CA DSS - Department of Social Services

In California, eligibility for food benefits and/or cash aid assistance is determined at the local county office. This the local County office.

CAlfresh is the State of California Food Stamp Program, also know as SNAP. This is a county operated Federal program. Benefits are for food or food products for a healthy nutritional diet.

Electronic Benefit Cards, EBT, are used to purchase CAlfresh items.

Income requirement for CAlfresh:

CalFresh households, except those containing an aged (60 or older) or disabled member or where all members receive cash assistance, are subject to gross and net income determination tests.
Gross Income - all non-excludable income from any source including all earned income and all unearned income. The maximum gross allowed is 200% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL)[except for households who are sanctioned, households with certain convicted drug felons (until April 1, 2015) or households who have been convicted of an Intentional Program Violation]. If the household passes the gross income test, then the net income test is computed. Net income is computed by deducting the following, if applicable, from gross income. The resultant amount cannot exceed 100% of the Federal Poverty Level.


Office Hours: Mondays through Fridays 8:00am to 5pm. Eligibility and Employment ServicesC4YourselfC4Yourself is an online application system that allows you to apply for benefits. This is a secured site and all your information will be private and safe.CalWORKsCalWORKs is a cash aid program that helps families in need because of the unemployment or absence of a parent. CalWORKs provides a cash grant to the family based on family size and income.General Assistance (GA)The General Assistance Program provides assistance to needy county residents who have no other means of financial support. General Assistance is available only to those county residents who do not receive financial support from public sources or from family members.CalFreshThe CalFresh Program, formerly known as Food Stamps and federally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), can add to your food budget to put healthy and nutritious food on the table. The program issues monthly electronic benefits that can be used to buy most foods at many markets and food stores.Medi-Cal Medi-Cal provides medical care for children, low-income adults and elderly persons. Some of the programs offered under Medi-Cal are: Long Term Care; Board and Care; assistance for Aged, Blind or Disabled (ABD); County Medical Services Program (CMSP); Healthy Families; and Asset Waiver Medi-Cal for children.Homeless Assistance If a family is eligible for CalWORKs assistance, they may also be eligible to receive homeless assistance. A person is defined as homeless when they do not have a normal place to stay on most nights. A person can only receive Homeless Assistance once in a lifetime. Payment for temporary homeless assistance is limited to 16 days. When a person is no longer homeless and finds a place to stay, financial assistance may be available to help the person with a security deposit and the rent for the past month.