibited any applicant/participant from being eligible for GR if they were:

• Fleeing to avoid prosecution, or custody and confinement after conviction of a crime or an attempt to commit a crime that is a felony.

The intent of the law was to prohibit applicants/participants who were intentionally avoiding prosecution or imprisonment from receiving GR benefits.

Fleeing Felon

An applicant/participant who is fleeing to avoid prosecution or custody and confinement after conviction if a federal, state, or local law enforcement officer, acting in an official capacity, presents an outstanding felony arrest warrant containing one or more of the following National Crime Information Center Offense Classification Codes:

• Escape (4901)
• Flight to Avoid (4902)
• Flight-Escape (4999)

CDSS Fleeing Felon Monthly Match Abstracts

The FFM abstract matches records obtained from the Department of Justice Wanted Persons File against the Medi-Cal Master Eligibility File. The FFM identifies participants with potential outstanding felony warrants or probation or parole violators. who are receiving public assistance. The Welfare Fraud Prevention & Investigations (WFP&I) Section validates the information on the abstracts from the Wanting Agency to ensure that the warrant is active and forwards the information to the district office for follow-up. There is no requirement that the applicant/participant has knowledge of the existence of the warrant.

AB 109 Probation Violators List

This list reports applicants/participants who have a felony warrant for violating probation. CalWORKs Program Section clears this list in CalSAWS to identify individuals who are receiving public assistance and forwards the information to district offices for follow-up.

Warrant

A court order which directs a law enforcement officer to arrest and bring a person before the judge. The person is charged with a crime or convicted of a crime but failed to appear for sentencing, or owes, or is in contempt of the court.

Public Defender

A lawyer appointed by the court, usually to represent a defendant who cannot afford to hire a private lawyer in a criminal case.

Felony Warrant Review (FWR) Appointment

An appointment initiated by the Eligibility staff upon receipt of information from WFP&I that the applicant/participant has an active felony warrant. The purpose of the appointment is to discuss the applicant’s/participant's active warrant and provide an opportunity to resolve the active warrant for GR benefit eligibility. Although applicants/participants may not have had previous knowledge of their felony warrant, upon informing them of the active warrant, the applicant/participant will be afforded the opportunity to resolve the issue through a FWR. However, failure to attend the FWR appointment by the applicant/participant will validate that they are fleeing to avoid prosecution.

Applicants/participants must attend the FWR appointment and any additional follow-up appointments to discuss and resolve the active felony warrant. Failure to attend the FWR and follow-up appointments without good reason may lead to discontinuance or denial of GR benefits. An overpayment may be established on cases where a timely Notice of Action (NOA) cannot be given prior to the next month’s benefits being issued or benefits that were issued pending verification of fleeing felon status.

Confidentiality Reminder

State and federal confidentiality provisions still apply to applicants/participants affected by fleeing felon classifications. Information concerning the status of potential fleeing felons may only be released to local, state, or federal law enforcement officers and the information is not otherwise disclosable unless permitted by another provision of statute or regulation.

Applicants or participants must provide only one of the following documents as verification of the warrant resolution.

Court Verification

Any document from the Court Office Clerk that verifies the date of warrant resolution.

Letter from Probation Officer

A letter from the probation officer that verifies the date of warrant resolution.

Letter from Wanting Agency

A letter from the wanting agency that verifies the date of warrant resolution.

ABP 4058, Public Defender Contact Information Flyer (06/2015)

County of Los Angeles Superior Court Locations