Refugee/Entrant Cash Assistance Applications

These programs offer time-limited financial, medical, and nutrition assistance to certain refugees, asylees, and entrants who are resettling in the United States. The programs include:
Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA)
Entrant Cash Assistance (ECA)
CalWORKs-Refugee Resettlement Program
Cuban/Haitian Entrant Program (CHEP)
General Relief
Medi-Cal
CalFresh
IHSS

The basic eligiblity requirements are as follows:
Applicants must live, and intend to continue living, in Los Angeles County.
Applicants must have an I-94, I-151, or I-551 card issued by the INS.
AFDC-RRP and CHEP applicants must apply within four months of entry into the U.S.
RCA & ECA applicants must apply within eight months of entry into the U.S.
Applicants must meet real and personal property requirements for the aid category to which they are applying.
An applicant's total monthly income may not exceed the amount allowed for a family of the same size.

CalWORKs-RRP & CHEP applicants must meet CalWORKs family composition, employment, and income requirements and apply within four months of entry into the U.S. CHEP and ECA are programs for Cuban/Haitian people who arrived in the United States in 1980 or later. These people have entrant rather than refugee/asylee status.

REFUGEE CASH ASSISTANCE (RCA) applicants must meet income requirements, but not family composition requirements of CalWORKs. The program is available to the following people:
Adults who have no minor children
Two-parent families in which both parents are unemployed and have no link to the work force
Two-parent family with 1 parent employed full-time but with income less than the equivalent CalWORKs grant.

Refugees who are aged, blind, and disabled must apply for SSI/SSP and may be aided through RCA pending SSI approval. RCA recipients may qualify for GR assistance when they have been in the United States for eight months or longer.

MEDI-CAL & CALFRESH -- Refugee assistance recipients automatically receive a Medi-Cal card and CalFresh for each month they remain eligible for cash assistance.
IHSS -- Refugees who meet the age, disability, and financial need requirements for IHSS may apply for this service.

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