10-006 F. LD GOOD CAUSE AND SANCTIONS

Table of Contents

The LD Good Cause and Sanctions section includes the following information: Topic LD and WTW Sanctions Sanctions Pending LD Evaluation Verification of Learning Disabilities Received During Compliance Process Verification of Learning Disabilities During a WTW Sanction “Cure” Offering LD Screening to WTW Sanctioned Individuals

LD and WTW Sanctions

Participation in Learning Disabilities (LD) Screening and/or Evaluation is strictly voluntary. Participants cannot be sanctioned for declining to be screened and/or evaluated for LD. Participants who choose not to be screened and/or evaluated for LD are considered mandatory Welfare-to-Work (WTW) participants and may be WTW sanctioned for failing to participate in their assigned WTW activities. WTW participants who decline LD Screening and/or Evaluation may change their minds at any time and may ask to be screened and/or evaluated for LD at a later date. This includes, but is not limited to, participants who are in the CalWORKs good cause determination, noncompliance, or sanction process. A request for LD Screening and/or Evaluation does not automatically stop the good cause determination, noncompliance, or sanction process. However, Employment Case Managers (ECMs) must carefully evaluate the participant’s situation and enter thorough case comments to document the reasoning behind all good cause determination, noncompliance, and sanction-related decisions.

Sanctions Pending LD Evaluation

Participants are not considered as having verified LD until written verification of a learning disability is received, such as an LD Report, a LD Evaluation, and/or medical verification. WTW participants who have declined to be screened or evaluated for LD are considered mandatory, non-exempt WTW participants. WTW participants who have agreed to participate in an LD Evaluation are also considered mandatory non-exempt participants. Because these participants have agreed to cooperate with the evaluation process and may potentially have a learning disability that impacts their ability to participate in WTW, ECMs must work diligently with this population to promote participation in WTW to the best of the participant’s ability and avoid a WTW sanction. ECMs must enter case comments to clearly document all outreach efforts and thereby demonstrate diligence in working with these participants.

Verification of Learning Disabilities Received During Compliance Process Top

If a learning disability is verified during an individual’s good cause determination or compliance process, the ECM must consult with the LD Specialist to determine if the learning disability contributed to the WTW participant’s failure to participate. If so, the ECM must render a determination of good cause, rescind the sanction, and incorporate the LD Specialist’s written recommendations into the WTW Plan.

Verification of Learning Disabilities During a WTW Sanction “Cure”

If a learning disability is verified for an individual who is attempting to cure a WTW sanction, the ECM must consult with the LD Specialist to determine if the learning disability contributed to the participant’s noncompliance. If so, the ECM must rescind the WTW sanction and notify the participant’s HSS. The HSS must, in turn, issue any retroactive CalWORKs benefits to which the participant would have otherwise been eligible. The ECM must also incorporate the LD Specialist’s written recommendations into the WTW Plan.

Offering LD Screening to WTW Sanctioned Individuals

Sanctioned individuals may be at greater risk of having one or more medical, mental, or emotional conditions, which affect their employability, including but not limited to LD. Because of this high level of risk, Employment Sites must offer LD Screening to sanctioned individuals on a one-on-one, face-to-face basis. LD Screening offers to sanctioned participants cannot be made by mail or telephone. This policy was established because sanctioned participants may be at greater risk of having one or more medical, mental, or emotional conditions, which affect their employability, including but not limited to LD.