County Board of Supervisors · Tuesday, October 6, 2026, 9:00 AM · Item 8 · REGULAR AGENDA
General Assistance cash aid program: trends, costs and proposed policy changes
In plain English
The Human Services Department is asking the Board to overhaul the County's General Assistance program, which gives county-funded cash aid to poor adults who have no children at home and don't qualify for other cash aid. A yes vote would cut the maximum monthly grant by tying it to the lower CalWORKs 'Non-Exempt' payment level instead of the higher 'Exempt' level, and would limit non-disabled adults under 65 to three months of aid in any 12-month period. It would also drop several paperwork rules — monthly eligibility reports, twice-monthly job search reports, and required Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous meetings — while requiring a renewed medical statement every 90 days instead of every six months, and would add referrals to job services and Medi-Cal Enhanced Care Management. Changes would take effect July 1, 2027, or whenever the statewide welfare computer system (CalSAWS) is reprogrammed, whichever is later.
About two-thirds of current recipients — an estimated 391 people in FY 27-28 and 408 in FY 28-29 — would be subject to the new three-month limit, and the average monthly grant would drop by about $50, while roughly 75% of recipients are experiencing homelessness. The program is paid for entirely out of the County General Fund, and the county projects the changes would hold spending near $2 million a year instead of rising past $2.4 million.
Key facts
- Net county cost for General Assistance rose from $640,154 in FY 19-20 to $1,979,531 in FY 25-26; without changes it is projected at about $2,485,171 by FY 28-29.
- Projected savings: $424,277 in FY 27-28 and $446,077 in FY 28-29, totaling $870,354 — $273,405 of that from the lower maximum grant and $596,949 from the three-month time limit.
- Non-disabled adults under 65 would be limited to three months of aid per 12 months; people who are disabled, medically certified as unable to work, or with a pending disability (SSI) application would not be subject to the limit.
- In FY 25-26, 631 unique clients received aid, 473 (75%) were experiencing homelessness, and clients stayed on aid an average of 6.2 months with an average monthly benefit of $525.
- Target implementation is July 1, 2027, with a written progress report by January 28, 2028 and a one-year impact report by June 28, 2028.
Reasons to support
- Costs have more than tripled since FY 2019-20 and come entirely from the County General Fund; the department says the changes would keep spending at or slightly below the current roughly $2 million a year rather than letting it climb past $2.4 million.
- Dropping monthly eligibility reports, semi-monthly job search reports, and mandatory AA/NA meetings cuts paperwork that the report says causes frequent case closures and reapplications, freeing staff to connect people to jobs, health care, housing and disability-benefit help.
- A three-month limit matches what the report describes as the rule in a majority of California counties, and the 1979 WELAC lawsuit settlement ties grants to CalWORKs levels but does not require using the higher Exempt payment level.
Reasons to oppose or change it
- Roughly 391 people in the first year would be cut off after three months, and 5-6% of employable clients in FY 2024-25 and 2025-26 received housing benefits for more than three months and would lose that portion — the report only says many 'may be eligible for' other housing help.
- Everyone remaining on aid, including disabled recipients, would see the average monthly grant fall by about $50 at a time when 75% of recipients are already homeless.
- Disabled recipients would have to produce a renewed medical statement every 90 days instead of every six months unless a provider certifies a longer-term condition, adding a step for the group the report says it is trying to protect.
Official wording
Consider presentation on the General Assistance program, including program trends, fiscal sustainability, and proposed policy updates, and take related actions (Human Services Department)
Summary written by claude-opus-5 from the agenda and the Staff Report. It can contain mistakes. The official documents govern.