Chapter 1 - General Provisions

California Welfare and Institutions Code — §§ 10000-10010

Sections (6)

Amended by Stats. 2007, Ch. 568, Sec. 51. Effective January 1, 2008.

The purpose of this division is to provide for protection, care, and assistance to the people of the state in need thereof, and to promote the welfare and happiness of all of the people of the state by providing appropriate aid and services to all of its needy and distressed. It is the legislative intent that aid shall be administered and services provided promptly and humanely, with due regard for the preservation of family life, and without discrimination on account of ancestry, marital status, political affiliation, or any characteristic listed or defined in Section 11135 of the Government Code. That aid shall be so administered and services so provided, to the extent not in conflict with federal law, as to encourage self-respect, self-reliance, and the desire to be a good citizen, useful to society.

§ 10001

Added by Stats. 1965, Ch. 1784.

The purposes of the public social services for which state grants-in-aid are made to counties are:

(a)To provide on behalf of the general public, and within the limits of public resources, reasonable support and maintenance for needy and dependent families and persons.

(b)To provide timely and appropriate services to assist individuals develop or use whatever capacity they can maintain or achieve for self-care or self-support.

(c)To provide protective services to handicapped or deprived persons subject to social or legal disability, and to children and others subject to exploitation jeopardizing their present or future health, opportunity for normal development, or capacity for independence.

§ 10002

Amended by Stats. 1980, Ch. 415, Sec. 2.

When an applicant for or recipient of public social services is incapable of managing his own resources and planning or carrying out arrangements for his own care and maintenance, and the applicant or recipient cannot secure the services of a private attorney, if authorized by the board of supervisors, the county counsel at the request of the county department, or the district attorney, if a county counsel does not exist, may initiate and carry out proceedings for the appointment of a public or private guardian or public or private conservator, or for changing the form of legal protection when this is indicated. Costs incurred in such proceedings for the protection of applicants or recipients, when not available from the person’s own resources, shall be a proper welfare administrative or service cost, except where a relative engages a private attorney to accomplish this purpose.

§ 10003

Added by Stats. 2016, Ch. 801, Sec. 1. (SB 1339) Effective January 1, 2017. Section operative June 1, 2017, by its own provisions.

(a)It shall be the responsibility of a recipient of aid pursuant to this division changing residence from one county to another to promptly notify either the county from which he or she moves or the county to which he or she moves of the change of residence. Recipients of CalWORKs, CalFresh, or Medi-Cal shall have the option to report a change of residence in person, in writing, telephonically, or, if the technology is available, electronically online and shall be

advised of these options at the time of application and redetermination or recertification. Within seven business days of notice of a new residence, the notified county shall initiate an intercounty transfer for all benefits under this division that the recipient is receiving, and benefits shall be transferred no later than the first day of the next available benefit month following 30 days after a county was notified pursuant to this section.

(b)To the greatest extent possible, the intercounty transfer process shall be simple and client friendly and minimize workload for county eligibility operations. The process shall ensure the applicant or recipient does not need to provide copies of documents that were previously provided to the prior county of residence, and there is no interruption in benefits.

(c)Case file documents shall be electronically shared between the prior county of residence and the new county of residence, to the extent possible, as specified by the relevant state departments.

(d)Notwithstanding

Section 11052.5, the new county of residence shall not interview recipients moving to that county from another county to determine continued eligibility for CalFresh or CalWORKs until the next scheduled recertification pursuant to Section 18910.1 or redetermination pursuant to Section 11265. This section shall not preclude the new county of residence from interviewing CalWORKs recipients regarding welfare-to-work program participation, which is not a requirement for an intercounty transfer of CalWORKs eligibility.

(e)For beneficiaries required to receive services through a Medi-Cal managed care health plan, the following shall apply:

(1)If the beneficiary moves to another county and

is still enrolled in a managed care health plan in the county from which he or she moved, the beneficiary shall have continued access to emergency services and any other coverage the managed care health plan authorizes out-of-network until the time that the intercounty transfer process pursuant to subdivision (a) is complete and the beneficiary is disenrolled from the managed care health plan.

(2)If the beneficiary moves to another county and is still enrolled in a managed care health plan in the county from which he or she moved and needs

nonemergent care that same month in the new county, the Medi-Cal Managed Care Ombudsman shall, upon request by the beneficiary or either county, disenroll the beneficiary as an expedited disenrollment from his or her managed care health plan. County-initiated disenrollment using an online form shall be processed no later than three business days after the request is made. Beneficiary-initiated disenrollment by telephone shall be effective no later than two business days after the request is made when the request is made before 5 p.m. Any beneficiary-initiated

disenrollment request by phone made after 5 p.m. shall be processed the following business day and be effective no later than two business days after the request is processed.

(3)A beneficiary who is disenrolled from the managed care health plan in the county from which he or she moved pursuant to paragraph

(2)shall be entitled to the full scope of benefits for which he or she is entitled to in the new county through the fee-for-service delivery system until he or she is enrolled in a managed care health plan in the new county.

(4)If the beneficiary moves to a county that provides Medi-Cal services through a county organized health system, the beneficiary shall be

enrolled in that county organized health system plan on the first day of the following month once the new county of residence is reflected in the Medi-Cal Eligibility Data System. If a beneficiary moves to a county without a county organized health system, the usual health plan choice process shall apply.

(f)Failure to report a move to a different county within the state in itself shall not constitute a basis for an overpayment.

(g)(1) Notwithstanding Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title

2 of the Government Code, the State Department of Health Care Services and the State Department of Social Services, without taking any further regulatory action, shall implement, interpret, or make specific this section by means of all-county letters, plan letters, plan or provider bulletins, or similar instructions until the time regulations are adopted. The State Department of Health Care Services and the State Department of Social Services shall adopt regulations by July 1, 2021, in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

(2)Beginning June 1, 2017, and notwithstanding Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, the State Department of Health Care Services and the State Department of Social Services shall provide a status report on the adoption of the regulations to the Legislature on a semiannual basis, in compliance with Section 9795 of the

Government Code, until regulations have been adopted.

(h)This section shall be implemented only if, and to the extent, that federal financial participation is available and any necessary federal approvals have been obtained.

(i)This section shall become operative on June 1, 2017.

§ 10006

Amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 607, Sec. 2. (AB 79) Effective January 1, 2026.

(a)A county human services agency shall designate at least one employee as a staff liaison, as provided in this section. The staff liaison shall serve as a point of contact for academic counselors and other relevant professional staff at a campus of an institution of public higher education located within the county and provide information on programs and services offered by the agency that may be available to students attending a campus of an institution of public higher education within the county. This requirement is not intended to supersede or otherwise alter existing relationships between counties and campuses of an institution of public higher education, including, but not limited to, coordination related to CalWORKs welfare-to-work

participants who are attending a campus of an institution of public higher education.

(b)A county human services agency subject to this section, with input from the public institutions of higher education located within the county, including basic needs directors, basic needs coordinators, or designated staff from each campus of a public institution of higher education, shall develop protocols for engagement between the agency and a campus of an institution of public higher education located within the county. The agency and the public institutions of higher education located within the county are encouraged to consult stakeholders while developing the protocol, including, but not limited to, all of the following:

(1)A representative from each campus of an institution of public higher

education within the county. The representative shall be a staff member tasked with addressing students’ basic needs on the campus.

(2)A counselor or other relevant professional staff from each campus of an institution of public higher education within the county.

(3)Relevant organizations representing the interests of students, faculty, and staff from each campus of an institution of public higher education within the county.

(c)Counties are encouraged to provide information to the campuses of an institution of public higher education located within their borders regarding the location and hours of county human services agency public offices, as well as information regarding online and telephone access to

program applications. Each campus of an institution of public higher education is encouraged to disseminate information regarding applying for human services programs and benefits to the campus administrator associated with student services or their designee.

(d)The State Department of Social Services shall do all of the following:

(1)In consultation with staff liaisons and basic needs directors, basic needs coordinators, or other designated professional staff from institutions of public higher education within the county, develop a training to be available for basic needs directors, staff of a campus basic needs center, other designated professional staff from each campus of an institution of higher education, and eligibility workers. The training shall focus on public social

services topics, including all of the following:

(A)Local Programs that Increase Employability (LPIE) familiarity.

(B)State Department of Health Care Services and State Department of Social Services policy updates, including review of the CalFresh Student Eligibility Handbook.

(C)Other college student related training, including information related to financial aid, scholarships, dependent status, eligibility criteria for public social services programs, and other information related to the needs specific to college students.

(2)Convene a workgroup that meets

quarterly to share best practices, address challenges, and identify statewide issues, comprised of all of the following:

(A)At least 12 county staff liaisons, comprised of at least 2 county staff liaisons from each of the six regions of the California Statewide Automated Welfare System (CalSAWS) consortium.

(B)At least four college campus basic needs directors, basic needs coordinators, or other designated campus staff from multiple regions and campuses.

(C)At least one staff member from each higher education segment, including, but not limited to:

(i)The office of the Chancellor of the California State University.

(ii) The office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges.

(iii) The office of the President of the University of California if a representative is provided. The office of the President of the University of California is requested to provide a representative for purposes of this workgroup.

(D) The Center for Healthy Communities at California State

University, Chico.

(E) Relevant stakeholders as needed to share best practices, updates, challenges, or other topics related to programs and services offered by the department that may be available to students attending the campus of an institution of public higher education.

(3)(A) On or before May 1, 2027, and every three years thereafter, in collaboration with stakeholders identified pursuant to this section, submit a report to the Legislature with findings and recommendations relating to enrollment success trends, best practices, and services offered by the department

that may be available to students attending a campus of an institution of public higher education.

(B)A report to be submitted pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.

(e)Any disclosure or sharing of personal information under this section shall be made in compliance with applicable state and federal confidentiality laws.

(f)For purposes of this section, “basic needs coordinator” means a coordinator, as defined in Section 66023.4 or 66023.5 of the Education Code.

(g)For purposes of this section, “public higher education” has the same meaning as in Section 66010 of the Education Code.

(h)Notwithstanding the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), the State Department of Social Services may implement this section by all-county letters or similar instructions.

§ 10010

Added by Stats. 2025, Ch. 17, Sec. 26. (SB 132) Effective June 27, 2025.

(a)Notwithstanding any other law and to the extent permitted by federal law, a Chiquita Canyon elevated temperature landfill event payment received by a taxpayer shall not be considered income or resources for purposes of determining eligibility for benefits, or the amount of benefits, under a means-tested program, including, but not limited to, any of the following:

(1)Childcare and development programs, as defined in Section 10213.5.

(2)The California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, as described in Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11200) of Part 3.

(3)The Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payment (Kin-GAP) Program, as described in Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 11360) of Chapter 2 of Part 3.

(4)The State Supplementary Program (SSP) for Aged, Blind and Disabled, as described in Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 12000) of Part 3.

(5)The Medi-Cal program, as described in Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 14000) of Part 3.

(6)The Adoption Assistance Program (AAP), as described in Chapter 2.1 (commencing with Section 16115) of Part 4.

(7)General assistance programs, as described in Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 17000) of Part 5.

(8)The CalFresh program, as described in Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 18900) of Part 6.

(9)The California Food Assistance Program (CFAP), as described in Chapter 10.1 (commencing with Section 18930) of Part 6.

(10)The Cash Assistance Program for Aged, Blind, and Disabled Legal Immigrants (CAPI), as described in Chapter 10.3 (commencing with Section 18937) of Part 6.

(b)Notwithstanding any other law and to the extent permitted by federal law, a Chiquita Canyon elevated temperature landfill event payment received by a taxpayer shall not be considered income or resources for purposes of determining eligibility for guaranteed income payments or the amount of those guaranteed

income payments.

(c)For purposes of this section:

(1)“Chiquita Canyon elevated temperature landfill event payment” has the same meaning as defined in Sections 17157.5 and 24309.9 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.

(2)“Guaranteed income payments” means unconditional, recurring, regular cash payments, whether publicly or privately funded, that are intended to support the basic needs of eligible recipients, including, but not limited to, payments provided through pilot programs or projects receiving funding from the California Guaranteed Income Pilot Program, as described in Chapter 16 (commencing with Section 18997) of Part 6, or payments provided through locally funded programs.