CalWORKs Summary Take-Up Rate

A Note on Take-up Rate

In previous reports to the legislature, CDSS indicated that new measures of CalWORKs take-up were in development. As of February 2024, significant progress has been made on the development of these measures. This update describes the measures under development and how they differ from publicly available estimates of CalWORKs take-up from other entities.

Measures based on publicly available data. The LAO estimates that the take-up rate amongst CalWORKs eligible families in 2019 was 60%. The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation at the US Department of Health and Human Services estimates that the take-up rate amongst Californian families eligible for TANF (inclusive of state programs) was 68% in 2018.  While these kinds of estimates reflect a take-up gap in California that recent investments are intended to address, it is also notable that this rate is 40 percentage points higher than the national average of 28% (Source: US HHS). These statewide estimates primarily use survey data from the Census (the American Community Survey and Current Population Survey, respectively).

CDSS has been collaborating with the LAO and other external research partners to build on these existing methodologies. In turn, the CDSS has developed a take-up measure using Census data that aims to address two limitations in the LAO’s methodology:

  1. Uncertainty around estimates: Census data is based on a sample of Californians. There is uncertainty in whether a sample really represents the full population, usually referred to as a "margin of error." Estimates on smaller demographic groups (e.g., race and ethnicity for a narrow part of the population eligible for CalWORKs) will have larger margins of error. This uncertainty makes it hard to draw conclusions about whether take-up rates across demographics differ when using survey data from the Census. CDSS’ measure explicitly quantifies this uncertainty.  
  2. Identification of individuals that are ineligible on the basis of immigration status: Census data does not explicitly indicate whether non-citizen respondents’ immigration status is one of the CalWORKs-eligible non-citizen categories. CDSS’ measure draws on established methodologies and applies a set of logical tests to respondent characteristics to more accurately evaluate a given respondents’ likely eligibility for CalWORKs based on immigration status.

Measures based on administrative data:  “in-reach” take-up metrics. In addition to developing a measure of CalWORKs take-up based on publicly available data, the CDSS aims to use administrative data to quantify the in-reach “gap,” or the percentage of children and adults that receive other safety net benefits and may be eligible for CalWORKs but are not participating. These measures utilize data from two of California’s largest safety net programs: CalFresh and Medi-Cal. These measures will complement measures that use publicly available data (as described above) and define an actionable, real-time measure with administrative data that the CDSS and other state departments have access to and are uniquely positioned to use.

  • Medi-Cal:  To better define the potentially eligible population, CDSS is working with DHCS to determine who may be eligible for CalWORKs but not currently participating in the program. CDSS and DHCS will use available administrative data from data sources such as MEDS, SAWS, and Employment Development Department to better identify which children and adults are likely eligible for the CalWORKs.  CDSS and DHCS finalized a Business Use Case Proposal to enable the exchange of data for this purpose in Fall 2023.
  • CalFresh:  CDSS has robust information about CalFresh participants, such as household composition, family relationships, earned and unearned income sources, and other factors that contribute to CalWORKs eligibility. CDSS can use data on CalFresh participation to identify which children and adults are likely eligible for CalWORKs.

The use of administrative data to estimate CalWORKs take-up will allow CDSS to develop a clear “roadmap” for outreach by: 

  • Tracking program reach by race/ethnicity, language, family structure, and geography—without the uncertainty that comes with survey data.
  • Including mixed status immigration families and families facing housing instability.
  • Provide a real-time measure (in contrast with the annual measures that rely on survey data) to track progress against closing the take-up gap.
  • Help develop a better understanding of what the barriers are to take-up: including awareness of the program and application process, potential administrative barriers to enrolling, and any psychological barriers (such as stigma) that may deter participation.
  • Explore the possibility of producing actionable lists for in-reach that CDSS, county partners, and/or state partners can use to close the take-up gap.

The two approaches to measuring CalWORKs take-up measures are complementary to one another. The measures that use publicly available data enable more direct comparisons with established methodologies. The measures that use administrative data provide more granular and actionable insights that CDSS can use to inform work to improve take-up over time.