Existing federal law provides for allocation of federal funds through the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant program to eligible states. Existing law provides for the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program under which, through a combination of state and county funds and federal funds received through the TANF program, each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families. Existing law requires that aid under the CalWORKs program be paid for each qualified family, which includes all eligible brothers and sisters of each eligible applicant or recipient child and the parents of the children, but does not include unborn children or recipients of aid under the Burton-Moscone-Bagley Citizens Income Security Act for Aged, Blind and Disabled Californians.

This bill would require a deceased child to continue to be included as a member of a qualified family for the month in which his or her death occurred, and the following month.

Under the CalWORKs program, recipients are required to participate in specified welfare-to-work activities, unless certain circumstance are present. When an individual fails or refuses to comply with specified components of the CalWORKs program without good cause, the individual is subject to prescribed financial sanctions.

This bill would prohibit sanctions from being applied for a grieving parents failure or refusal to comply with program requirements during the month in which a child in the assistance unit died, or the following month. The bill would also require, upon receiving notification of the death of a child in the assistance unit, the county to assist a grieving parent in accessing services for which he or she may be eligible and to provide information to the grieving parent about mental health services. By imposing new duties on counties, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

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 these statutory provisions.

Existing law continuously appropriates moneys from the General Fund to defray a portion of county costs under the CalWORKs program.

This bill would instead provide that the continuous appropriation would not be made for purposes of implementing the bill.

Existing federal law provides for allocation of federal funds through the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant program to eligible states. Existing law provides for the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program under which, through a combination of state and county funds and federal funds received through the TANF program, each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families. Existing law requires that aid under the CalWORKs program be paid for each qualified family, which includes all eligible brothers and sisters of each eligible applicant or recipient child and the parents of the children, but does not include unborn children or recipients of aid under the Burton-Moscone-Bagley Citizens Income Security Act for Aged, Blind and Disabled Californians.

This bill would require a deceased child to continue to be included as a member of a qualified family for the month in which his or her death occurred, and the following month.

Under the CalWORKs program, recipients are required to participate in specified welfare-to-work activities, unless certain circumstance are present. When an individual fails or refuses to comply with specified components of the CalWORKs program without good cause, the individual is subject to prescribed financial sanctions.

This bill would prohibit sanctions from being applied for a grieving parents failure or refusal to comply with program requirements during the month in which a child in the assistance unit died, or the following month. The bill would also require, upon receiving notification of the death of a child in the assistance unit, the county to assist a grieving parent in accessing services for which he or she may be eligible and to provide information to the grieving parent about mental health services. By imposing new duties on counties, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

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 these statutory provisions.

Existing law continuously appropriates moneys from the General Fund to defray a portion of county costs under the CalWORKs program.

This bill would instead provide that the continuous appropriation would not be made for purposes of implementing the bill.

Existing federal law provides for the allocation of federal funds through the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant program to eligible states, with Californias version of this program known as the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program. Under the CalWORKs program, each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families and individuals.

This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to provide a grieving period and appropriate referrals to services when a CalWORKs recipient miscarries or when a child in the home of a CalWORKs recipient dies, without interruption of services.

 THIRD READING  

Bill No: AB 433

Author: Chu (D)

Amended: 3/26/15 in Assembly

Vote: 21

SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE: 5-0, 7/14/15

AYES: McGuire, Berryhill, Hancock, Liu, Nguyen

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 8/27/15

AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza, Nielsen

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 74-0, 5/22/15 - See last page for vote

SUBJECT: Public social services: CalWORKs

SOURCE: Western Center on Law and Poverty

DIGEST: This bill requires that CalWORKs benefits be continued for a child who dies until the end of the month following the death, and prohibits sanctions from being applied in that time period for a grieving parent’s failure to comply with program requirements. This bill also requires a county to assist a grieving parent in accessing appropriate services and to provide information to the grieving parent about mental health services, as specified.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Establishes under federal law the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program to provide aid and welfare-to-work services to eligible families and, in California, administers TANF funds through the CalWORKs program (program). (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq., WIC 11200 et seq.)

2. Establishes income, asset and real property limits used to determine eligibility for the program, including net income below the maximum aid payment (MAP), based on family size and county of residence, which is around 40 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL). (WIC 11450, 11150 et seq.)

3. Establishes a 48-month lifetime limit of CalWORKs benefits for eligible adults, including 24 months during which a recipient must meet federal work requirements in order to retain eligibility. (WIC 11454, 11322.85)

4. Requires all individuals over 16 years of age, unless they are otherwise exempt, to participate in welfare-to-work activities as a condition of eligibility for CalWORKs. (WIC 11320.3, 11322.6)

5. Establishes the number of weekly hours of welfare-to-work participation necessary to remain eligible for aid, including requirements for an unemployed parent in a two-parent assistance unit, as specified. (WIC 11322.8)

6. Subjects an individual receiving CalWORKs benefits to a financial sanction, as specified, when he or she does not meet the program requirements without good cause, and establishes a corrective action process, which includes communication between the county and the individual. (WIC 11327.4, 11327.5)

7. Requires a county to excuse a CalWORKs recipient from welfare-to-work participation for good cause when the county has determined the recipient has a condition or is faced with a circumstance that temporarily prevents or significantly impairs the recipient’s ability to be regularly employed or to participate in welfare-to-work activities. Requires a county welfare department to review a good cause determination to establish its continuing appropriateness, as specified, no less than every three months, and requires a recipient that has been granted good cause to provide information to the county, including written documentation, as required, to complete the review. (WIC 11320.3(f))

8. Requires a family’s aid be calculated based on the number of needy of family members, as specified, including aid for a pregnant, childless woman. (WIC 11450 et seq.)

This bill:

1. Prohibits the levying of sanctions for a grieving parent’s failure or refusal to comply with the program requirements during the month in which a child in the assistance unit died, or the following month.

2. Requires a county upon receiving notification of the death of a child in a CalWORKs assistance unit to do the following:

1. Assist a grieving parent in accessing services for which the parent may be eligible. These services may include, but are not limited to, nutrition supplement programs, housing assistance, and other cash aid programs.

2. Provide information to the grieving parent about mental health services, including, but not limited to, information about, and a referral to, services provided by the county human services agency, if appropriate.

3. Defines “grieving parent” to mean an aided adult who is required to participate in welfare-to-work activities and who experiences the death of a child in his or her assistance unit.

4. Requires that, for purposes of determining a family’s MAP, the number of needy persons in the same family shall not be decreased because of the death of a child in the assistance unit for the month in which the death occurred, or the following month.

5. Requires that any aid paid to a family experiencing a death of a child shall not be deemed an overpayment unless the county determines, as specified, that the assistance unit would have been subject to overpayment recovery, and the county would have sought recovery, even if the child had not died.

6. Requires the state to reimburse local agencies if the Commission on State Mandates determines this bill contains state-mandated costs, as defined.

Background

TANF and CalWORKs. California has the highest poverty rate in the nation – just under one-quarter of residents are living at or below FPL. These families earn no more than $20,090 per year for a family of three. One of California’s most essential anti-poverty strategies is the CalWORKs program, which provided cash assistance to approximately 540,000 families in 2014, including more than one million children. Nearly 80 percent of the children are under age 12 and almost 40 percent are under age five. Federal funding for CalWORKs comes from the TANF block grant.

A grant to a family of three in a high-cost California county is $704 per month, or $8,448 per year, which is approximately 42 percent of FPL. This grant translates to $23.46 per day, per family, or $7.82 per family member, per day to meet basic needs, including rent, clothing, utility bills, food, and anything else a family needs to ensure children can be cared for at home and safely remain with their families.

In 1989, a similar CalWORKs grant was worth about 81 percent of FPL, and 55 percent in 1997. Part of the reason for this decline has been a series of changes over the past five years including significant grant cuts, the elimination of a Cost of Living Adjustment, and a major restructuring of the welfare-to-work activities, requirements and time limits. At the same time the value of the grant has decreased, the program has changed adult eligibility from a 60-month lifetime limit to a 48-month limit, with strict requirements on work participation to remain in the program after 24 months.

Assistance calculation. Benefits for the CalWORKs program are established in statute, and calculated based on the number of needy family members, special needs of any family members, income and assets. Statute requires that benefits be paid to a pregnant woman, who qualifies for aid and prohibits benefits be paid for a child who was born within 10 months of a family’s commencement of benefits, per the Maximum Family Grant rule.

Sanctions and good cause exemptions. Sanctions can be imposed if a participant fails or refuses to comply with a CalWORKs requirement, to agree to a welfare-to-work plan, show proof of satisfactory progress in an agreed-upon activity, or to quit or refuse a job without a good reason for doing so. If efforts at conciliation are unsuccessful, one or both parents can be excluded from the assistance budget for a specified time.

Counties are required to excuse CalWORKs recipients from participation in a welfare-to-work activity if the county determines that a condition or other circumstance exists that temporarily prevents or significantly impairs a recipient’s ability to be regularly employed or to participate in welfare-to-work activities. Counties may grant good cause exemption for a number of reasons, including a lack of necessary supportive services, a lack of access to child care or that the recipient is a victim of domestic violence. Because statute does not limit the reasons for an exemption, counties could grant a good cause exemption for a parent who has suffered the loss of a child.

Child deaths. The California Department of Social Services does not have data on the number of children who die each year while participating in the CalWORKs program. However, the Assembly Appropriations Committee projected an estimate based on California's child mortality rate of 14/100,000, and studies that indicate that low-income children die at higher rates than other children. Assuming a mortality rate of up to twice the state rate, up to 280 children would die each year.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes

According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, this bill will result in ongoing increase in CalWORKs grant costs, potentially in the range of $60,000 to $110,000 (General Fund) annually, to provide grant aid to affected families in the month of the child's death and one month thereafter, that otherwise would not have been provided and/or recovered through the overpayment collection process. There are likely minor, if any, increased CalWORKs grant costs (General Fund) due to the prohibition on sanctioning a grieving parent in the month of the child's death and the month thereafter. As counties can currently provide a good cause exemption to avoid imposing sanctions, it is estimated that sanctions occur infrequently under existing law. This bill also will result in one-time minor, absorbable costs (General Fund) associated with any automation changes necessary to effectuate the provisions of this bill, and potentially state reimbursable, but likely minor, administration and services costs (General Fund) to counties associated with assisting these families as prescribed in this bill.

SUPPORT: (Verified 8/28/15)

Western Center on Law and Poverty (source)
California Alternative Payment Program Association
California Black Health Network
California Catholic Conference of Bishops
California Communities United
California Immigrant Policy Center
Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations
Courage Campaign
Friends Committee on Legislation in California
March of Dimes Foundation
National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter
St. Anthony Foundation

OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/28/15)

Department of Finance

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: The bill’s sponsor, Western Center on Law and Poverty, writes in support that “when a parent lacks time to grieve or to care for the deceased child’s sibling(s), it can be destabilizing and lead to long-term mental health and behavioral health challenges for those children. … There may be nothing more difficult than losing a child. AB 433 aims to make CalWORKs more responsive, accommodating and accountable to families experiencing the profound grief of having lost a child by automatically exempting the adult in the household from the work requirement for a short period and extending their CalWORKs grant at the prior level for one month.”

ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: The Department of Finance opposes this bill because “it unnecessarily imposes a new state mandate on counties. Counties currently have the ability to provide CalWORKs recipients a good cause exemption from welfare-to-work activities and information to various supportive services when a child in an assistance unit dies. In addition, this bill results in increased CalWORKs grant costs to provide families an additional month of benefits in the event the household experiences a child death. Because the budget fully allocates available federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families block grant funds, all costs resulting from this bill will be borne by the General Fund.”

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 74-0, 5/22/15

AYES: Achadjian, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins

NO VOTE RECORDED: Alejo, Jones, O'Donnell, Olsen, Waldron, Weber

Prepared by: Mareva Brown / HUMAN S. / (916) 651-1524

8/30/15 19:42:12

**** END ****

SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair

2015 - 2016 Regular Session

AB 433 (Chu) - Public social services: CalWORKs

This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.

Bill Summary:

AB 433 would maintain CalWORKs grant levels for up to two months for a parent who experiences the loss of a child in the assistance unit, as specified.

Fiscal Impact:

• Ongoing increase in CalWORKs grant costs, potentially in the range of $60,000 to $110,000 (General Fund) annually, to provide grant aid to affected families in the month of the child's death and one month thereafter, that otherwise would not have been provided and/or recovered through the overpayment collection process.

• Likely minor, if any, increased CalWORKs grant costs (General Fund) due to the prohibition on sanctioning a grieving parent in the month of the child's death and the month thereafter. As counties can currently provide a good cause exemption to avoid imposing sanctions, it is estimated that sanctions occur infrequently under existing law.

• One-time minor, absorbable costs (General Fund) associated with any automation changes necessary to effectuate the provisions of this measure.

• Potentially state reimbursable, but likely minor, administration and services costs (General Fund) to counties associated with assisting these families as prescribed in this measure.

Background:

Existing federal law establishes the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program to provide cash aid and welfare-to-work services to eligible low-income families and, in California, administers TANF funds through the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program.

Under existing law, cash assistance under the CalWORKs program is paid to each qualified family, which includes all eligible brothers and sisters of each eligible applicant or recipient child and the parents of the children.

CalWORKs program requirements include participation in specified welfare-to-work activities unless certain circumstances are present. When an individual fails or refuses to comply with specified components of the program without good cause, the individual is subject to prescribed sanctions such as reduction in the CalWORKs family grant amount.

Under existing law, an aided parent may be eligible for a good cause exemption from welfare-to-work requirements upon the death of a child in the family, however, such an exemption must be requested and is applicable at the discretion of the county. This bill seeks to ensure all families are exempt from sanction and potential loss of grant aid until the end of the month following the death of the child.

Proposed Law:

This bill would provide for the following benefits to a CalWORKs recipient who experiences the loss of a child in the assistance unit:

• Prohibits applying a sanction for a grieving parent’s failure or refusal to comply with program requirements during the month in which a child in the CalWORKs assistance unit dies, or the following month.

• Requires a county, upon receiving notification of the death of a child in the assistance unit, to assist a grieving parent in accessing other services for which the parent may be eligible and provide information to the parent about mental health services, including services provided by the county human services agency, if appropriate.

• Defines “grieving parent” as an aided adult who is required to participate in welfare-to-work activities and who experiences the death of a child in the assistance unit.

• Maintains an assistance unit’s CalWORKs grant amount for the month in which a child in the assistance unit dies and the following month. Provides that aid continued for an assistance unit under these circumstances shall not be deemed an overpayment.

• Prohibits a county from establishing an overpayment for aid granted under the provisions of this bill unless the county would have sought recovery even if the child had not died.

Related Legislation:

None applicable.

Staff Comments:

By maintaining CalWORKs grant levels for up to two months for recipient families in which a child death has occurred and prohibiting counties from deeming such aid as overpayments, this bill could result in an increase in CalWORKs program costs. For those families consisting of more than one aided child in the assistance unit, this bill would result in additional costs applicable to the grant level associated with the deceased child. For families consisting of only one aided child in the household, this bill could result in maintenance of the full family grant and administration costs, as the entire family would have otherwise been discontinued from CalWORKs eligibility in the absence of an eligible child in the assistance unit, and any grant payments issued would have been subject to overpayment recovery.

Staff notes that while the provisions of this bill do not directly extend eligibility for the CalWORKs program under the specified circumstances (as a family is not eligible to maintain benefits under federal TANF and state rules in the absence of an eligible child), prohibiting the ability of a county to establish and collect overpayments for these cases will result in increased CalWORKs program costs.

While the exact number of child deaths that occur within CalWORKs families on an annual basis is unknown, it is estimated that the number is not large. Based on an estimated child mortality rate of 14 deaths per 100,000 children (The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, Rate of Child Deaths (1-14) per 100,000 Children, 2011), assuming 140 CalWORKs families (based on an estimated 1 million aided children in the CalWORKs program) were provided with an additional two months of grant costs would result in annual grant costs ranging from $60,000 to $110,000 (General Fund), assuming 54 percent of impacted cases would also otherwise be discontinued from CalWORKs eligibility due to the absence of an eligible child. To the extent the number of CalWORKs families affected each year by the provisions of this measure is higher or lower would impact costs accordingly.

This bill prohibits applying a sanction for a grieving parent’s failure or refusal to comply with program requirements during the month in which a child in the CalWORKs assistance unit dies, or the following month. As counties can currently provide a good cause exemption to avoid imposing sanctions, it is estimated that sanctions occur infrequently under existing law and therefore, this provision would likely result in minor, if any, increase in CalWORKs program costs.

The Department of Social Services has indicated any costs associated with automation changes required to effectuate the provisions of this measure would be minor and absorbable.

-- END --

SENATE COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES

Senator McGuire, Chair

2015 - 2016 Regular

Bill No: AB 433

Subject: Public social services: CalWORKs.

SUMMARY

This bill requires that CalWORKs benefits be continued for a child who dies until the end of the month following the death, and prohibits sanctions from being applied in that time period for a grieving parent’s failure to comply with program requirements. The bill also requires a county to assist a grieving parent in accessing appropriate services and to provide information to the grieving parent about mental health services, as specified.

ABSTRACT

Existing law:

1. Establishes under federal law the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program to provide aid and welfare-to-work services to eligible families and, in California, administers TANF funds through the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program. (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq., WIC 11200 et seq.)

2. Establishes income, asset and real property limits used to determine eligibility for the program, including net income below the Maximum Aid Payment (MAP), based on family size and county of residence, which is around 40 percent of the Federal Poverty Level. (WIC 11450, 11150 et seq.)

3. Establishes a 48-month lifetime limit of CalWORKs benefits for eligible adults, including 24 months during which a recipient must meet federal work requirements in order to retain eligibility. (WIC 11454, 11322.85)

4. Requires all individuals over 16 years of age, unless they are otherwise exempt, to participate in welfare-to-work activities as a condition of eligibility for CalWORKs. (WIC 11320.3, 11322.6)

5. Establishes the number of weekly hours of welfare-to-work participation necessary to remain eligible for aid, including requirements for an unemployed parent in a two-parent assistance unit, as specified. (WIC 11322.8)

6. Subjects an individual receiving CalWORKs benefits to a financial sanction, as specified, when he or she does not meet program requirements without good cause, and establishes a corrective action process, which includes communication between the county and the individual. (WIC 11327.4, 11327.5)

7. Requires a county to excuse a CalWORKs recipient from welfare-to-work participation for good cause when the county has determined the recipient has a condition or is faced with a circumstance that temporarily prevents or significantly impairs the recipient’s ability to be regularly employed or to participate in welfare-to-work activities. Requires a county welfare department to review a good cause determination to establish its continuing appropriateness, as specified, no less than every three months, and requires a recipient that has been granted good cause to provide information to the county, including written documentation, as required, to complete the review. (WIC 11320.3(f))

8. Requires a family’s aid be calculated based on the number of needy of family members, as specified, including aid for a pregnant, childless woman. (WIC 11450 et seq.)

This bill:

1. Prohibits the levying of sanctions for a grieving parent’s failure or refusal to comply with program requirements during the month in which a child in the assistance unit died, or the following month.

2. Requires a county upon receiving notification of the death of a child in a CalWORKs assistance unit to do the following:

1. Assist a grieving parent in accessing services for which the parent may be eligible. These services may include, but are not limited to, nutrition supplement programs, housing assistance, and other cash aid programs.

2. Provide information to the grieving parent about mental health services, including, but not limited to, information about, and a referral to, services provided by the county human services agency, if appropriate.

3. Defines “grieving parent” to mean an aided adult who is required to participate in welfare-to-work activities and who experiences the death of a child in his or her assistance unit.

4. Requires that, for purposes of determining a family’s maximum aid payment, the number of needy persons in the same family shall not be decreased because of the death of a child in the assistance unit for the month in which the death occurred, or the following month.

5. Requires that any aid paid to a family experiencing a death of a child shall not be deemed an overpayment unless the county determines, as specified, that the assistance unit would have been subject to overpayment recovery, and the county would have sought recovery, even if the child had not died.

6. Requires the state to reimburse local agencies if the Commission on State Mandates determines this bill contains state-mandated costs, as defined.

FISCAL IMPACT

According to an Assembly Appropriations Committee analysis, this bill will have ongoing costs of less than $70,000 (GF) annually to provide grant aid to affected families in the month of the child’s death and the month after, that otherwise would not have been provided. Additionally, the analysis projected unknown and likely minor increased grant costs for sanctions not applied in the month of the child’s death and the month after, unknown automation costs and unknown, likely minor, administrative and other costs to counties which may require state reimbursement.

BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION

Purpose of the bill:

When a child in a CalWORKs recipient family dies, an aided parent may be eligible for a good cause exemption from welfare-to-work requirements, but the exemption has to be requested during what is a traumatic and stressful time, according to the author. Under current law, there is no requirement for counties to accommodate CalWORKs recipient parents who have lost a child. While a good cause exemption for a parent not meeting welfare-to-work requirements might apply while a parent is grieving, the exemption can be applied at the discretion of the county, meaning there’s no automatic mechanism in the program to allow the parent time to grieve, the author states.

Additionally, the loss of a child while a family is receiving CalWORKs benefits leads to a reduction in the family's grant amount and results in the loss of CalWORKs eligibility altogether, if there is no longer an aided child in the household. The author states this bill will help ensure that a CalWORKs recipient family does not endure further financial hardship for a short period of time following the loss of a child, regardless of whether an aided parent in the family meets welfare-to-work requirements while he or she is grieving.

TANF and CalWORKs

California has the highest poverty rate in the nation – just under one-quarter of residents are living at or below the federal poverty level (FPL). These families earn no more than $20,090 per year for a family of three. One of California’s most essential anti-poverty strategies is the CalWORKs program, which provided cash assistance to approximately 540,000 families in 2014, including more than 1 million children. Nearly 80 percent of the children are under age twelve and almost 40 percent are under age five. Federal funding for CalWORKs comes from the TANF block grant.

A grant to a family of three in a high-cost California county is $704 per month, or $8,448 per year, which is approximately 42 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL). This grant translates to $23.46 per day, per family, or $7.82 per family member, per day to meet basic needs, including rent, clothing, utility bills, food, and anything else a family needs to ensure children can be cared for at home and safely remain with their families.

In 1989, a similar CalWORKs grant was worth about 81 percent of FPL, and 55 percent in 1997. Part of the reason for this decline has been a series of changes over the past five years including significant grant cuts, the elimination of a Cost of Living Adjustment, and a major restructuring of the welfare-to-work activities, requirements and time limits. At the same time the value of the grant has decreased, the program has changed adult eligibility from a 60-month lifetime limit to a 48-month limit, with strict requirements on work participation to remain in the program after 24 months.

Assistance calculation

Benefits for the CalWORKs program are established in statute, and calculated based on the number of needy family members, special needs of any family members, income and assets. Statute requires that benefits be paid to a pregnant woman, who qualifies for aid and prohibits benefits be paid for a child who was born within 10 months of a family’s commencement of benefits, per the Maximum Family Grant, or MFG, rule.

Sanctions and Good cause exemptions

CalWORKs participants who fail to meet welfare-to-work requirements face financial sanctions. Specifically, sanctions can be imposed if a participant fails or refuses to comply with a CalWORKs requirement, to agree to a welfare-to-work plan, show proof of satisfactory progress in an agreed-upon activity, or to quit or refuse a job without a good reason for doing so. If efforts at conciliation are unsuccessful, one or both parents can be excluded from the assistance budget for a specified time.

Counties are required to excuse CalWORKs recipients from participation in a welfare-to-work activity if the county determines that a condition or other circumstance exists that temporarily prevents or significantly impairs a recipient’s ability to be regularly employed or to participate in welfare-to-work activities. Counties may grant good cause exemption for a number of reasons, including a lack of necessary supportive services, a lack of access to child care or that the recipient is a victim of domestic violence. Because statute does not limit the reasons for an exemption, counties could grant a good cause exemption for a parent who has suffered the loss of a child.

Child deaths

CDSS does not have data on the number of children who die each year while participating in the CalWORKs program. However, the Assembly Appropriations committee projected an estimate based on California's child mortality rate of 14/100,000, and studies that indicate that low-income children die at higher rates than other children. Assuming a mortality rate of up to twice the state rate, up to 280 children would die each year.

COMMENTS

Current statute requires a change in household composition for a CalWORKs assistance unit that includes an adult to be reported semi-annually, with no penalty for overpayment if there are changes in the number of family members during that time. Should this bill pass this committee, staff recommends the author consider whether there are implications for the family’s eligibility in this or other programs related to the reporting of a death in CalWORKs.

PRIOR VOTES

POSITIONS

Support:

Western Center on Law and Poverty (Sponsor)

California Alternative Payment Program Association

California Black Health Network

California Catholic Conference of Bishops

California Communities United

California Immigrant Policy Center

Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations

Courage Campaign

Friends Committee on Legislation in California

March of Dimes Foundation

National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter

St. Anthony Foundation

Oppose:

None received.

-- END --

Date of Hearing: May 13, 2015

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Jimmy Gomez, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 433

Author:(Chu) – As Amended Ver:March 26, 2015

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: Yes Reimbursable: Yes

SUMMARY:

This bill temporarily maintains CalWORKs eligibility and grant levels for a parent who experiences the loss of a child. Specifically, this bill:

1. Prohibits applying a sanction for a grieving parent’s failure to comply with program requirements during the month in which a child in the CalWORKs assistance unit dies and the following month.

2. Requires a county, upon receiving notification of the death of a child in the assistance unit, to assist a grieving parent in accessing other services for which the parent may be eligible and provide information to the parent about mental health services, including services provided by the county human services agency, if appropriate.

3. Defines grieving parent, for purposes of this bill, as an aided adult who is required to participate in welfare-to-work activities and who experiences the death of a child in the assistance unit.

4. Maintains an assistance unit’s CalWORKs grant amount for the month in which a child in the assistance unit dies and the following month. Provides that aid continued for an assistance unit under these circumstances shall not be deemed an overpayment.

FISCAL EFFECT:

1. On-going costs, likely less than $70,000 (GF) annually, to provide grant aid to affected families in the month of the child's death and the month after, that otherwise would not have been provided.

2. Unknown, likely minor, increased grant costs for sanctions not applied in the month of the child's death and the month after. Counties can currently provide a good cause exemption to avoid imposing sanctions, so it is unlikely these sanctions occur often under existing law.

3. Unknown automation costs to DSS to implement the changes.

4. Unknown, potentially reimbursable, but likely minor, administrative and other costs to counties associated providing information and extending child-only cases that otherwise would have been halted.

COMMENTS:

1. Purpose. According to the author, this bill is a necessary step toward assisting a relatively small number of families with a temporarily consistent level of resources that will help them remain as stable as possible during a time of family tragedy. Without a guaranteed exemption, a parent in fear of risking aid and services for the rest of his or her family could be required to continue in a work activity without time to grieve, ultimately diminishing the parent’s mental health and his or her ability to continue to work in the future, as well as the overall stability of the family.

By requiring that grieving parents receive information from their counties about mental health services available to them, this bill seeks to address families’ mental health needs as quickly as possible and decrease some of the long-term impacts families may face.

2. Background: The California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program provides monthly income assistance and employment-related services aimed at moving children out of poverty and helping families meet basic needs. The average 2015-16 monthly cash grant for a family of three on CalWORKs (one parent and two children) is $506.55, and the maximum monthly grant amount for a family of three, if the family has no other income and lives in a high-cost county, is $704.

Unless they are exempt, single parent adults must participate for at least 30 hours per week in welfare-to-work activities, and two-parent families must participate for at least 35 hours per week. If a CalWORKs recipient who is not exempt from participation does not meet his or her welfare-to-work requirements, the recipient is sanctioned for noncompliance, and that recipient’s portion of the family’s grant is subtracted from the amount provided to the family.

Currently, counties are required to excuse CalWORKs recipients from participation in a welfare-to-work activity if the county determines that a condition or other circumstance exists that temporarily prevents or significantly impairs a recipient’s ability to be regularly employed or to participate in welfare-to-work activities.

Reasons a county may grant a good cause exemption include a lack of necessary supportive services, the recipient’s status as a victim of domestic violence, and the lack of access to child care. Because statute does not limit the reasons for an exemption, counties could grant a good cause exemption for a parent who has suffered the loss of a child. However, nothing requires a county to do so.

DSS does not have data on the number of children who die each year while on CalWORKs. However, California's child mortality rate is 14/100,000, and studies indicate that low-income children die at higher rates than other children. There are approximately one million children on CalWORKs in California who receive an average monthly grant of $128. Assuming a mortality rate of up to twice the state rate, up to 280 children would die each year. Providing 280 families a grant of $128 for two months would cost approximately $70,000.

Analysis Prepared by: Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: April 28, 2015

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES

Kansen Chu, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 433

Author:(Chu) – As Amended Ver:March 26, 2015

SUBJECT: Public social services: CalWORKs

SUMMARY: Temporarily maintains CalWORKs eligibility and grant levels for a parent who experiences the loss of a child.

Specifically, this bill:

1. Prohibits applying a sanction for a grieving parent’s failure or refusal to comply with program requirements during the month in which a child in the CalWORKs assistance unit dies and the following month.

2. Requires a county, upon receiving notification of the death of a child in the assistance unit, to assist a grieving parent in accessing other services for which the parent may be eligible and provide information to the parent about mental health services, including services provided by the county human services agency, if appropriate.

3. Defines grieving parent, for purposes of this bill, as an aided adult who is required to participate in welfare-to-work activities and who experiences the death of a child in the assistance unit.

4. Maintains an assistance unit’s CalWORKs grant amount for the month in which a child in the assistance unit dies and the following month. Provides that aid continued for an assistance unit under these circumstances shall not be deemed an overpayment unless the county determines that the assistance unit would have otherwise been subject to overpayment recovery, as specified, if the child hadn’t died.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Establishes under federal law the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program to provide aid and welfare-to-work services to eligible families and, in California, provides that TANF funds for welfare-to-work services are administered through the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program. (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq., WIC 11200 et seq.)

2. Establishes income, asset and real property limits used to determine eligibility for the program, including net income below the Maximum Aid Payment (MAP), based on family size and county of residence, which is around 40% of the Federal Poverty Level. (WIC 11450, 11150 et seq.)

3. Establishes a 48-month lifetime limit of CalWORKs benefits for eligible adults, including 24 months during which a recipient must meet federal work requirements in order to retain eligibility. (WIC 11454, 11322.85)

4. Requires all individuals over 16 years of age, unless they are otherwise exempt, to participate in welfare-to-work activities as a condition of eligibility for CalWORKs. (WIC 11320.3, 11322.6)

5. Establishes the number of weekly hours of welfare-to-work participation necessary to remain eligible for aid, including requirements for an unemployed parent in a two-parent assistance unit, as specified. (WIC 11322.8)

6. Requires a county to excuse a CalWORKs recipient from welfare-to-work participation for good cause when the county has determined the recipient has a condition or is faced with a circumstance that temporarily prevents or significantly impairs the recipient’s ability to be regularly employed or to participate in welfare-to-work activities. Further requires a county welfare department to review a good cause determination to establish its continuing appropriateness, as specified, no less than every three months, and requires a recipient that has been granted good cause to provide information to the county, including written documentation, as required, to complete the review. (WIC 11320.3(f))

7. Subjects an individual receiving CalWORKs benefits to a financial sanction, as specified, when he or she does not meet program requirements without good cause, and establishes a corrective action process, which includes communication between the county and the individual. (WIC 11327.4, 11327.5)

FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown

COMMENTS:

CalWORKs: The California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program provides monthly income assistance and employment-related services aimed at moving children out of poverty and helping families meet basic needs. Federal funding for CalWORKs comes from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant. The average 2015-16 monthly cash grant for a family of three on CalWORKs (one parent and two children) is $506.55, and the maximum monthly grant amount for a family of three, if the family has no other income and lives in a high-cost county, is $704. According to recent data from the California Department of Social Services, over 540,000 families rely on CalWORKs, including over one million children. Nearly 80% of the children are under age twelve and almost 40% are under age five.

Maximum grant amounts in high-cost counties of $704 per month for a family of three with no other income means $23.46 per day, per family, or $7.82 per family member, per day to meet basic needs, including rent, clothing, utility bills, food, and anything else a family needs to ensure children can be cared for at home and safely remain with their families. This grant amount puts the annual household income at $8,448 per year, or 42% of poverty. Federal Poverty Guidelines for 2015 show that 100% of poverty for a family of three is $20,090 per year.

Welfare-to-Work requirements: Welfare-to-work activities within the CalWORKs program include public or private sector subsidized or unsubsidized employment; on-the-job training; community service; secondary school, adult basic education and vocational education and training when the education is needed for the recipient to become employed; specific mental health, substance abuse, or domestic violence services if they are necessary to obtain or retain employment; and a number of other activities necessary to assist a recipient in obtaining unsubsidized employment.

Unless they are exempt, single parent adults must participate for at least 30 hours per week in welfare-to-work activities, whereas the minimum participation requirement for two-parent families is 35 hours per week. After receiving aid and services for up to a maximum of 24 months, adults without an exemption must work in unsubsidized employment or participate in community services activities for the minimum number of hours listed above. If a CalWORKs recipient who is not exempt from participation does not meet his or her welfare-to-work requirements, the recipient is sanctioned for noncompliance, and that recipient’s portion of the family’s grant is subtracted from the amount provided to the family to meet basic needs.

Good cause exemptions: Currently, counties are required to excuse CalWORKs recipients from participation in a welfare-to-work activity or from meeting certain program requirements if the county determines that a condition or other circumstance exists that temporarily prevents or significantly impairs a recipient’s ability to be regularly employed or to participate in welfare-to-work activities. Some of the circumstances that may cause a county to grant a good cause exemption, which are defined in statute, include a lack of necessary supportive services, the recipient’s status as a victim of domestic violence if meeting certain program requirements would put that recipient or children in the family at risk of harm, and the lack of access to child care, including a lack of suitable care for a child with special needs. Because statute does not limit the reasons for an exemption to what is on this list, counties could potentially grant good cause today for a parent who has suffered the loss of a child. However, because statute only requires the good cause exemption to be granted upon determination by the county that a particular condition or circumstance exists that limits a recipient’s ability to work, counties currently have the ability to not grant an exemption after a parent has experienced this kind of tragedy if they don’t believe the parent’s ability to work is limited.

Furthermore, because there is no automatic exemption provided for in law when a parent is unable to participate in welfare-to-work activities due to the death of a child, parents are required to request an exemption through filling out a standard, statewide form. While the form might help the county maintain a record of the request, it requires a parent who has just suffered the loss of a child to reach out to the county office to request an exemption, without knowing whether one will be granted, and to confirm that they are physically or mentally incapable of working by checking a box on the form.

Need for this bill: According to the author, this bill is a necessary step toward assisting a relatively small number of families with a temporarily consistent level of resources that will help them remain as stable as possible during a time of family tragedy. Without a guaranteed exemption, a parent in fear of risking aid and services for the rest of his or her family could be required to continue in a work activity without time to grieve, ultimately diminishing the parent’s mental health and his or her ability to continue to work in the future, as well as the overall stability of the family.

A 2005 research study published in The New England Journal of Medicine, cited a correlation between the risk of first psychiatric hospitalization among parents, especially mothers, who lost a child that was under 18 years old. For mothers, the study revealed that the risks were highest in the first year after losing a child, and the risk decreased with an increased number of children in the family.¹ By requiring that grieving parents receive information from their counties about mental health services available to them, this bill seeks to address families’ mental health needs as quickly as possible and decrease some of the long-term impacts families will undoubtedly face.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

Western Center on Law and Poverty – sponsor

California Alternative Payment Program Association (CAPPA)

California Catholic Conference of Bishops

California Immigrant Policy Center

Coalition of California welfare Rights Organization

Courage Campaign

Friends Committee on Legislation

National Association of Social Workers, CA Chapter (NASW-CA)

Opposition

None on File.

Analysis Prepared by: Myesha Jackson / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089