CalWORKs Policy - Department of Public Social Services

Failure of the parent or stepparent to provide
the required essential information will result in
a denial or discontinuance of aid.
Adult Children – Adult children are responsible
for the support of their parents to the extent of
their ability. The adult children are not
responsible for the support of their siblings
(brothers/sisters).
Unaided Relative(s) Living in the Home – Adult
relatives (other than participants of SSI, IHSS
and/or CalWORKs) are not required to provide
financial support or to contribute to the support
of an applicant/participant of CalWORKs. This
also applies when a non-needy caretaker
relative is caring for a child(ren) when the
parent(s) is absent from the home.
See Non-Needy Caretaker Case - Establish
on LEADER for LEADER procedures.
See CW 43-100 Responsible Relatives for
more information.
See CW 82-800 Assistance Unit for more
information.
CW 43-103.5 - Common-Law
Marriages
Are common-law marriages recognized in
California?
No, California law does not recognize
common-law marriages. However, California
does recognize an out-of-state common-law
marriage as long as it is valid (written/verbal
contract) in that State.
When the applicant/participant declares a
marital status of common-law outside of
California, he/she must provide evidence of the
verbal/written contract (a statement on a PA
853 (out of drawer), Affidavit, can be used
when evidence is not available). The
collocated child support staff from the Child
Support Services Department (CSSD) must
review the evidence before entering the
marital status of common-law onto LEADER.
NOTE: At redetermination, the EW must
review and make corrections if the marital
status of common-law is invalid.