Bill Text: CA SB285 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Introduced

California Senate Bill 285 (Prior Session Legislation)

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

Bill Title: Public social services.

Sponsorship: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-1)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2019-08-30 - August 30 hearing: Held in committee and under submission. [SB285 Detail]

Download: California-2019-SB285-Introduced.html

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 285

Introduced by Senator Wiener
(Coauthor: Senator Dodd)
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Wicks)

February 13, 2019

An act to add Sections 10618.4, 18900.3, and 18900.4 to the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to public social services.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 285, as introduced, Wiener. Public social services.

Existing federal law provides for the 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 requires the State Department of Social Services, in conjunction with the State Department of Public Health and appropriate stakeholders, to develop and submit to the Legislature a community outreach and education campaign to help families learn about, and apply for, CalFresh.

This bill would require the State Department of Social Services to ensure counties are providing the desired access to CalFresh and meeting specified participation performance outcomes. The bill would require the department to take specified actions to support counties in meeting the participation performance outcomes, including, among others, utilizing specified data to support continuous improvement. The bill would require counties that are not meeting those participation performance outcomes to enter a process of continuous improvement that includes developing a plan to meet the participation performance outcomes. By imposing new requirements on counties, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

Existing law requires each county welfare department, to the extent permitted by federal law, to exempt a household from complying with face-to-face interview requirements for the purpose of determining eligibility at initial application and recertification.

This bill would, to the extent permitted by federal law, give an individual the option to apply and recertify for CalFresh in person, by mail, online, or by telephone, permit an individual to complete the interview requirement by telephone or face-to-face, and require the application to process to satisfy specified criteria, including simple, user-friendly language and instructions. By imposing new duties on counties, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

This bill would also require the department, to the extent permitted under federal law, to design and implement a universal application to be used to apply for benefits under CalFresh and other specified social services programs.

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.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YES

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(1) Inadequate nutrition and food insecurity threatens the health of 3.7 million low-income adults and over 2 million children in California, leading to adverse health outcomes among children, and increased risk of chronic disease, including diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

(2) According to the United States Department of Agriculture, California has the fourth lowest participation rate for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known in California as CalFresh, among all states, with nearly 2 million eligible Californians not receiving federal nutrition benefits.

(3) The average CalFresh benefit in California is $136 per person per month. If the state enrolled these 2 million eligible Californians into CalFresh, it would draw up to $3.5 billion in federal food benefits to the state annually.

(4) Research shows that federal CalFresh benefits significantly help farmers, grocers, and the local economy, and can reduce future health costs associated with diet-related diseases.

(5) Due to the implementation of the federal Affordable Care Act, Medi-Cal has expanded to provide health coverage to one in three Californians, and one in two children, with a statewide coverage rate of 95 percent of those eligible participating.

(6) While working poor Californians struggle with increased costs of housing and basic needs that outpaced growth in wages, California ranks third to last in the nation at connecting working poor households to CalFresh.

(7) While California’s population is aging, with a growing number of seniors experiencing hunger and poverty, California ranks last in the nation at connecting seniors to CalFresh, failing to reach nearly four in five eligible, low-income seniors, despite recent policy changes to simplify enrollment processes and medical deductions for seniors.

(8) CalFresh has undergone several significant changes over the past several years, including all of the following:

(A) Reduced barriers to enrollment by removing asset test and finger imaging requirements.

(B) Increased guidance to make online and phone applications more widely available so that residents can apply for benefits without visiting an office, similar to Medi-Cal.

(C) Interdepartmental collaboration to improve horizontal integration among social service programs, including CalFresh, Medi-Cal, CalWORKS, and California Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC Program).

(D) Reversal of the longstanding Supplemental Security Income (SSI) “cashout” policy, which provides a pivotal opportunity to connect up to 500,000 seniors and disabled Californians receiving SSI benefits with critical CalFresh assistance.

(9) Given these changes in CalFresh and the need to connect health and nutrition, particularly for newly eligible SSI recipients, the time is right to improve CalFresh entry points, better align Medi-Cal and CalFresh enrollment, and set statewide goals for CalFresh participation outcomes.

(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to maximize the impact of federal safety net funding to reduce poverty, fight hunger, and improve health by enrolling all eligible, low-income Californians into CalFresh, and to initiate a Universal Application to statewide human services programs concurrent with consolidation of the Statewide Automated Welfare System (SAWS).

SEC. 2.

Section 10618.4 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:

10618.4.

(a) The department, in consultation with the Health and Human Services Agency, county welfare agencies, and relevant stakeholders, shall design and, to the extent permitted under federal law, implement a universal application to be used to apply for benefits under the programs identified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 10823, any program established under Article 2 (commencing with Section 123275) of Chapter 1 of Part 2 of Division 106 of the Health and Safety Code, and any other programs in substantial use as determined by the California Health and Human Services Agency, to be completed by January 1, 2023.

(b) In order to support consumer access, shared services, and interoperability between programs, the universal application shall be ready for implementation by January 1, 2023.

SEC. 3.

Section 18900.3 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:

18900.3.

(a) To ensure that eligible Californians have universally excellent access to CalFresh, the State Department of Social Services shall ensure counties are providing the desired access to CalFresh and meeting the following participation performance outcomes:

(1) By January 1, 2021, at least 75 percent of households eligible for CalFresh under Section 18900.5 shall be enrolled in CalFresh.

(2) By July 1, 2022, at least 85 percent of all households eligible for CalFresh under Section 18901 shall be enrolled in CalFresh.

(3) By July 1, 2024, at least 95 percent of all households eligible for CalFresh under Section 18901 shall be enrolled in CalFresh.

(b) For the purpose of evaluating the participation performance outcomes identified in subdivision (a), the department shall determine the metrics by which households are defined as eligible for CalFresh, which may include the rate of Medi-Cal participating households deemed likely eligible for CalFresh, the Program Reach Index, the Program Access Index, or a combination of proxy measures determined by the department.

(c) (1) Counties that are not meeting the participation performance outcomes identified in subdivision (a), shall enter a process of continuous improvement that includes developing and implementing a plan to meet the requirements of subdivision (a) in the following year, and for each consecutive year that the county does not meet the requirements of subdivision (a). The plan shall include specific measures that will be implemented to increase access and participation in CalFresh.

(2) Counties shall demonstrate in the implementation of the plan described in paragraph (1) the use of specific access improvement measures, which may include, but is not limited to, flexible interview scheduling, electronic signature by telephone, maximized use of electronic verification and reduced oververification of documentation, minimization of procedural denials, simplified and streamlined enrollment of any individual receiving Medi-Cal or CalWORKs, or any other access improvement measures identified by the department.

(d) In order to support counties in meeting the participation performance outcomes identified in subdivision (a), the department shall do all of the following:

(1) Support counties that are not in compliance with Section 18915 to ensure statewide access by providing accurately translated materials and interpretation services to ensure limited-English proficient language households have the required access in every community.

(2) Conduct ongoing user-experience testing of CalFresh application, recertification, and reporting interfaces with program participants and applicants in order to reduce barriers to participation.

(3) Participate in all elements of the Elderly Simplified Application Project, a demonstration project, operated by the United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service and develop a simplified, user-centered application for seniors.

(4) Utilize necessary data, including all of the following, to support continuous improvement:

(A) Statewide and countywide metrics that are required to be reported quarterly.

(B) Metrics that allow an analysis by county, census tract, primary language, race, ethnicity, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability status, to the extent that data is collected and is statistically reliable.

(5) Direct the process of continuous improvement described in subdivision (c).

SEC. 4.

Section 18900.4 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:

18900.4.

(a) To the extent permitted under federal law, an individual shall have the option to apply and recertify for CalFresh in person, by mail, online, or by telephone, regardless of their address or lack of a permanent address.

(b) To the extent permitted under federal law, an individual may complete the interview required for determining eligibility, including the required client signature, at initial application and recertification by telephone or face to face, regardless of their address or lack of a permanent address. Unless an individual’s preference is a face-to-face interview, phone interviews shall be prioritized.

(1) Include simple, user-friendly language and instructions.

(2) Require only information necessary to support eligibility and enrollment for the CalFresh program.

(3) Require the eligibility, enrollment, and retention system to offer an applicant or recipient assistance with their application or recertification for the CalFresh program in person, over the telephone, and online, and in a manner that is accessible to individuals with disabilities and those who have limited English proficiency.

SEC. 5.

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.