The County MA Program helps CalWORKs Welfare-to-Work (WtW) families who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless due to a financial crisis resulting from circumstances out of the family’s control. It provides eligible families with a once-in-a-lifetime* payment of up to $2,500 to secure permanent housing. Families can apply for MA at any CalWORKs office or by calling the Customer Service Center at (866) 613-3777.
The MA payment (not to exceed $2,500) can include:
- Up to two times the total rent (before subsidies) for move-in costs [security deposits (last month’s rent, cleaning fees, key deposits)];
- Utility deposits (turn-on-fees) required for gas, electricity and/or water, when not included in the rent;
- Truck rental [truck rental fee, any deposit associated with the rental of the truck, and mileage (if separate from the truck rental amount)];
- Up to $405 for the purchase of a stove and/or refrigerator when the new residence does not have one; and
- For families with a timed-out adult, up to the amount of the timed-out adult’s portion of the family’s reduced grant for two months, so that the family can remain in their current housing while they are in the process of moving into the new residence.
To be eligible for the MA payment, the participant must:
- Be CalWORKs approved;
- Have exhausted or not be eligible to the State’s Homeless Assistance Program;
- Be employed full-time, or employed part-time and actively participating in an approved GAIN WtW activity or Post-Time Limit (PTL) services, or unemployed and actively participating in an approved GAIN WtW activity or PTL services;
- Be homeless or at risk of becoming homeless due to a financial crisis resulting from circumstances beyond the family’s control (proof of the financial crisis required); and
- Secure permanent housing where the family’s share of the rent does not exceed 80 percent of the family’s Total Monthly Household Income.
The MA Program can be used in conjunction with the State’s Homeless Assistance Program when the participant needs to purchase a stove and/or refrigerator because the new place of residence does not have one and/or the participant needs to rent a truck to move into the new residence.
*Eligibility to the MA Program is limited to once-in-a-lifetime unless the family meets an exception. An exception to the once-in-a-lifetime rule for MA cannot be used unless 12 consecutive months have passed from the issuance of the previous MA payment. However, this rule does not apply if the need is due to a natural disaster.
