I recently learned about the California Training Benefits Program, which allows UI recipients to attend school full time while still maintaining eligibility for Unemployment. NOTES: -> Even WITHOUT participating in the CTB Program, UI recipients CAN attend school while receiving UI benefits, as long as they indicate on Weekly Certification form that attending school will NOT interfere with their ability to accept full-time work.
-> By participating in the CA Training Benefits Program, however, a UI recipient can attend school full time WITHOUT having to meet the work availability requirement. If a UI recipient is approved for CTB, the CTB participant is eligible for a separate UI extension of up to 26 weeks beyond the regular UI period.
I have found a fair amount of information about CTB online. There is a list of qualifying training and educational degree programs, and we also have the option of choosing a program that is not on EDD's list (at Accredited Institution) and submitting the program details to EDD for CTB approval. (It looks to be a broad and generous list of qualifiers.)
To participate in CTB, we have 1) to inform EDD of our interest in the program; 2) apply for CTB qualification with one or multiple forms (which may come from EDD directly; I cannot find the forms online); and report the start date of our classes when we Certify for Benefits.
Every reference I have found to the program indicates that we should mark the start date of our classes on the weekly certification form. Sometimes, just reporting the start date of classes signals EDD to contact us regarding our interest in the program. HOWEVER, after we enter Yes to the question did we "start or attend classes," I DO NOT KNOW whether to mark Yes or No as to whether our classes would interfere with our ability to accept full-time work. The reason for partipating in the program is that it allows UI recipients to go to school FULL TIME (which would preclude working full time) and still receive benefits.
I don't want my benefits to be cut off because I indicated on my Certify form that since I'm attending school, I cannot accept full-time work. I don't know how long approval for the CTB program takes, but it sounds like I would need to go to school full-time in order to qualify. According to EDD info, participants to qualify will be exempt from the requirement to look for or be available for full-time work (much like regular COVID UI), but with the caveat that if COVID payment runs out while we're in school, CTB will qualify us for Extended Benefits. BUT how do we handle reporting until we've been approved for the program? I'm doing a find-your-own-degree program (not on EDD's preapproved list) and submitting it to EDD for approval. So for me to qualify for CTB, they have to review my application and make a determination to approve my degree (and school) selection. Of course, I don't know how long that will take. So in the meantime, I have no idea what to mark on the form about accepting work. I didn't find anything online Covid-specific regarding the requirments either, except to "report the date you start classes." Can you guys help? Besides being a firm commitment, degree program costs about $1,700/month (which I've already started paying), so I certainly don't want my benefits cut off prematurely. Here are a couple of links I found regarding CTB, if this helps at all? Nothing about the application forms they reference, though; couldn't find those. https://frwdb.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/CTB-Fact-Sheet-DE-8714U-1.pdf CTB Application Letter/Instructional Form
Thank you so much for your time and help! :) Jean Bowick
If your school of choice has been approved for CTB then you can only file for the CTB on the day you actually start school. I went through this myself and got the run around first filing an appeal, which had nothing to do with my CTB extension, and I didn't find that out until I actually went before a UI judge, when I finally I got a hold of a live person -- all pre pandemic -- and she was the one who told me that the extension would begin as soon as I start attending classes. On the day of my first class, I called at 8am the wait time was supposed to be 5-minutes but it took 30-min and was connected to a rude operator who was trying to tell me something completely different than what I was instructed to do. Of course I had to be patient and courteous otherwise I would've been disconnected and had to start all over. Thanks to cell phones and the ability to transfer the call to my car, I was still talking to this rude person while driving to school. After I explained that I was instructed to call, she then asks me "when do you start these classes?" and I told her I'm starting right now and I'm on my way. So finally she says ok and then said someone from EDD will contact me on a specific date for a phone interview. So that's what happens after you get everything squared up. The phone interview came in and everything was approved so I basically continued my UI claim on CTB extension and that just means you are exempted from doing the work search for however long the extension lasts.
Now my extension went until March 2020 but the pandemic happen and school went into lockdown. I then qualified for the PEUC extension, but one of my friends in school applied for UI was approved and then on the certification it asks if "you are currently attending classes" and if they were "in person or online?" Now this is a pretty straightforward question, however, because the "online" definition of online classes was perverted during the school shutdowns, meaning yes you were taking classes online but you were required to be online at the same time and length of your actual classes the only difference between that and in person was that you were in your house. The normal ideal of online classes was that you could log in at your convenience no matter the time of day or night, so if the EDD is using the answer to that question about attending online classes thinking that you have the liberty of doing the classes at your leisure it might assume that you would be free to accept work during the day or night when if fact you could be in a zoom class at those times. Since the restrictions are lifting you might not face that issue, but in case we do go into another school shut down how you answer that question might impact your benefits.
Another important fact, which I don't know if it was changed because of the pandemic, but normally you had to notify the EDD of your interests in doing a CTB extension BEFORE you exhaust your benefits or 16-weeks have passed whichever comes first. I think you might be okay since you said you contacted them, but just make sure it was in your UI inbox or on EDD letterhead indicating that you did in fact contact them on such and such date, for proof that you did inquire before the 16-week or end of benefits period (I don't know why that is but it says that you will be disqualified for an extension if you don't do this).
Also, you might have to ask but because you were on a regular UI claim the CTB extension has nothing to do with the Federal Extensions that have been passed by Congress. People on a regular UI claim should be eligible for a normal extension and once that extension runs out then you (if you're still unemployed) receive the PEUC extension, which means you should be getting 3 extensions AFTER your CTB extension runs out.
Thank you again for your response to this.. I did eventually get thru to EDD on the phone. The representative looked too and couldn't find a clear answer either. However, she was familiar with the CTB program because she had participated in it herself. However, that was before COVID, and she enrolled by walking into a local CA Workforce Development/Training (not sure exact title) office.. Many have been closed because of COVID, or are "By Appt. Only."
Anyway, she couldn't find any other directions for submitting a request or application. So I just entered it when I Certified for those weeks. Turns out, it did NOT ask if school would prevent me from accepting work. Here are the questions it asks: Start & End Date of classes; Name of learning institute; Address & Phone number of learning institute; Type of Program (Certificate, Degree, Employer-Sponsored Training, etc.); Degree pursuing (if applicable); Class format (online, or in person); Class meeting times (if applicable); if Online classes, are they scheduled for set times or can you log in anytime; Have you received a report date to return to work; If Yes, what is the date?
I reported all the info. However, my Claims (last six weeks) are in Pending status for what looks like an unrelated reason. Apparently there were two weeks in Pending before I started classes, so at that point I had not reported attending classes yet.
Hi Jean - that's tough. If you answer that you are going to school the following question asks if you are prevented from taking full-time work. I understand what you wrote, but being an old computerized system - they will not understand if you mark it appropriately/honestly. I always tell people to answer honestly, but I can understand why you want to know how to go about it while you wait on the application and before they just straight up disqualify you.
That being said, the only way (and painful way) would be to call and directly speak to someone -- especially if you are looking to get results ASAP. Otherwise, the other option could be to answer those questions honestly and (they say on their website) when you answer questions that will flag your account like that -- they would call you to get clarification... but (as I'm sure you know) can you really trust them? Or if they disqualify you, you can appeal -- but that would not put you in a good situation (delayed benefits).
So... if you don't want to wait on them to respond to you, you'd have to call :( :( :( ! I know! I hate when I tell people that b/c I'm not really offering new advice... but it's not like EDD has any other way to get things done.
Also just want to add that btwn answering honestly or collecting -- if that becomes a choice, it's better for you to answer honestly because if you end up collecting and they find that you weren't supposed to collect (or you get denied the CTB application), you'd have to pay it back PLUS a % fee. Whereas, the other situation where you answer honestly and get disqualified... and let's say you DO qualify for the program -- you could potentially get the backpay... or even appeal it. Just explaining the two potential situations to consider.