Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants (CAPI)

Who is it for?

CAPI is a 100 percent state-funded program designed to provide monthly cash benefits to aged, blind, and disabled non-citizens who are ineligible for SSI/SSP solely due to their immigrant status. The welfare reform act of 1996 (P.L. 104-193) eliminated Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment (SSI/SSP) eligibility for most non-citizens. As a result, most immigrants who were not receiving SSI/SSP in August 1996 are no longer eligible for SSI/SSP.

In order to Qualify you must:

1. Meet all other SSI/SSP eligibility criteria except for immigration status
2. Be aged, blind, or disabled,
3. Be a resident of California,
4. Have resources below the allowable limits of $2,000 for an individual or $3,000 for a couple, and
   • Have income less than the CAPI standards
   • Be a non-citizen and meet the immigration status criteria in effect for SSI/SSP as of 8/21/96.
   • Be ineligible for SSI/SSP solely due to immigration status. This means a CAPI applicant must apply or SSI/SSP, or submit other proof of ineligibility from the Social Security Administration.

CAPI payment amounts vary depending on a person's marital status, living arrangements and other income. CAPI payment standards are equivalent to the amount of SSI/SSP benefits.

Golden State Grant (GSG) Payments

Recent California legislation authorized a one-time payment of $600 to CAPI recipients to provide relief from hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Payments will be automatically mailed out based on zip code. Recipients can expect to receive their payment based on the following schedule:

For general information about the GSG payments, refer to the CAPI GSG FAQs; CAPI GSG FAQs Spanish. For any additional questions, please contact: 1 (866) 312-3100.

Please Note: Due to new guidance issued by the federal government, this payment will not be counted toward the CAPI resource limit of $2,000 for an individual and $3,000 for a couple.

For information regarding the GSG for CalWORKS families and Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment (SSI/SSP) recipients, visit the links below.

• CalWORKs Golden State Grant Program (ca.gov)
• SSI/SSP Webpage

Also enacted as part of the same legislation is the Golden State Stimulus. For information regarding the Golden State Stimulus Payment, visit the link below.

• Golden State Stimulus | FTB.ca.gov

How to Apply:

To apply in person or to find out more about CAPI benefits in your county, please contact your county social services agency.

CAPI recipients may be eligible for CalFresh benefits, Medi-Cal, Special Circumstances, and IHSS, but they must file for each benefit separately. There is no automatic eligibility link between CAPI and these other programs.

State regulations governing CAPI can be found in Manual of Policies and Procedures, Division 49.