But if you don't have kids...

General Relief

In California, welfare for those who don't have kids is called "General Relief". And it's almost nonexistent. You only qualify if you have less than $50 in savings, one car worth less than $4,500, and do not own your home. And if you are lucky enough to be in those dire straits, then you will be provided with...

$221 a month.

I'm not sure what you're expected to do with that money - I don't know anyone who could cover their rent alone with that much (unless they were on Section 8). Those on general relief are provided with a few more bits of aid, including:

• bus tokens for appointments
• a personal care kit
• Medically necessary diet supplements
• Free health care from county hospitals/clinics
• Referral to county drug/alcohol recovery program

If you're homeless, they'll give you hotel and food vouchers until you get your first check. If you're about to be evicted, they will give you up to $272 in aid to prevent your eviction.

If you are employable, then you must participate in the GROW program (similar to the CalWorks GAIN program) and spend at least 20 hours/week in activities leading to employment. Through the GROW program, you are eligible for assistance with transportation, books, supplies, uniforms, and tools, as long as they relate to your job. You can also get violence and mental health counseling.

Employable persons can only get General Relief aid for 9 months out of every 12 month period. Once you get a job, any earnings over $200/month start deducting from your benefits, and once you earn over $620/month or save $1500 then your benefits are cut off completely.

Looking at the basics, it seems that the point of General Relief is just to get people back to work as soon as possible. It definitely appears to be working with the premise that any employable person can find a job if they try hard enough. And there are other forms of aid for people without work, like food stamps, unemployment benefits, and non-profit agency aid. But what exactly is the point of giving people two hundred and twenty-one dollars? Is this program helpful, or do they need to give out a lot more help to people trying to stay on their feet? Or should they just drop the aid altogether? I'd be interested to know what people think, or to see if they've seen a better solution.