Bill Text: CA AB2297 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: CalWORKs and CalFresh: Hunger Impact Act of 2018.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-05-25 - In committee: Held under submission. [AB2297 Detail]
Download: California-2017-AB2297-Amended.html
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Amended
IN
Assembly
April 02, 2018 |
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Amended
IN
Assembly
March 12, 2018 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION
| Assembly Bill | No. 2297 |
| Introduced by Assembly Member Arambula |
February 13, 2018 |
An act to amend Section 11450 of, and to add Section 18901.26 to, the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to public social services.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2297, as amended, Arambula.
CalWORKs and CalFresh: Hunger Impact Act of 2018.
Existing law requires each county to provide cash assistance and other social services to needy families through the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program using federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families block grant program, state, and county funds. Existing law specifies the amounts of cash aid to be paid each month to CalWORKs recipients, including an allowance for recurring special needs, which includes, but is not limited to, special diets, among other things, and is prohibited from exceeding $10 per month for each eligible recipient.
This bill, the Hunger Impact Act of 2018, would change that monthly maximum amount for recurring special needs to $15, and would instead require that there be a special diet or food preparation allowance paid each month in the amount of $15 or actual expenses, whichever is greater, to a recipient who has a verified special diet or food preparation need, as specified.
month. The bill would, when requested by the recipient that the allowance be used for expenses related to a special diet, require that the allowance be provided in the form of a supplemental food benefit upon verification, as specified. The bill would also prohibit the special diet or food preparation needs allowance from being considered income for the purposes of determining eligibility or amount of aid for any state or local means-tested public benefit program.
Existing federal law provides for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known in California as CalFresh, under which supplemental nutrition assistance benefits allocated to the state by the federal government are distributed to eligible individuals by each county. Existing law, until July 1, 2020, requires the State Department of Social Services to create the Safe Drinking Water Supplemental Benefit Pilot Program to provide time-limited additional
CalFresh nutrition benefits to residents of prioritized disadvantaged communities that are served by public water systems that consistently fail to meet primary drinking water standards.
This bill would establish the CalFresh Hunger Impact Program (CalHIP), a 100% state-funded program under which each county shall provide a $28 per month additional CalFresh benefit for each CalFresh household. By increasing the administrative duties of counties administering the CalWORKs and CalFresh programs, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The bill would require the State Department of Social Services to implement this act by all-county letters or similar instructions beginning no later than October 1, 2019, until regulations are adopted on or before October 1, 2021.
Existing law continuously appropriates moneys from the General Fund to defray a portion of county costs under
the CalWORKs program.
This bill would provide that the continuous appropriation would not be made for purposes of implementing the bill.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YESBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the Hunger Impact Act of 2018.SEC. 2.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(a) Allowing people to experience chronic hunger is cruel and it violates international human rights laws.
(b) Over 16 million Americans, 4 million of whom live in California, struggle to prevent hunger everyday.
(c) The federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known as CalFresh in California, is our country’s most important defense against hunger.
(d) Still, the benefit that SNAP provides offers less than
$2 per meal, an amount that is less than what the National Medical Association says is needed to purchase a healthy diet.
(e) The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) increased monthly benefits for SNAP participants, which not only boosted their purchasing power so that they may avert hunger, but also helped stimulate the economy.
(f) ARRA did this, in part, by increasing the benefit beyond the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP) standard used to determine the minimal monthly cost of food for an eligible household, and consequently the maximum monthly benefit levels, by 13.6 percent. This increase in benefit was documented to have reduced incidents of hunger and increased the purchase of healthy food.
(g) Congress ended
the increase, and on November 1, 2013, the benefit was reduced back to the base TFP standard. Since the ARRA boost to SNAP benefits was terminated, the average family of four has had their benefits reduced by $28 per month.
(h) The poorest families with children often face the most severe food shortages, especially when they lack access to clean water or members of the family have medical conditions that result in higher food costs.
(i) Increasing the monthly benefit in the program will help prevent hunger, support healthy food purchases, stimulate the economy, and create jobs.
SEC. 3.
Section 11450 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:11450.
(a) (1) (A) Aid shall be paid for each needy family, which shall include all eligible brothers and sisters of each eligible applicant or recipient child and the parents of the children, but shall not include unborn children, or recipients of aid under Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 12000), qualified for aid under this chapter. In determining the amount of aid paid, and notwithstanding the minimum basic standards of adequate care specified in Section 11452, the family’s income, exclusive of any amounts considered exempt as income or paid pursuant to subdivision (e) or Section 11453.1, determined for the prospective semiannual period pursuant to Sections 11265.1, 11265.2, and 11265.3, and then calculated pursuant to Section 11451.5, shall be deducted from the sum specified in the following table, as adjusted for cost-of-living increases pursuant to Section 11453 and paragraph (2). In no case shall the amount of aid paid for each month exceed the sum specified in the following table, as adjusted for cost-of-living increases pursuant to Section 11453 and paragraph (2), plus any special needs, as specified in subdivisions (c), (e), and (f):Number of eligible needy persons in the same home | Maximum aid |
|---|---|
1
........................
| $ 326 |
2
........................
| 535 |
3
........................
| 663 |
4
........................
| 788 |
5
........................
| 899 |
6
........................
| 1,010 |
7
........................
| 1,109 |
8
........................
| 1,209 |
9
........................
| 1,306 |
10 or more
........................
| 1,403 |
(B) If, when, and during those times that the United States government increases or decreases its contributions in assistance of needy children in this state above or below the amount paid on July 1, 1972, the amounts
specified in the above table shall be increased or decreased by an amount equal to that increase or decrease by the United States government, provided that no increase or decrease shall be subject to subsequent adjustment pursuant to Section 11453.
(2) The sums specified in paragraph (1) shall not be adjusted for cost of living for the 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97, and 1997–98 fiscal years, and through October 31, 1998, nor shall that amount be included in the base for calculating any cost-of-living increases for any fiscal year thereafter. Elimination of the cost-of-living adjustment pursuant to this paragraph shall satisfy the requirements of former Section 11453.05, and no further reduction shall be made pursuant to that section.
(b) (1) When the family does not include a needy child qualified for aid under this chapter, aid shall be paid to a pregnant child who is 18 years of age or younger at any time after verification of pregnancy, in the amount that would otherwise be paid to one person, as specified in subdivision (a), if the child and her child, if born, would have qualified for aid under this chapter. Verification of pregnancy shall be required as a condition of eligibility for aid under this subdivision.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), when the family does not include a needy child qualified for aid under this chapter, aid shall be paid to a pregnant woman for the month in which the birth is anticipated and for the six-month period immediately prior to the month in which the birth is anticipated, in the amount that would otherwise
be paid to one person, as specified in subdivision (a), if the woman and child, if born, would have qualified for aid under this chapter. Verification of pregnancy shall be required as a condition of eligibility for aid under this subdivision.
(3) Paragraph (1) shall apply only when the Cal-Learn Program is operative.
(c) The amount of forty-seven dollars ($47) per month shall be paid to pregnant women qualified for aid under subdivision (a) or (b) to meet special needs resulting from pregnancy if the woman and child, if born, would have qualified for aid under this chapter. County welfare departments shall refer all recipients of aid under this subdivision to a local provider of the California Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children. If that payment
to pregnant women qualified for aid under subdivision (a) is considered income under federal law in the first five months of pregnancy, payments under this subdivision shall not apply to persons eligible under subdivision (a), except for the month in which birth is anticipated and for the three-month period immediately prior to the month in which delivery is anticipated, if the woman and child, if born, would have qualified for aid under this chapter.
(d) For children receiving AFDC-FC under this chapter, there shall be paid, exclusive of any amount considered exempt as income, an amount of aid each month that, when added to the child’s income, is equal to the rate specified in Section 11460, 11461, 11462, or 11463. In addition, the child shall be eligible for special needs, as specified in departmental regulations.
(e) (1) In addition to the amounts payable under subdivision (a) and Section 11453.1, a family shall be entitled to receive an allowance for recurring special needs not common to a majority of recipients. These recurring special needs shall include, but not be limited to, special diets or food preparation needs, as described in paragraph (2), upon the recommendation of a physician for circumstances other than pregnancy, and unusual costs of transportation, laundry, housekeeping services, telephone, and utilities. Except as provided in paragraph (2),
the The recurring special needs allowance for each family per month shall not exceed that amount resulting from multiplying the sum of fifteen dollars ($15) by the number of recipients in the family who are eligible for assistance.
(2) (A) Each recipient is entitled to a special diet or food preparation needs allowance of fifteen dollars ($15) per month, or actual verified expenses related to special diet or food preparation, whichever is more. Except when When requested by the recipient that the allowance be used for expenses
related to food preparation, a special diet, the allowance shall be provided in the form of a supplemental food benefit, and benefit upon verification of any of the following:
(i) The recipient has a special dietary need caused by a temporary or permanent medical condition, other than pregnancy.
(ii) A child recipient has an elevated lead blood level from a blood test conducted within the last year.
(iii) The recipient does not have access to potable water at his or her residence.
(B) The special diet or food preparation needs allowance shall be delivered through the electronic benefits transfer (EBT) system established pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 10065) of Part 1.
(C) The special diet or food preparation needs allowance shall not be considered income for the purposes of determining eligibility or amount of aid for any state or local means-tested public benefit program.
(f) After a family has used all available liquid resources, both exempt and nonexempt, in excess of one hundred dollars ($100), with the exception of funds deposited in a restricted account described in subdivision
(a) of Section 11155.2, the family shall also be entitled to receive an allowance for nonrecurring special needs.
(1) An allowance for nonrecurring special needs shall be granted for replacement of clothing and household equipment and for emergency housing needs other than those needs addressed by paragraph (2). These needs shall be caused by sudden and unusual circumstances beyond the control of the needy family. The department shall establish the allowance for each of the nonrecurring special needs items. The sum of all nonrecurring special needs provided by this subdivision shall not exceed six hundred dollars ($600) per event.
(2) (A) (i) Homeless assistance is available to a homeless family seeking shelter when the family is
eligible for aid under this chapter.
(ii) Homeless assistance for temporary shelter is also available to homeless families that are apparently eligible for aid under this chapter. Apparent eligibility exists when evidence presented by the applicant, or that is otherwise available to the county welfare department, and the information provided on the application documents indicate that there would be eligibility for aid under this chapter if the evidence and information were verified. However, an alien applicant who does not provide verification of his or her eligible alien status, or a woman with no eligible children who does not provide medical verification of pregnancy, is not apparently eligible for purposes of this section.
(iii) Homeless assistance for temporary shelter is
also available to homeless families that would be eligible for aid under this chapter, but for the fact that the only child or children in the family are in out-of-home placement pursuant to an order of the dependency court, if the family is receiving reunification services and the county determines that homeless assistance is necessary for reunification to occur.
(B) A family is considered homeless, for the purpose of this section, when the family lacks a fixed and regular nighttime residence; or the family has a primary nighttime residence that is a supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living accommodations; or the family is residing in a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings. A family is also considered homeless
for the purpose of this section if the family has received a notice to pay rent or quit. The family shall demonstrate that the eviction is the result of a verified financial hardship as a result of extraordinary circumstances beyond their
control, and not other lease or rental violations, and that the family is experiencing a financial crisis that could result in homelessness if preventative assistance is not provided.
(3) (A) (i) A nonrecurring special needs benefit of sixty-five dollars ($65) a day shall be available to families of up to four members for the costs of temporary shelter, subject to the requirements of this paragraph. The fifth and additional members of the family shall each receive fifteen dollars ($15) per day, up to a daily maximum of one hundred twenty-five dollars ($125). County welfare departments may increase the daily amount available for temporary shelter as necessary to secure the additional bedspace needed by the family.
(ii) This special
needs benefit shall be granted or denied immediately upon the family’s application for homeless assistance,
and benefits shall be available for up to three working days. The county welfare department shall verify the family’s homelessness within the first three working days and if the family meets the criteria of questionable homelessness established by the department, the county welfare department shall refer the family to its early fraud prevention and detection unit, if the county has such a unit, for assistance in the verification of homelessness within this period.
(iii) After homelessness has been verified, the three-day limit shall be extended for a period of time that, when added to the initial benefits provided, does not exceed a total of 16 calendar days. This extension of benefits shall be done in increments of one week and shall be based upon searching for permanent housing which shall be documented on a housing search
form, good cause, or other circumstances defined by the department. Documentation of a housing search shall be required for the initial extension of benefits beyond the three-day limit and on a weekly basis thereafter as long as the family is receiving temporary shelter benefits. Good cause shall include, but is not limited to, situations in which the county welfare department has determined that the family, to the extent it is capable, has made a good faith but unsuccessful effort to secure permanent housing while receiving temporary shelter benefits or that the family is homeless as a direct and primary result of a state or federally declared natural disaster.
(iv) Notwithstanding clauses (ii) and (iii), the county may waive the three-day limit and may provide benefits in increments of more than one week for a family that becomes homeless
as a direct and primary result of a state or federally declared natural disaster.
(B) (i) A nonrecurring special needs benefit for permanent housing assistance is available to pay for last month’s rent and security deposits when these payments are reasonable conditions of securing a residence, or to pay for up to two months of rent arrearages, when these payments are a reasonable condition of preventing eviction.
(ii) The last month’s rent or monthly arrearage portion of the payment (I) shall not exceed 80 percent of the family’s total monthly household income without the value of CalFresh benefits or special needs benefit for a family of that size and (II) shall only be made to families that have found permanent housing costing no more than 80 percent of the
family’s total monthly household income without the value of CalFresh benefits or special needs benefit for a family of that size.
(iii) However, if the county welfare department determines that a family intends to reside with individuals who will be sharing housing costs, the county welfare department shall, in appropriate circumstances, set aside the condition specified in subclause (II) of clause (ii).
(C) The nonrecurring special needs benefit for permanent housing assistance is also available to cover the standard costs of deposits for utilities which are necessary for the health and safety of the family.
(D) A payment for, or denial of, permanent housing assistance shall be issued no later than one working
day from the time that a family presents evidence of the availability of permanent housing. If an applicant family provides evidence of the availability of permanent housing before the county welfare department has established eligibility for aid under this chapter, the county welfare department shall complete the eligibility determination so that the payment for, or denial of, permanent housing assistance is issued within one working day from the submission of evidence of the availability of permanent housing, unless the family has failed to provide all of the verification necessary to establish eligibility for aid under this chapter.
(E) (i) Except as provided in clauses (ii) and (iii), eligibility for the temporary shelter assistance and the permanent housing assistance pursuant to this paragraph shall be limited
to one period of up to 16 consecutive calendar days of temporary assistance and one payment of permanent assistance every 12 months. A person who applies for homeless assistance benefits shall be informed that the temporary shelter benefit of up to 16 consecutive days is available only once every 12 months, with certain exceptions, and that a break in the consecutive use of the benefit constitutes exhaustion of the temporary benefit for that 12-month period.
(ii) (I) A family that becomes homeless as a direct and primary result of a state or federally declared natural disaster shall be eligible for temporary and permanent homeless assistance.
(II) In the event of a state or federally declared disaster in a county, the county human services agency shall coordinate with public
and private disaster response organizations and agencies to identify and inform recipients of their eligibility for temporary and permanent homeless housing assistance available pursuant to subclause (I).
(iii) A family shall be eligible for temporary and permanent homeless assistance when homelessness is a direct result of domestic violence by a spouse, partner, or roommate; physical or mental illness that is medically verified that shall not include a diagnosis of alcoholism, drug addiction, or psychological stress; or the uninhabitability of the former residence caused by sudden and unusual circumstances beyond the control of the family including natural catastrophe, fire, or condemnation. These circumstances shall be verified by a third-party governmental or private health and human services agency, except that domestic violence
may also be verified by a sworn statement by the victim, as provided under Section 11495.25. Homeless assistance payments based on these specific circumstances may not be received more often than once in any 12-month period. In addition, if the domestic violence is verified by a sworn statement by the victim, the
homeless assistance payments shall be limited to two periods of not more than 16 consecutive calendar days of temporary assistance and two payments of permanent assistance. A county may require that a recipient of homeless assistance benefits who qualifies under this paragraph for a second time in a 24-month period participate in a homelessness avoidance case plan as a condition of eligibility for homeless assistance benefits. The county welfare department shall immediately inform recipients who verify domestic violence by a sworn statement of the availability of domestic violence counseling and services, and refer those recipients to services upon request.
(iv) If a county requires a recipient who verifies domestic violence by a sworn statement to participate in a homelessness avoidance case plan pursuant to clause (iii),
the plan shall include the provision of domestic violence services, if appropriate.
(v) If a recipient seeking homeless assistance based on domestic violence pursuant to clause (iii) has previously received homeless avoidance services based on domestic violence, the county shall review whether services were offered to the recipient and consider what additional services would assist the recipient in leaving the domestic violence situation.
(vi) The county welfare department shall report necessary data to the department through a statewide homeless assistance payment indicator system, as requested by the department, regarding all recipients of aid under this paragraph.
(F) The county welfare departments, and all other
entities participating in the costs of the CalWORKs program, have the right in their share to any refunds resulting from payment of the permanent housing. However, if an emergency requires the family to move within the 12-month period specified in subparagraph (E), the family shall be allowed to use any refunds received from its deposits to meet the costs of moving to another residence.
(G) Payments to providers for temporary shelter and permanent housing and utilities shall be made on behalf of families requesting these payments.
(H) The daily amount for the temporary shelter special needs benefit for homeless assistance may be increased if authorized by the current year’s Budget Act by specifying a different daily allowance and appropriating the funds therefor.
(I) No payment shall be made pursuant to this paragraph unless the provider of housing is a commercial establishment, shelter, or person in the business of renting properties who has a history of renting properties.
(J) (i) Commencing July 1, 2018, a CalWORKs applicant who provides a sworn statement of past or present domestic abuse and who is fleeing his or her abuser shall be deemed to be homeless and shall be eligible for temporary homeless assistance under clause (i) of subparagraph (A) and under subparagraph (E), notwithstanding any income and assets attributable to the alleged abuser.
(ii) The homeless assistance payments issued under this subparagraph shall be granted immediately after the
family’s application, and benefits shall be available in increments of 16 days of temporary shelter assistance pursuant to clause (i) of subparagraph (A). The homeless assistance payments shall be limited to two consecutive periods of not more than 16 consecutive calendar days each of temporary assistance within a lifetime. The homeless assistance payments issued under this subparagraph shall be in addition to other payments for which the CalWORKs applicant, if he or she becomes a CalWORKs recipient, may later qualify under this subdivision.
(iii) For purposes of this subparagraph, the housing search documentation described in clause (iii) of subparagraph (A) shall be required only upon issuance of an immediate need payment pursuant to Section 11266 or the issuance of benefits for the month of application.
(g) The department shall establish rules and regulations ensuring the uniform statewide application of this section.
(h) The department shall notify all applicants and recipients of aid through the standardized application form that these benefits are available and shall provide an opportunity for recipients to apply for the funds quickly and efficiently.
(i) The department shall work with county human services agencies, the County Welfare Directors Association, and advocates of CalWORKs recipients to gather information regarding the actual costs of a nightly shelter and best practices for transitioning families from a temporary shelter to a permanent shelter, and to provide that information to the Legislature, to be annually
submitted in accordance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(j) (1) Except for the purposes of Section 15200, the amounts payable to recipients pursuant to Section 11453.1 shall not constitute part of the payment schedule set forth in subdivision (a).
(2) The amounts payable to recipients pursuant to Section 11453.1 shall not constitute income to recipients of aid under this section.
(k) For children receiving Kin-GAP pursuant to Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 11360) or Article 4.7 (commencing with Section 11385), there shall be paid, exclusive of any amount considered exempt as income, an amount of aid each month, which, when added to the child’s income, is equal to the
rate specified in Sections 11364 and 11387.
(l) (1) A county shall implement the semiannual reporting requirements in accordance with Chapter 501 of the Statutes of 2011 no later than October 1, 2013.
(2) Upon completion of the implementation described in paragraph (1), each county shall provide a certificate to the director certifying that semiannual reporting has been implemented in the county.
(3) Upon filing the certificate described in paragraph (2), a county shall comply with the semiannual reporting provisions of this section.
SEC. 4.
Section 18901.26 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:18901.26.
(a) There is hereby established the CalFresh Hunger Impact Program (CalHIP), a state-funded program under which each county shall provide a twenty-eight-dollar ($28) per month additional CalFresh benefit for each CalFresh household.(b) The state shall provide 100 percent of the cost of implementing this section.
(c) CalHIP benefits shall be delivered through the electronic benefits transfer (EBT) system established pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 10065) of Part 1.
(d) CalHIP benefits shall not be considered income for the purposes
of determining eligibility or amount of aid for any state or local means-tested public benefit program for which California has authority to establish the rules for determining eligibility.
