You must receive CalWORKs cash aid to participate in Employment Services.
Participation in Employment Services is required for all adult CalWORKs recipients to receive cash aid, unless you are exempt. CalWORKs recipients that are exempt may volunteer to take part in Employment Services activities. Volunteers must meet all program rules.

If you are a recipient of CalWORKs cash aid and required to participate, you will be automatically enrolled in the Welfare to Work program by your cash aid Eligibility Worker (EW).
If you are exempt and would like to participate, contact your cash aid EW for a referral to the WTW program.
Once you are enrolled, you will be assigned an Employment Services Case Manager.

Adults can only receive CalWORKs cash aid in California for a total lifetime limit of 60 months.
Adult CalWORKs recipients are required to participate in Employment Services, unless exempt. Exempt individuals can opt to participate as a volunteer. Once an adult has exhausted their 60-month cash aid time limit, they may be eligible to certain Employment Services retention services. Your Case Manager will tell you whether you are eligible for retention services. Participation Requirements chart to continue receiving cash aid.

Required hours may vary by activity and family type. Employment Services participants are encouraged to engage in the full range of activities tailored to their goals and needs.

There are many paths open to Employment Services participants. Your Case Manager will review your education, job history, needs, and goals to determine which path is right for you. Below are some of the activities you may participate in:

• Assessment
• Unsubsidized Employment or Self-Employment
• Subsidized Employment
• Work Study
• Work Experience
• Community Service
• Training or Education Programs
• Job Readiness/Job Search Program (Employment Works Program)
• Behavioral Health Programs such as Mental Health, Substance Abuse and Domestic Abuse Services

Employment Services can help with important supportive services when you are working or participating in approved activities. Supportive Services include the following:

• Transportation expenses
• Child Care Costs
• Interview Clothes
• Work or training needs (ancillary services) such as books, tools, uniforms or other special clothing

An Employment Services Plan is a necessary tool that will help guide you in meeting your individual goals. After an in-depth interview with your Case Manager, you will develop an Employment Services plan together. Your plan will be individualized based on your work experience, education, needs, and goals.

If for any reason, a mandatory parent does not participate in Employment Services, the following steps will be taken:

• You will have the chance to explain why you did not meet the requirements. The county will decide if you have a good reason.
• You will be sanctioned, and your family’s cash aid will be lowered if:
  • You fail or refuse to meet Employment Services requirements without a good reason, and
  • You do not resolve the problem by signing and completing a plan to do what is required.
  • If you are sanctioned, your family’s cash aid will be lowered until you do what Employment Services requires. Certain families may also have their CalFresh benefits lowered when they are sanctioned.

• If you are sanctioned, you may cure your sanction at any time, regardless of the number of times you have been sanctioned by contacting your cash aid Eligibility Worker or the Employment Services office.

Employment Services Participant Handbook (English)
Employment Services Participant Handbook (Spanish)

Employment Services is a program designed to assist cash aid recipients with becoming self-sufficient. Many of our participants have lost their jobs in the economic downturn, and others are limited in work experience but have a strong desire to succeed and gain a fantastic career.

No one can choose the right employee for your business except you. We can, however, prescreen and refer candidates to you, saving you dollars in recruiting costs. We want to stress, that all hiring decisions and selections are yours.

Our Job Developers will meet with you at your site to identify and understand your open position needs so we can begin working for you. Then, the job developers work closely with our other staff to interview potential candidates. We look at experience, interest and aptitude, literacy levels needed for your position, and other job-matching requirements that have been identified by you. Then, you will receive information on only those candidates that make it through the process.

The process is customized to fit your needs and requests as our employer customer. We can send all resumes to you so you can call each candidate; or work with you to directly refer candidates. The goal is to satisfy both our customers, you the employer, and the CalWORKs participant as the job seeker.

No. JobWORKs candidates will come to you with their resource team behind them. We will continue to support them with paid child care, transportation assistance, uniforms, clothing, and other work needs.

For the 6 months of the ESE contract, you will receive fifty percent of the agreed-upon salary reimbursed to your company.

When you hire a CalWORKS recipient you can save money through the Work Opportunity Tax Credit.

The Work Opportunity Tax Credit, or WOTC, is a general business credit provided under section 51 of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) that is jointly administered by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Labor (DOL). The WOTC is available for wages paid to certain individuals who begin work on or before December 31, 2025. The WOTC may be claimed by any employer that hires and pays or incurs wages to certain individuals who are certified by a designated local agency (sometimes referred to as a state workforce agency) as being a member of one of 10 targeted groups. In general, the WOTC is equal to 40% of up to $6,000 of wages paid to or incurred on behalf of, an individual who:

• is in their first year of employment;
• is certified as being a member of a targeted group; and
• performs at least 400 hours of services for that employer.

Thus, the maximum tax credit is generally $2,400. A 25% rate applies to wages for individuals who perform fewer than 400 but at least 120 hours of service for the employer. Up to $24,000 in wages may be taken into account in determining the WOTC for certain qualified veterans. An employer cannot claim the WOTC for employees who are rehired. In general, taxable employers may carry the current year’s unused WOTC back one year and then forward 20 years. See the Instructions to Form 3800 (General Business Credit) for more information.

Employers of all sizes are eligible to claim the WOTC. This includes both taxable and certain tax-exempt employers located in the United States and in certain U.S. territories. While taxable employers claim the WOTC against income taxes, eligible tax-exempt employers can claim the WOTC only against payroll taxes and only for wages paid to members of the Qualified Veteran targeted group.

An employer may claim the WOTC for an individual who is certified as a member of any of the following targeted groups under section 51 of the Code:

• the formerly incarcerated or those previously convicted of a felony;
• recipients of state assistance under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA);
• veterans;
• residents in areas designated as empowerment zones or rural renewal counties;
• individuals referred to an employer following completion of a rehabilitation plan or program;
• individuals whose families are recipients of supplemental nutrition assistance under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008;
• recipients of supplemental security income benefits under title XVI of the SSA;
• individuals whose families are recipients of state assistance under part A of title IV of the SSA; and
• individuals experiencing long-term unemployment.

On or before the day that an offer of employment is made, the employer and the job applicant must complete Form 8850 (Pre-Screening Notice and Certification Request for the Work Opportunity Credit). The employer has 28 calendar days from the new employee’s start date to submit Form 8850 to the designated local agency located in the state in which the business is located (where the employee works). Additional forms may be required by the DOL to obtain certification. See the Instructions to Form 8850 and the DOL Employment and Training Administration’s website on WOTC for more information. Following receipt of a certification from the designated local agency that the employee is a member of one of the 10 targeted groups, taxable employers file Form 5884 (Work Opportunity Credit) and tax-exempt employers file Form 5884-C (Work Opportunity Credit for Qualified Tax-Exempt Organizations Hiring Qualified Veterans) to claim the WOTC. See the Instructions to Form 5884 and Form 5884-C for more information. Additionally, see the LB&I and SB/SE Joint Directive on the Work Opportunity Tax Credit that the IRS issued to help certain employers affected by extended delays in the WOTC certification process.

Generally, the wages that are used to calculate the WOTC cannot be used to calculate other wage-based credits, however, an employer may be able to claim more than one wage-based credit for the same employee. Provided the same wages are not used to calculate each credit, an employer may be able to claim the WOTC and another credit such as the American Rescue Plan’s Employee Retention Credit (ERC), the Empowerment Zone Employment Credit, the Employer Credit for Paid Family and Medical Leave, and the ERC for employers affected by qualified disasters, among others. For example, a small business can combine the WOTC with the American Rescue Plan’s ERC and claim both credits on wages paid to the same employee, provided that any wages used to calculate the WOTC are not also used to calculate the ERC.

You can call the California WOTC Processing Center toll-free at 1-866-593-0173. Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) representatives are available to assist you by phone, fax, mail, e-mail, or online. Send an e-mail to WOTCsupport@edd.ca.gov. Important Security Reminder: For your protection, if you are sending an email through third-party e-mail software (e.g., Yahoo, Gmail, Outlook), please do not include confidential information such as account numbers, passwords, or Social Security numbers.

Phone: 209-953-7000

Email: JobWORKS-SE@sjgov.org