Welfare in California

Welfare in California consists of federal welfare programs which are often at least partially administered by state and county agencies, and several independent programs, which are usually administered by the counties.

Federal-state-county programs consist of:

Federal-state-county-city-special district programs consist of:

State-county programs consist of:

The Statewide Automated Welfare System (SAWS) is the county-managed public assistance eligibility, enrollment, and case management system. Counties are organized into three SAWS consortia: C-IV (C4Yourself), WCDS (CalWIN), and Los Angeles County's LEADER Replacement System (LRS).

The California Medical Assistance Program (Medi-Cal or MediCal) is the name of the California implementation of the federal Medicaid program serving low-income families, seniors, persons with disabilities, children in foster care, pregnant women, low-income undocumented children <http://www.dhcs.ca.gov/services/medi-cal/eligibility/Pages/sb-75.aspx> and certain low-income adults. It is jointly administered by the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), with many services implemented at the local level mainly by the counties of California. Approximately 8.8 million citizens were enrolled in Medi-Cal for at least 1 month in 2009-10, or about 23% of California's population.

The Medi-Cal program does not have open enrollment. It is a year-round program in which one can apply anytime. <http://www.dhcs.ca.gov/formsandpubs/publications/opa/Pages/QnAAffordableCareAct.aspx>

A recent survey of Medi-Cal members by the California Healthcare Foundation (CHCF) found that 90% of respondents rate Medi-Cal as a good or very good program. Medi-Cal emphasizes prevention-oriented health care that promotes health and well-being and works to ensure members receive the right care at the right time.<http://www.dhcs.ca.gov/services/medi-cal/eligibility/Pages/Medi-CalFAQs2014a.aspx>

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