California Guaranteed Income Pilot Program
Overview
The California Guaranteed Income (GI) Pilot Program provides grants to eligible entities that provide guaranteed income to participants. GI pilot programs traditionally provide unconditional and recurring cash payments intended to support the basic needs of the recipients.
Per the Fiscal Year 2021-22 budget agreed to by California’s Governor and the Legislature, the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) oversees a GI pilot program serving pregnant individuals and former foster youth. This pilot program is currently underway. Following a competitive Request for Application (RFA) process, the CDSS awarded grant funding to the following seven pilot sites: Notice of Intent to Award Guaranteed Income Pilot Program Grants. Please visit the Guaranteed Income Pilot Program for Pregnant Individuals and Former Foster Youth webpage for more information.
Per the Fiscal Year 2024-25 budget agreed to by California’s Governor and the Legislature, the CDSS will also oversee a GI pilot program serving adults 60 years of age or older residing in California and either eligible for or receiving a means-tested benefit. This pilot program is currently in the early planning stage. Please visit the Guaranteed Income Pilot Program for Older Californians webpage for updates and to join our listserv.
Impact on Other Social Safety Net Benefits
CDSS recognizes that receipt of guaranteed income may lead to impacts on eligibility for other safety-net benefits.
Pursuant to statute, (Welfare & Institutions Code (WIC) Section 18997), the State-funded GI Pilot Program payments are exempt from consideration as income and resources when determining California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program eligibility and grant amounts. They are also exempt from consideration as income when determining CalFresh eligibility, as long as the direct payment to individuals includes some amount of non-governmental funding.
The California GI Pilot Program grantees address benefit and eligibility impacts with participants through the inclusion of “benefits counseling” – empowering participants to make informed decisions about participation in the program. For more information, please refer to All County Welfare Directors Letter (ACWDL) dated July 21, 2023.
For all other GI programs operating in the state, Assembly Bill (AB) 120 amended WIC Section 11157 to require that all GI payments made to CalWORKs applicants and recipients be exempt from consideration as income and resources when determining CalWORKs eligibility and grant amounts. CalFresh income exemption policy is unchanged by AB 120. Direct payments from GI programs are exempt from income calculations for CalFresh eligibility determinations when the GI payments are exempted by CalWORKs and contain any amount of non-governmental funds. Payments from GI programs that do not contain any amount of non-governmental funds are not exempt for CalFresh, even if the GI payment is exempted by CalWORKs.
Please visit the CalWORKs and CalFresh Income Exemption webpage for more information. For additional information about exempting GI income for CalWORKs purposes, please refer to All County Letter (ACL) 24-09, issued February 28, 2024. For additional information about exempting GI income for CalFresh purposes, please refer to All County Letter (ACL) 23-60, issued July 5, 2023.
Stay in Touch
For the latest information regarding the State’s GI Pilot Program for former foster youth and pregnant individuals, please sign up for email updates via the CDSS Guaranteed Income Listserv. Visit the Guaranteed Income Pilot Program for Older Californians webpage to join the listserv for that program. For any questions regarding the Guaranteed Income Pilot Program, please email our team at GIPilot.info@dss.ca.gov.