Bill Text: CA AB366 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: County human services agencies: workforce development.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed) 2024-06-11 - Read second time. Ordered to third reading. [AB366 Detail]
Download: California-2023-AB366-Amended.html
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Amended
IN
Senate
September 01, 2023 |
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Amended
IN
Assembly
May 18, 2023 |
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Amended
IN
Assembly
March 23, 2023 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 366
| Introduced by Assembly Member Petrie-Norris |
February 01, 2023 |
An act to add Section 19812 to the Government Code, and to add Section 10005 to the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to human services.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 366, as amended, Petrie-Norris.
County human services agencies: workforce development.
Existing law generally provides for various human services programs, including, but not limited to, child welfare services. Existing law requires the state, through the department and county welfare departments, to establish and support a public system of statewide child welfare services to be available in each county of the state, and requires all counties to establish and maintain specialized organizational entities within the county welfare department, which have sole responsibility for the operation of the child welfare services program.
This bill would require the State Department of Social Services to establish a $5,000,000 stipend program, subject to an appropriation by the Legislature, for the purpose of providing grants in the form of educational
stipends to community college students who have an interest in public child welfare work. The bill would require the department to administer the program through existing mechanisms applicable to other postsecondary education stipend programs administered by the department for which the state receives matching funds pursuant to specified federal law. The bill would require the program to provide stipends to students who either reside in, or are enrolled in a community college in counties in, counties with a population of 500,000 or less, and who are in a relevant program of coursework, as specified.
Existing law vests the Department of Human Resources with the
jurisdiction and responsibility of establishing and maintaining personnel standards on a merit basis, and administering merit systems for local government agencies where those merit systems of employment are required by statute or regulation as a condition of a state-funded program or a federal grant-in-aid program established under federal law, including, but not limited to, the Social Security Act, as specified. Existing law requires the department, for the purposes of administering those state or federally supported programs, by regulation, to establish and maintain personnel standards on a merit basis for local agencies, as specified, as necessary for proper and efficient administration, and to ensure state conformity with applicable federal requirements. Existing law requires the department to administer the merit system for employees engaged in administering state-funded and federal grant-in-aid programs in a local agency not administering its own merit system, as specified.
This bill, notwithstanding those provisions, would require the department, for
specified local agencies with an employment vacancy rate of 20% or greater for 30 consecutive days in any state-funded or federal grant-in-aid program, to allow those agencies to use alternate minimum qualifications and processes to screen applications and establish eligibility lists for recruitment of new staff, and advancement of existing staff, until the vacancy rate falls below 20 percent continuously for 3 consecutive months. The bill would authorize those alternatives to include, but not be limited to, include allowing counties to screen and establish eligibility lists directly with oversight by the department, implementing alternative examination requirements without advance approval by the
department, and waiving examination components. If the employees are represented by an employee organization, as specified, the bill would authorize a local agency to implement alternative examination requirements or waive examination components only after meeting and conferring with, and obtaining mutual agreement from, the employee organization. The bill would authorize the alternative processes to be implemented until January 1, 2029. The bill would require the department, by July 1, 2026, to convene representatives of local agencies and applicable state departments, including, but not limited to, the State Department of Social Services and Services,
the Department of Child Support Services
Services, and representatives from employee organizations that represent local agency employees, to develop and implement streamlined processes and requirements in the implementation of a merit-based personnel system. system for local agencies that are not implementing their own merit systems. The bill would require the department to implement any policy changes through departmental memoranda until regulations are adopted, and would require those regulations to be adopted by July 1, 2027.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NOBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(a) County human services agencies are struggling, like many other service sectors, to recruit and retain staff due to competition with other industries for a limited supply of workers.
(b) A human services labor shortage impacts all program areas, including child welfare and foster care services, adult protective services, in-home supportive services, Medi-Cal eligibility, California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids Program (CalWORKs), CalFresh, and housing and homelessness services. This threatens the ability of
counties to deliver critical public safety net services, which in turn threatens the ability of counties to meet their federal and state mandates and implement new federal and state initiatives to eliminate poverty and protect children and older adults from abuse and neglect.
(c) Many county human services agencies are experiencing significant staff vacancies and turnover, which can undermine counties’ efforts at system improvements across all programs and, in some instances, such as child welfare programs, can lead to fiscal sanctions for the state and counties.
(d) Higher employee vacancy rates and turnover among human services agencies impacts remaining staff who are taking on increasingly higher caseloads and workloads, resulting in worker burnout and further attrition.
(e) Constantly hiring new staff also has negative impacts, as those staff are less experienced and have less knowledge of complex program requirements, which results in lost productivity as new workers take time to learn the work. County costs also have increased due to this turnover, requiring constant recruiting, hiring, and training.
(f) Many counties rely upon the Department of Human Resources (CalHR) and Merit System Services to recruit, screen, and hire county human services staff, and counties statewide regardless are all required to abide by certain policies put forth by CalHR in their screening and hiring practices.
(g) Post-pandemic labor shortages and recent investments in health and human services programs
necessitate new and updated approaches in recruitment and retention of human services staffing in order to remain competitive with other industries.
SEC. 2.
Section 19812 is added to the Government Code, to read:19812.
(a) (1) Notwithstanding Sections 19801 and 19803, for local agencies(2) Alternatives authorized under this section include, but are not limited to, allowing (A) The alternatives authorized under this subdivision are as follows:
(i) Allowing counties
to screen and establish eligibility lists directly with oversight by the department, implementing department.
(ii) Implementing alternative examination requirements without advance approval by the department, and waiving department.
(iii) Waiving examination components.
(B) These alternatives shall be limited to the recruitment screening and examination process, and shall not include any modifications or creation of classifications, changes to job descriptions or duties, or changes to minimum qualifications.
(3) Any alternative processes requiring departmental approval shall be responded to within seven calendar days of the receipt of the request from the county.
(4) Any alternative criteria or
processes shall comply with all applicable departmental regulations.
(5) If employees with the applicable bargaining unit are represented by an employee organization represented by an employee organization recognized pursuant to applicable law, the local agency may implement alternative examination requirements and waive examination components pursuant to this subdivision only after meeting and conferring with, and obtaining the mutual agreement of, the employee organization.
(6) The authority to use the alternative processes described in this subdivision shall cease to be implemented on January 1, 2029.
(b) (1) (A) The department shall convene representatives of local agencies and applicable state departments, including, but not limited to, the State Department of Social Services and the Services, the Department of Child Support Services Services, and representatives from employee organizations that represent local agency employees,
to develop and implement streamlined processes and requirements in the implementation of a merit-based personnel system. system for local agencies that are not implementing their own merit systems pursuant to this chapter. The department shall comply with this requirement no later than July 1, 2026. Notwithstanding the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), the department may implement any policy changes through departmental memoranda, which shall have the same force and effect as regulations, until regulations are adopted.
(B) Counties shall not implement policy changes that are contrary to a memorandum of understanding with an employee organization. Before a county implements a policy change for a bargaining unit represented by an employee organization recognized pursuant to applicable law, the county shall provide the employee organization with notice and the opportunity to negotiate over the impact and effect of the change.
(2) The department shall adopt regulations to implement this section
subdivision by July 1, 2027.
SEC. 3.
Section 10005 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:10005.
(a) The Legislature finds that as California’s human services and safety net programs rely almost exclusively on implementation and administration by California’s counties, it is critical that counties have an educated, well-trained, and diverse workforce. It is, therefore, the intent of the Legislature to fund educational programs focused on human services and county administration of programs to be prioritized to address significant workforce shortages to ensure California’s citizens have access to services in which they are entitled to participate.(b) (1) The State Department of Social Services shall create the Building Diversity in Human
Services Workforce Program in accordance with this subdivision to establish education and training grants in human services programs.
(2) Subject to an appropriation for this purpose in the annual Budget Act, the department shall establish a five-million-dollar ($5,000,000) stipend program, which shall be known as the California Community College Workforce and Economic Development Grant Program, for the purpose of providing grants, in the form of educational stipends, to community college students who have an interest in public child welfare work.
(A) The program shall be administered by the department through existing mechanisms applicable to other stipend programs administered by the
department pursuant to Title IV-E of the federal Social Security Act, in association and agreement with the California Social Work Education Center (CalSWEC), the County Welfare Directors Association of California (CWDA), county human services agencies, and the California Community Colleges, to the extent permitted by federal law.
(B) The program shall provide stipends to students who are enrolled in community college in counties with a population of 500,000 or less, and who are in a relevant program of coursework as specified in this subdivision. both of the following:
(i) Students who are enrolled in a community college located in a county with a population of 500,000 or less, and are in a relevant program of coursework.
(ii) Students who reside in a county with a population of 500,000 or less, are enrolled in any community college in the state, and are in a relevant program of coursework.
(C) State-level agencies may use up to a total of 5 percent of the appropriated funds for administration of the grant program.
