Great news for our community: If you receive CalFresh food benefits, they can continue in spite of the new federal work requirements under H.R.1! Thanks to work happening with counties and the California Department of Social Services, anyone receiving services from a regional center has been exempted from these new federal work requirements.
County computer systems have already been updated, which means you do not need to fill out any extra paperwork or work verification forms to protect your CalFresh benefits.
If your CalFresh case is up for renewal, look out for a notice confirming your coverage is continuing smoothly.
You do not need to take any action. If you happen to receive a county letter asking for proof of work, please do not panic. Simply contact your county social worker right away to let them know you are part of the regional center system so they can fix it.
What is H.R. 1?
House Resolution 1 (H.R. 1) also is known as the One Big Beautiful Bill. For CalFresh, H.R. 1 requires people to complete very specific qualifying activities, unless they are exempt from work requirements. One of the exemptions from work requirements is being “medically frail”. Federal law defines this as having a developmental disability—so, anyone determined to be eligible for regional center services is exempt from the work requirements and thus can keep their CalFresh benefits. Other existing CalFresh requirements must still be met.