Cal. WIC § 11325.15 — California Code / Code wic / Division 9 / Part 3 / Chapter 2 / Article 3.2 / Section 11325.15
Section 11325.15
Status: in_force

[Added by Stats. 2017, Ch. 24, Sec. 20.   (SB 89)   Effective June 27, 2017.   Conditionally superseded on or after July 1, 2026; See amendment by Stats. 2025, Ch. 107.]
(a) (1) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that the Online CalWORKs Appraisal Tool (OCAT) is an essential part of CalWORKs welfare-to-work case management and should function as a shared service in the Statewide Automated Welfare System (SAWS), which is the system of record for the CalWORKs program, as expeditiously as possible.

(2) The State Department of Social Services shall expedite any necessary steps to obtain any necessary licenses to allow the OCAT to function as a shared service in the SAWS environment.

(b) OCAT shall become a shared service in the SAWS environment, consistent with the state’s shared services strategy. The functionality of OCAT in the SAWS environment shall include, but not be limited to, the exchange of data to prevent the need for duplicate data entry, to alert users to potential data conflicts, and to transmit OCAT recommendations to SAWS, where the recommendations may be used to streamline the case management of welfare-to-work activities and to produce reports.

(c) The implementation of this section shall not reduce access by the department nor counties to OCAT data and recommendations, as that access existed as of June 30, 2017.

(d) (1) Notwithstanding any other law, contracts necessary to obtain licenses for OCAT shall be exempt from the personal services contracting requirements of Article 4 (commencing with Section 19130) of Chapter 5 of Part 2 of Division 5 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

(2) Notwithstanding any other law, contracts necessary to obtain licenses for OCAT shall be exempt from the Public Contract Code and the State Contracting Manual, and shall not be subject to the approval of the Department of General Services.

[Amended (as amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 79, Sec. 13) by Stats. 2025, Ch. 107, Sec. 4.   (SB 146)   Effective September 17, 2025.   Conditionally operative on or after July 1, 2026, as prescribed by its own provisions.]
(a) (1) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that the Online CalWORKs Appraisal Tool (OCAT) is an essential part of CalWORKs welfare-to-work case management and should function as a shared service in the Statewide Automated Welfare System (SAWS), which is the system of record for the CalWORKs program, as expeditiously as possible.

(2) The State Department of Social Services shall expedite any necessary steps to obtain any necessary licenses to allow the OCAT to function as a shared service in the SAWS environment.

(b) OCAT shall become a shared service in the SAWS environment, consistent with the state’s shared services strategy. The functionality of OCAT in the SAWS environment shall include, but not be limited to, the exchange of data to prevent the need for duplicate data entry, to alert users to potential data conflicts, and to transmit OCAT recommendations to SAWS, where the recommendations may be used to streamline the case management of welfare-to-work activities and to produce reports.

(c) The implementation of this section shall not reduce access by the department nor counties to OCAT data and recommendations, as that access existed as of June 30, 2017.

(d) Notwithstanding any other law, a contract awarded pursuant to this article shall be exempt from the personal services contracting requirements of Article 4 (commencing with Section 19130) of Chapter 5 of Part 2 of Division 5 of Title 2 of the Government Code, the Public Contract Code, and the State Contracting Manual and is not subject to review or approval by the Department of General Services.

(e) Consistent with Section 11325.2, the department shall develop an updated streamlined appraisal tool to replace OCAT. This tool shall be designed to improve efficiency while maintaining the ability to assess participant strengths and barriers. The department shall convene a stakeholder workgroup, which may be convened concurrently with an existing department stakeholder meeting, to inform the development and use of this tool. The stakeholder workgroup shall include, but not be limited to, representatives of organizations representing the County Welfare Directors Association of California, CalWORKs recipients, social workers, advocacy groups, and any relevant state, county, or city government agencies. The department shall ensure that, in replacing OCAT, the lines of inquiry necessary to support participants are retained in the appraisal tool, including, but not limited to, domestic violence, learning disabilities, and pregnant or parenting teenagers.

(f) Notwithstanding the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), the department may implement, interpret, or make specific the changes made to this section by the act that added this subdivision by means of all-county letters or similar written instructions from the department until regulations are adopted. These all-county letters or similar instructions shall have the same force and effect as regulations until the adoption of regulations.

(g) The changes made to this section by the act that added this subdivision shall become operative on July 1, 2026, or, if automation is necessary, the later of July 1, 2026, or on the date the department notifies the Legislature that the Statewide Automated Welfare System can perform the necessary automation to implement the changes made to this section by the act that added this subdivision.