Public Benefits
This PUBLIC BENEFITS CHAPTER will give you an overview of the public benefits (government assistance) available to you in reentry, including how a criminal record affects your application. This chapter explains the most common public benefits programs that can help provide things like: cash assistance, health care, or food in your transition.
DISCLAIMER – YOUR RESPONSIBILITY WHEN USING THIS GUIDE: When putting together the Roadmap to Reentry: A California Legal Guide, we did our best to give you useful and accurate information. However, the laws change frequently and are subject to differing interpretations. We do not always have the resources to make changes to this informational material every time the law changes. If you use information from the Roadmap to Reentry legal guide, it is your responsibility to make sure that the law has not changed and applies to your particular situation. If you are incarcerated, most of the materials you need should be available in your institution’s law library. The Roadmap to Reentry guide is not intending to give legal advice, but rather legal information. No attorney-client relationship is created by using any information in this guide. You should always consult your own attorney if you need legal advice specific to your situation.
PUBLIC BENEFITS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
WHAT WILL I LEARN in the public benefits chapter?
- Who is eligible for each type of public benefits What you get if you are eligible for public benefitsHow your criminal record could affect your ability to get public benefits Which public benefits you can apply for while incarcerated How and where to apply for public benefits What happens once you’re enrolled in public benefitsWhat to do if your public benefits are denied or ended