Bill Text: CA AB1516 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: CalWORKs: young child special needs supplement: supportive services.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2014-08-14 - In committee: Held under submission. [AB1516 Detail]

Download: California-2013-AB1516-Introduced.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 1516	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Gonzalez

                        JANUARY 15, 2014

   An act relating to public social services.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1516, as introduced, Gonzalez. Public social services: diapers.

   Existing law establishes various public social services programs
to provide for protection, care, and assistance to the people of the
state in need of those services, by providing appropriate aid and
services to the needy and distressed, including CalWORKs and
CalFresh. Existing federal law, the Food Stamp Act, provides for the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known in California
as CalFresh. The act allocates supplemental nutrition assistance
benefits to the state to be distributed to eligible individuals by
each county. In addition, the federal Special Supplemental Nutrition
Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), provides federal
grants to the states for food, nutrition education, nutrition
counseling, and access to health services for low-income women,
infants, and children. The California Special Supplemental Food
Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) implements those
grants under the administration of the State Department of Public
Health.
   This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation that would empower beneficiaries of public assistance
programs with young children in diapers to return to the workforce by
removing unnecessary obstacles to obtaining diapers to the extent
permitted by federal law.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  This act shall be known and may be cited as The Healthy
Baby Bottom Act of 2014 or HBBA.
  SEC. 2.  The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) Existing federal law classifies diapers with cigarettes,
alcohol, and pet food as disallowed purchases under CalFresh and the
California Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and
Children.
   (b) However, low-income parents cannot take advantage of free or
subsidized child care if they cannot afford to leave disposable
diapers at child care centers, a requirement for most child care
centers.
   (c) Without access to child care, these parents are less able to
attend work or school on a consistent basis, leading to increased
economic instability and a continuation of the cycle of poverty.
   (d) In addition, the severe health and social consequences for
babies and families who do not have access to diapers cannot be
underestimated or overlooked.
   (e) Lack of sufficient diapers can lead to multiple problems for
families in need, including unhappy babies, unhealthy communities,
undereducated toddlers, and underemployed adults.
   (f) Access to diapers can make the difference for a family to
become financially self-sufficient.
   (g) Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation that would empower beneficiaries of public assistance
programs with young children in diapers to return to the workforce by
removing unnecessary obstacles to obtaining diapers to the extent
permitted by federal law, thereby ensuring the health and welfare of
diaper-wearing children and their families.