What is General Relief?

General Relief (GR) is a cash assistance program funded by the County of Orange. It provides temporary cash aid to eligible indigent adults with no minor children, and to certain legal immigrants who do not qualify for Federal or State funded cash aid programs. General Relief benefits are considered to be a loan and must be repaid.

General Relief assistance consists of three classifications:

Employables: persons with no medical condition that would prevent or hinder employment. The Employable person must comply with all GR and General Relief Work Program (GRWP) requirements.
Conditionally Employables (CE): Persons whose employability and functionality have been evaluated by the county's Medical Review Team (MRT). CE persons must comply with the MRT case plan, and GRWP requirements.
Incapacitated: Persons that MRT has verified as unable to engage in any type of employment, training, or employment related activities due to a physical, social, emotional, and/or mental condition that is expected to last more than 3 weeks.

Eligibility

To be eligible for GR, you must be a U.S. citizen or legal alien who resides in Orange County and must meet certain income and property requirements as well as other criteria. In addition, all General Relief Applicants and Recipients must be fingerprinted as a condition of eligibility. You need to speak with an Eligibility Technician to find out if you are eligible.

How Do I Apply?

Monthly Reporting

If GR is approved, a monthly report of income, need and other factors of eligibility will be required prior to the authorization of additional assistance. The Monthly Income Report (GR-7) must be completed and submitted by the 5th working day of the month. GR recipients are also required to report changes to the Agency within three working days of their occurrence.

Medical Services

If you are eligible to receive GR benefits you are automatically certified eligible for the County Medical Services Initiative (MSI) Program.

GR Appeals

A County hearing is available to a person who is dissatisfied with an action or inaction that involves GR benefits. Requests for a County hearing must be made in writing within 30 days from the date of the notice of action.

Sanctions

A sanction is a period of ineligibility which is imposed when a

applicant/recipient fails to comply or cooperate with mandatory General Relief requirements.

Burials & Cremation

General Relief funds may be used for the burial or cremation of deceased indigent individuals who are US citizens or legally documented aliens when other resources are not available. A relative of the deceased individual must initiate the application. When there are no relatives, the County Public Administrator/Public Guardian's office or County Foster Care program may apply on behalf of the deceased. Any available death benefits must be paid to the County to offset any expenses paid by the county.

Making An Application

In order to determine if you are eligible for GR and the amount of benefits you may be eligible for, you should speak to an Eligibility Technician.

Applications must be made in person and are taken on a walk-in basis at the following location:

Central Regional Center
2020 W. Walnut St.
Santa Ana, CA. 92703
714-834-8899