Collection
Food, health coverage, energy bills, phone and internet, a tax credit: what each program gives, in the agency’s own words, and where to apply. Amounts only where the agency states them.
Read more211 is the free, confidential, three-digit phone number that connects anyone to local help with food, housing, utility bills, transportation and health care. It answers 24 hours a day and has no eligibility test. Dial 2-1-1 or search 211.org; the programs it names decide eligibility.
Read moreThe Affordable Connectivity Program was a federal internet discount that ended on 1 June 2024 when Congress gave it no more money. No benefit is paid and no application is taken. Federal Lifeline, which can also discount broadband, is still active.
Read moreBenefit finders are free online questionnaires that list programs a person may qualify for. USAGov's benefit finder, where Benefits.gov now forwards, covers federal benefits by category; NCOA's BenefitsCheckUp screens older adults and people with disabilities by ZIP code. Neither is an application; you apply to each program they name.
Read moreThe Cal Grant is California's main college grant. Cal Grant A pays tuition, Cal Grant B adds a $1,648 first-year Access Award, and Cal Grant C pays for career and technical training, for California students under income and asset ceilings with a verified GPA. Apply with the FAFSA or the California Dream Act Application by March 2 (September 2 for community college awards).
Read moreEnhanced Care Management gives Medi-Cal plan members with highly complex needs their own care team; Community Supports are extra services, such as housing deposits, recuperative care and medically tailored meals, that each plan may offer. Both followed the Whole Person Care pilot under CalAIM. A member gets them by calling the member services number on the Medi-Cal plan card or through a provider referral.
Read moreCalEITC is a refundable California tax credit for people who work and earn up to $32,900 a year (tax year 2025); it pays cash back even when no tax is owed. It is claimed only by filing a California return with form FTB 3514, free through CalFile or a VITA site, and ITIN filers qualify.
Read moreCalFresh is California's name for SNAP, the federal food benefit: money on an EBT card each month, for households whose income is under a limit. This page carries the current limits and benefit amounts with their official sources, the application step by step, the interview and renewal rules that lose people their benefits, and the other programs the same facts open. Text the number on this page or open the chat, and a model that has read this exact page helps you check your eligibility and find everything else you may qualify for.
Read moreThe CalFresh Restaurant Meals Program lets CalFresh households in which every member is 60 or older, disabled, homeless, or the spouse of such a person buy prepared meals with their EBT card at federally approved restaurants anywhere in California. It is statewide since 1 September 2021. The way in is CalFresh and the county social services office.
Read moreThe California Victim Compensation Board repays victims of violent crime, and their families, for crime-related costs no other source covers, such as medical and counseling bills, funeral costs, lost income and relocation, up to $70,000 per approved application. Apply online at CalVCB Online, through a county victim advocate, or by mail.
Read moreCalWORKs is California's cash aid for families with children (TANF): a monthly grant on an EBT card plus child care and work services, for families whose income is under the maximum aid payment. Each county welfare department runs it. Apply at BenefitsCal or the county welfare office.
Read moreThe CalWORKs Housing Support Program pays rental assistance, deposits, utility payments, moving costs and motel stays, with housing navigation and case management, for CalWORKs families who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Counties run it. Families ask their CalWORKs worker or the county HSP contact.
Read moreCAPI pays monthly cash, equal to SSI/SSP, to non-citizens who are 65 or older, blind or disabled and are denied SSI only because of their immigration status. The state pays it in full. Apply with form SOC 814 at the county social services agency.
Read moreCARE is a monthly discount on the electricity and natural gas bill for California households whose income is under a limit or who are enrolled in programs like CalFresh or Medi-Cal. The discount is given by the household's utility under rules set by the California Public Utilities Commission. Apply with your utility; no documents are needed at application.
Read moreCFAP is California's state-funded food benefit, equal to CalFresh, for noncitizens who are barred from CalFresh only because of their immigration status. It uses the same application as CalFresh, through BenefitsCal or the county, and the county decides which program each member gets. From 1 October 2027 it expands to every income-eligible Californian 55 or older regardless of status.
Read moreThe federal Child Tax Credit is worth up to $2,200 per child under 17 for tax year 2025, and up to $1,700 per child of it is refundable as the Additional Child Tax Credit for families with at least $2,500 of earned income. It is claimed on Form 1040 with Schedule 8812; parent and child need work-valid Social Security numbers.
Read moreCalifornia Children's Services pays for diagnosis, treatment, case management and therapy for children under 21 with serious medical conditions such as cancer, cystic fibrosis, heart disease or cerebral palsy. A child qualifies with a covered condition, California residence and one of several financial routes, including family income of $40,000 or less or high medical costs; the Medical Therapy Program has no income limit. Referrals go to the county CCS office.
Read moreThe California College Promise Grant waives the $46-per-unit enrollment fee at a California community college for students on cash aid, students under 150 percent of the poverty line, or students with at least $1,104 in unmet need from the FAFSA or Dream Act application. Apply at the college's financial aid office or with the FAFSA or CADAA; most waivers are processed within a week.
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