What does this mean for individuals who are required to have a face-to-face interview through another program, e.g. CalWorks?
The waiver for food stamps does not change the interview requirements for other programs. Applicants required to come into the office for a CalWORKS interview must still do so. If we were trying to implement this phone interview policy several years ago, the CalWORKs interview requirements would have severely limited the impact of phone interviews. Not too long ago, the majority of food stamp participants also received CalWORKS, so waiving the face-to-face for food stamps would not have helped the majority of participants. But today, approximately two-thirds of food stamp participants DO NOT participate in CalWORKS. Waiving the face-to-face interview for the food stamp program helps a whole lot more households today than it ever could.
