Existing law provides for the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, under which each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families and individuals. Existing law generally requires a recipient of CalWORKs benefits to participate in welfare-to-work activities as a condition of eligibility for aid. Existing law requires that necessary supportive services be available to participants in welfare-to-work activities, including child care.

This bill would provide that, commencing October 1, 2020, necessary supportive services also include a diaper benefit in the amount of $50 per month for diapers for every child 2 years of age or younger enrolled in child care pursuant to the above-mentioned provisions. The bill would require that the diaper benefit be issued to participants through an electronic benefits transfer system. The bill would specify that the diaper benefit is not income for purposes of determining CalWORKs eligibility or benefits, and that it may be used by a participant only to purchase diapers. By increasing the duties of counties administering these services, the 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 provides for the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, under which each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families and individuals. Existing law generally requires a recipient of CalWORKs benefits to participate in welfare-to-work activities as a condition of eligibility for aid. Existing law requires that necessary supportive services be available to participants in welfare-to-work activities, including child care.

This bill would provide that that, commencing October 1, 2020, necessary supportive services also include a diaper benefit in the amount of $50 per month for diapers for every child 2 years of age or younger enrolled in child care pursuant to the above-mentioned provisions. The bill would require that the diaper benefit be issued to participants through the electronic benefits transfer system, and would direct the department to make the benefit available at the earliest time possible. an electronic benefits transfer system. The bill would specify that the diaper benefit is not income for purposes of determining CalWORKs eligibility or benefits, and that it may be used by a participant only to purchase diapers. By increasing the duties of counties administering these services, the 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 provides for the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, under which each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families and individuals. Existing law generally requires a recipient of CalWORKs benefits to participate in welfare-to-work activities as a condition of eligibility for aid. Existing law requires that necessary supportive services be available to participants in welfare-to-work activities, including child care.

This bill would provide that necessary supportive services also include a diaper-needs diaper benefit in the amount of $50 per month for diapers for every child 2 years of age or younger enrolled in child care pursuant to the above-mentioned provisions. The bill would require that the diaper-needs diaper benefit be issued to participants through the electronic benefits transfer system, and would direct the department to make the benefit available at the earliest time possible. The bill would specify that the diaper-needs diaper benefit is not income for purposes of determining CalWORKs eligibility or benefits. benefits, and that it may be used by a participant only to purchase diapers. By increasing the duties of counties administering these services, the 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 provides for the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, under which each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families and individuals. Existing law generally requires a recipient of CalWORKs benefits to participate in welfare-to-work activities as a condition of eligibility for aid. Existing law requires that necessary supportive services be available to participants in welfare-to-work activities, including child care.

This bill would provide that necessary supportive services also include vouchers a diaper-needs benefit in the amount of $50 per month for diaper products diapers for every child two 2 years of age or younger enrolled in child care pursuant to the above-mentioned provisions. The bill would require that the diaper-needs benefit be issued to participants through the electronic benefits transfer system, and would direct the department to make the benefit available at the earliest time possible. The bill would specify that the diaper-needs benefit is not income for purposes of determining CalWORKs eligibility or benefits. By increasing the duties of counties administering these services, the 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 provides for the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, under which each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families and individuals. Existing law requires that aid, services, or both, be granted, subject to certain requirements, to families with related children under 18 years of age, except as provided, in need of aid or services because they have been deprived of parental support or care due to specified circumstances, including the unemployment of a parent or parents. Existing law generally requires a recipient of CalWORKs benefits to participate in welfare-to-work activities as a condition of eligibility for aid. Existing law requires that necessary supportive services be available to participants in welfare-to-work activities, including child care.

Existing law provides for the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, under which each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families and individuals. Existing law requires that aid, services, or both, be granted, subject to certain requirements, to families with related children under 18 years of age, except as provided, in need of aid or services because they have been deprived of parental support or care due to specified circumstances, including the unemployment of a parent or parents.

This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.

GOVERNOR'S VETO

GV Bill Id:AB 492

Author:(Gonzalez and Gomez)

As Enrolled Ver:September 8, 2016

2/3 vote

Original Committee Reference: HUM. S.

SUMMARY: Provides, as of October 1, 2020, a $50 diaper benefit issued through an electronic benefits transfer (EBT) system for each child two years of age and younger in a California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) assistance unit that is enrolled in child care as a supportive service, as specified.

The Senate amendments:

1. Delay commencement of the benefit, and the requirement that it be issued through an EBT system, until October 1, 2020, and remove the requirement that the Department of Social Services facilitate the orderly administration of state government to make the benefit available at the earliest possible time.
2. Remove the requirement that the benefit be delivered through the specified, existing EBT system and, instead, require that the benefit be delivered through an EBT system in general.
3. Specify that the diaper benefit may only be used to purchase diapers.
4. Rename the benefit from the "diaper needs benefit" to the "diaper benefit."

FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations Committee on August 11, 2016, this bill may result in the following costs:

1. Beginning fiscal year 2020-21, ongoing costs to Department of Social Services (DSS) in the range of $14 million to $18 million per year for a $50 voucher for children in CalWORKs under age 3. Currently, approximately 26,000 children in CalWORKS are under age 3 and would be eligible for benefits under this bill. It is unknown whether the caseload that would be impacted by this bill would increase or decrease significantly in 2020 and following years. (Federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)/General Fund)
2. Minor one-time state costs for updating an EBT system to deliver the diaper benefit.
3. Additional, potentially reimbursable, county costs for administering the diaper benefit.

COMMENTS:

CalWORKs: The 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 TANF block grant. The average 2016-17 monthly cash grant for a family of three on CalWORKs (one parent and two children) is $497.35, 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 DSS, around 497,000 families rely on CalWORKs, including over one million children. Nearly 60% of cases include children under six years old.

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 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 subtracted from the amount provided to the family to meet basic needs.

Child care as a supportive service: Under current law, the support services available to CalWORKs participants include child care, transportation costs, ancillary expenses, and personal counseling, all of which require specified information to be reported to the county in order to verify necessity. In order to receive child care, for example, a CalWORKs participant must verify employment, child care costs, and hours and dates of employment, educational, or training activities. Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations provides standards to which licensed child care centers must adhere, including that a center shall ensure each infant has sufficient changes of clothing and diapers, and that each infant's clothing and diapers are to be changed as often as necessary to ensure that each infant is kept clean and dry at all times.

Whereas ancillary expenses include the cost of books for school, tools, clothing specifically required for a job, fees and other necessary costs related to employment or education, there are no such ancillary payments provided for the children who live in CalWORKs families. As children sometimes rapidly grow out of clothes, there is no supplement provided to their parents for increased clothing costs, and for infants and toddlers, there is currently no supplement to pay for diapers. While child care is provided within the CalWORKs program to facilitate a parent's participation in employment or another required welfare-to-work activity, not having enough money to purchase diapers can result in the loss of access to child care, which impedes a parent's ability to go to work or participate in a welfare-to-work activity, resulting in a sanction for non-compliance with the program requirements.

Need for this bill: With this bill, the author seeks to ensure that babies and toddlers in poor families receiving CalWORKs have the diapers they need, which benefits the children who can continue to be enrolled in child care, as well as the parents who can continue to go to work as a result of that child care. The author introduced a similar measure, AB 1516 (Gonzalez) of 2014. That bill also attempted to provide access to diapers, but did so through an $80 per month young child special needs supplement, which would have been provided to families as part of the CalWORKs cash grant for each child under two years of age. While this bill includes children under three years of age, the scope is narrower, as it provides a $50 per month diaper-needs benefit through the EBT card and specifically ties the benefit to child care enrollment pursuant to a parent's welfare-to-work plan.

According to the author, "Despite being critical to the health and hygiene of young children, diapers are excluded from state and federal assistance for low income families. There is no mechanism for relief from the high cost of diapers in California, even for those families we already support through programs such as CalWORKs. An inadequate supply of diapers can jeopardize a parent's employment by limiting their access to child care. Additionally, diaper need can cause avoidable and costly health consequences for the child and become an equally unhealthy stressor on parents. The goals of this legislation are to remove a potential barrier between parents and child care, and to alleviate the financial and health risks associated with diaper need."

The author goes on to note that child care utilization, which helps to facilitate more consistent employment for parents on CalWORKs, can help increase success of the program and potentially result in savings in other safety-net programs.

GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE:

I am returning the following five bills without my signature:

Assembly Bill 492

Assembly Bill 885

Assembly Bill 1584

Assembly Bill 1770

Assembly Bill 1838

Each of these bills make changes to a worthy program that results in increased funding, a few of which received increases in this year's budget. These bills are an end run of the budget process, and would commit us to spending an additional $240 million every year.

The budget process allows for all spending proposals to be weighed equally through public hearings, negotiations and, finally, approval of a balanced budget. This is the best way to evaluate and prioritize all new spending proposals, including those that increase the cost of existing programs. This process is even more important when the state's budget is precariously balanced.

The budget process begins again on January 10, 2017, which is the appropriate time to discuss these proposals.

Analysis Prepared by: Daphne Hunt / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089 FN: 0005100

CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS

CSA1 Bill Id:AB 492

Author:(Gonzalez and Gomez)

As Amended Ver:August 15, 2016

Majority vote

Original Committee Reference: HUM. S.

SUMMARY: Provides, as of October 1, 2020, a $50 diaper benefit issued through an electronic benefits transfer (EBT) system for each child two years of age and younger in a California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) assistance unit that is enrolled in child care as a supportive service, as specified.

The Senate amendments:

1. Delay commencement of the benefit, and the requirement that it be issued through an EBT system, until October 1, 2020, and remove the requirement that the Department of Social Services facilitate the orderly administration of state government to make the benefit available at the earliest possible time.
2. Remove the requirement that the benefit be delivered through the specified, existing EBT system and, instead, require that the benefit be delivered through an EBT system in general.
3. Specify that the diaper benefit may only be used to purchase diapers.
4. Rename the benefit from the "diaper needs benefit" to the "diaper benefit."

FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations Committee on August 11, 2016, this bill may result in the following costs:

1. Beginning fiscal year 2020-21, ongoing costs to Department of Social Services (DSS) in the range of $14 million to $18 million per year for a $50 voucher for children in CalWORKs under age 3. Currently, approximately 26,000 children in CalWORKS are under age 3 and would be eligible for benefits under this bill. It is unknown whether the caseload that would be impacted by this bill would increase or decrease significantly in 2020 and following years. (Federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families [TANF]/General Fund)
2. Minor one-time state costs for updating an EBT system to deliver the diaper benefit.
3. Additional, potentially reimbursable, county costs for administering the diaper benefit.

COMMENTS:

CalWORKs: The 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 TANF block grant. The average 2016-17 monthly cash grant for a family of three on CalWORKs (one parent and two children) is $497.35, 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 DSS, around 497,000 families rely on CalWORKs, including over one million children. Nearly 60% of cases include children under six years old.

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 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 subtracted from the amount provided to the family to meet basic needs.

Child care as a supportive service: Under current law, the support services available to CalWORKs participants include child care, transportation costs, ancillary expenses, and personal counseling, all of which require specified information to be reported to the county in order to verify necessity. In order to receive child care, for example, a CalWORKs participant must verify employment, child care costs, and hours and dates of employment, educational, or training activities. Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations provides standards to which licensed child care centers must adhere, including that a center shall ensure each infant has sufficient changes of clothing and diapers, and that each infant's clothing and diapers are to be changed as often as necessary to ensure that each infant is kept clean and dry at all times.

Whereas ancillary expenses include the cost of books for school, tools, clothing specifically required for a job, fees and other necessary costs related to employment or education, there are no such ancillary payments provided for the children who live in CalWORKs families. As children sometimes rapidly grow out of clothes, there is no supplement provided to their parents for increased clothing costs, and for infants and toddlers, there is currently no supplement to pay for diapers. While child care is provided within the CalWORKs program to facilitate a parent's participation in employment or another required welfare-to-work activity, not having enough money to purchase diapers can result in the loss of access to child care, which impedes a parent's ability to go to work or participate in a welfare-to-work activity, resulting in a sanction for non-compliance with the program requirements.

Need for this bill: With this bill, the author seeks to ensure that babies and toddlers in poor families receiving CalWORKs have the diapers they need, which benefits the children who can continue to be enrolled in child care, as well as the parents who can continue to go to work as a result of that child care. The author introduced a similar measure, AB 1516 (Gonzalez) of 2014. That bill also attempted to provide access to diapers, but did so through an $80 per month young child special needs supplement, which would have been provided to families as part of the CalWORKs cash grant for each child under two years of age. While this bill includes children under three years of age, the scope is narrower, as it provides a $50 per month diaper-needs benefit through the EBT card and specifically ties the benefit to child care enrollment pursuant to a parent's welfare-to-work plan.

According to the author, "Despite being critical to the health and hygiene of young children, diapers are excluded from state and federal assistance for low income families. There is no mechanism for relief from the high cost of diapers in California, even for those families we already support through programs such as CalWORKs. An inadequate supply of diapers can jeopardize a parent's employment by limiting their access to child care. Additionally, diaper need can cause avoidable and costly health consequences for the child and become an equally unhealthy stressor on parents. The goals of this legislation are to remove a potential barrier between parents and child care, and to alleviate the financial and health risks associated with diaper need."

The author goes on to note that child care utilization, which helps to facilitate more consistent employment for parents on CalWORKs, can help increase success of the program and potentially result in savings in other safety-net programs.

Analysis Prepared by: Daphne Hunt / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089 FN: 0004293

 THIRD READING  

Bill No: AB 492

Author:

:

Vote:

SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE: 4-0, 5/10/16

AYES: McGuire, Hancock, Liu, Nguyen

NO VOTE RECORDED: Berryhill

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS: 7/0, 8/11/16

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

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 64-9, 1/28/16 - See last page for vote

SUBJECT:

SOURCE: Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations

DIGEST: This bill provides a $50 per month diaper benefit for every child 2 years of age or younger in the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKS) program who is enrolled in child care as a supportive service for a parent participating in welfare-to-work (WTW) beginning October 1, 2020. It requires that the diaper benefit be issued to participants through an electronic benefits transfer (EBT) system. This bill also specifies that the diaper benefit is not income for purposes of determining CalWORKS eligibility or benefits.

ANALYSIS:

Existing federal law:

1. Establishes in Federal law the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program to provide assistance to needy families so that children may be cared for in their own homes or in the homes of relatives, and to end the dependence on government benefits by promoting job preparation, work and marriage. (45 CFR 260.2)
2. Establishes the rights and liabilities of consumers as well as the responsibilities of all participants in electronic funds transfer activities under the federal Electronic Fund Transfer Act. (15 USC 1693, et seq.)

Existing state law:

1. Establishes the CalWORKs program, administered by California Department of Social Services (CDSS), to provide cash benefits, employment training and other supports to low-income families through a combination of state and county funds and federal funds through the TANF block grant. (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, based on family size and county of residence. (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 necessary supportive services be made available to every CalWORKs participant in the WTW program in order to participate in the assigned program activity or to accept employment, as specified. Requires that those supportive services include child care, transportation costs, ancillary expenses, as defined, personal counseling and case management, if the county provides it. (WIC 11323.2)
5. Establishes in the EBT Act a system for the distribution and use of public assistance benefits and requires EBT access to be provided through automated teller machines (ATMs), point-of-sale devices and other devices that accept EBT transactions. (WIC 10072, et seq.)
6. Sets standards of operation for licensed child care providers. (CCR, Title 22, 101151, et seq.)
7. Requires that infants in licensed care centers shall be kept clean and dry at all times; the infant care center shall ensure that the infant has sufficient changes of clothing and diapers so that his/her clothing and diapers can be clean and dry at all times; and each infant's clothing and diapers shall be changed as often as necessary to ensure that the infant is clean and dry at all times. (CCR Title 22, 101428 (b))

This bill:

1. Adds a diaper benefit in the amount of $50 per month for diapers for every child 2 years of age or younger enrolled in child care as a supportive service for a parent participating WTW, commencing October 1, 2020.
2. Requires that the diaper benefit may be used by the participant only to purchase diapers.
3. Requires that the diaper benefit shall be issued to participants through an EBT system commencing October 1, 2020, as specified.
4. Requires that the diaper benefit shall not be considered income for purposes of determining CalWORKs eligibility or benefits.
5. Permits the diaper benefit to be implemented through a contract or subcontract, including extensions of that contract or subcontract, that results from a request for proposal or bid that occurred prior to the effective date of this bill, but not if implementation violates the specific terms of the contract or the Agreement on Government Procurement of the World Trade Organization.

Background

The 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 TANF block grant.

The average monthly cash grant for a family of three on CalWORKs (typically one parent and two children) is $497. These funds are provided to help families meet basic needs, such as rent, clothing, utility bills, food, and other items. Per the 2016-2017 Governor’s budget, the average monthly grant for a CalWORKs household is $497.35 and the maximum aid payment for a family of three is $704, or 42 percent of Federal Poverty Level. According to recent data from CDSS, around 497,000 families will rely on CalWORKs in Fiscal Year 2016-17. The program serves more than one million children. Nearly 60 percent of cases include children 6 years old or younger, and about 12 percent of cases include children younger than one year old.

Child Care. Child care is among the supportive services available to participants in the CalWORKs WTW program. Regulatory standards for licensed child care centers are set forth in Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations, which includes a mandate that child care center shall ensure each infant has sufficient changes of clothing and diapers, and that each infant's clothing and diapers are to be changed as often as necessary to ensure that each infant is kept clean and dry at all times. According to The Diaper Bank, most licensed child care providers require the parent to provide sufficient diapers to keep a child clean and dry as a condition of attendance.

Cost of Diapers. According to the National Diaper Bank Network, infants require up to 12 diapers per day and toddlers require about 8 diapers per day. The Network also reports that disposable diapers cost $70 to $80 per month per baby and one in three families struggles to purchase diapers. Currently, no state or federal child safety-net program allocates dollars specifically for the purchase of diapers, per the Network.

The Diaper Bank, a different organization, reports that most licensed day care centers do not accept cloth diapers. Additionally, for sanitary reasons, coin-operated Laundromats often don’t allow customers to wash cloth diapers. According to the Diaper Bank, most licensed child care centers require parents and caregivers to provide a steady supply of disposable diapers. The Diaper Bank also reports that low-income parents cannot take advantage of free or subsidized childcare if they cannot afford to leave disposable diapers at childcare centers. Without access to daycare, parents are less able to attend work or school on a consistent basis.

A 2013 study published in the journal, Pediatrics, concluded that unmet diaper need was an issue of medical concern. According to the study, emerging research suggests indicators of material hardship are increasingly important to child health. The study supports this premise with the suggestion that an adequate supply of diapers may prove a tangible way of reducing parenting stress, a critical factor influencing child health and development. CDSS estimates this bill would impact approximately 26,000 CalWORKs children per month.

Use of EBT cards to Distribute Public Assistance. CalFresh recipients are distributed funds for food benefits through an EBT system, which allows recipients to access funds at point-of-sale terminals, ATMs and other electronic fund transfer devices. EBT cards look similar to ATM debit cards, and are swiped through the same machines using magnetic strips to transfer information. While California’s EBT system was designed to deliver CalFresh benefits, all of California’s 58 counties also deliver either CalWORKs and/or General Assistance benefits through the EBT cards.

According to CDSS, in 2013 (the most recent time for which data was available) there were 35.5 million EBT transactions. Of that, 17 million transactions were used for direct purchases, 2.5 million were for cash back only from a purchase of service location and nearly 5.5 million transactions were purchases with cash back. According to the CDSS Internet Web site, EBT food and cash aid benefits can be redeemed at more than 80,000 locations in California.

In 2010, the federal Department of the Treasury mandated that federal benefit payments such as social security, veterans’ benefits and others be delivered through an electronic transfer. Additionally, the United States Department of Agriculture is requiring that benefits for the WIC program, which is a nutrition assistance program for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding and post-partum women and children under age five who are at nutritional risk, must be issued via EBT cards by October 1, 2020. California’s Department of Public Health (DPH) has begun the process of developing the information technology systems and the policies necessary to meet this federal mandate.

Related/Prior Legislation

AB 1516 (Gonzalez, 2014) would have provided CalWORKs recipients an $80 per month young child special needs assessment, for the purpose of purchasing diapers, for every child age 2 years of age or younger in the assistance unit. This bill did was held in Senate Appropriations Committee.

AB 1614 (Stone, Chapter 720, 2014) required users of EBT cards to be provided access to transaction history via toll-free telephone hotline and Internet Web sites, among other methods. This bill required users of EBT cards to be informed of where they can use their cards to withdraw funds without fees, and other information regarding fees. This bill also specified that CDSS is prohibited from being held liable for authorizing a direct deposit of child support payments into an account that is not a qualifying account.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Fiscal Com.: Local:

According to an analysis prepared by the Senate Appropriations Committee, this bill would have the following fiscal effect:

• Beginning fiscal year 2020-21, ongoing costs to CDSS in the range of $14–18 million per year for a $50 voucher for children in CalWORKs under age 3. Currently, approximately 26,000 children in CalWORKS are under age 3 and would be eligible for benefits under this bill. It is unknown whether the caseload that would be impacted by this bill would increase or decrease significantly in 2020 and following years.
• Minor one-time state costs for updating an EBT system to deliver the diaper benefit.
• Additional, potentially reimbursable, county costs for administering the diaper benefit.

SUPPORT: (Verified 8/12/16)

Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations (source)

Access Women’s Health Justice

ACT for Women and Girls

Alameda County Board of Supervisors

American Academy of Pediatrics

Baby2Baby

Black Women for Wellness

California Alternative Payment Program Association

California Association of Food Banks

California Catholic Conference, Inc.

California Catholic Conference of Bishops

California Immigrant Policy Center

California Latinas for Reproductive Justice

California Primary Care Association

Center on Reproductive Rights and Justice at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law

Common Sense Kids Action

Courage Campaign

Forward Together

Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles

Jewish Family Service of San Diego

Law Students for Reproductive Justice

National Diaper Bank Network

NARAL Pro-Choice California

Parent Voices California

Physicians for Reproductive Health

Planned Parenthood Action Fund of the Pacific Southwest

Planned Parenthood of Santa Barbara, Ventura, & San Luis Obispo Counties

Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California

Planned Parenthood Mar Monte

San Diego Hunger Coalition

Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors

Starting Over, Inc.

Western Center on Law and Poverty

Women’s Foundation of California

Women Organizing Resources, Knowledge and Services

OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/12/16)

California Department of Social Services
Department of Finance

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations, Inc. “For low-income parents trying to stay employed or in school, diaper need is a potential crisis on any given day. Not being able to leave a young child in daycare because of insufficient diaper supply can disrupt a parent’s job, possibly resulting in workplace discipline. A study available from the National Institutes of Health has documented access to childcare as the number one barrier to employment for single mothers. Yet, the food assistance and health care programs that are crucial to helping California’s struggling families provide no relief for diaper need…. Knowing that diaper need is a barrier to childcare, it is easy to see how the high price of diapers could have a big cost to the success of CalWORKs. AB 492 will help to keep children and parents healthy, and keep parents on track with their work plans by increasing access to childcare.”

ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: CDSS writes, “In each of the Fiscal Years’ 2013-14 and 2014-15 budget, CalWORKs maximum grant amounts were raised by five percent, for a cumulative increase of 10 percent. Further, given the ongoing General Fund costs of approximately $15.4 million per year that would result from this bill, it is appropriate that this measure be considered along with recent budget augmentation and other CalWORKs proposals recently approved or currently pending in the Legislature. Providing what equates to an additional increase to CalWORKs grants for families with young children should instead be carefully considered as part of a comprehensive analysis of potential unmet needs facing CalWORKs families, and the most effective means to address families in deep poverty.”

Department of Finance writes, “Finance opposes this bill because it expands the current level of services and supports required in the CalWORKs program, which is estimated to increase annual General Fund costs by $15 million at a minimum. Increased program costs would place pressure on the state's budget, which remains precariously balanced after funding existing obligations.”

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 64-9, 1/28/16

AYES: Alejo, Baker, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Hadley, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, McCarty, Medina, Mullin, Nazarian, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins

NOES: Achadjian, Travis Allen, Bigelow, Brough, Beth Gaines, Harper, Mayes, Melendez, Obernolte

NO VOTE RECORDED: Chávez, Gallagher, Grove, Kim, Mathis, Steinorth

Prepared by:

8/15/16 20:01:54

**** END ****

SENATE COMMITTEE ON

Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair

2015 - 2016 Regular Session

AB 492 (Gonzalez) - CalWORKs: welfare-to-work: supportive services

*********** ANALYSIS ADDENDUM – SUSPENSE FILE ***********

The following information is revised to reflect amendments

adopted by the committee on August 11, 2016

Bill Summary:

AB 492 would, beginning October 1, 2020, provide a $50 per month diaper benefit for every child 2 years of age or younger in the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKS) program who is enrolled in child care as a supportive service for a parent participating in welfare-to-work. This bill would require that the diaper benefit be issued to participants through an electronic benefits transfer (EBT) system. This bill would also specify that the diaper benefit is not income for purposes of determining CalWORKS eligibility or benefits.

Fiscal Impact:

• Beginning fiscal year 2020-21, ongoing costs to DSS in the range of $14–18 million per year for a $50 voucher for children in CalWORKs under age 3. Currently, approximately 26,000 children in CalWORKS are under age 3 and would be eligible for benefits under this bill. It is unknown whether the caseload that would be impacted by this bill would increase or decrease significantly in 2020 and following years. (TANF/GF)
• Minor one-time state costs for updating an EBT system to deliver the diaper benefit.
• Additional, potentially reimbursable, county costs for administering the diaper benefit.

Author Amendments:

• Strikes language that requires DSS to make the diaper benefit available as soon as possible.
• Strikes language that requires that the existing EBT system shall be used for the diaper benefit.
• Specifies that the diaper benefit shall be available beginning October 1, 2020, and that the benefit shall be available through an EBT system on or after October 1, 2020.

-- END --

SENATE COMMITTEE ON

Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair

2015 - 2016 Regular Session

AB 492 (Gonzalez) - CalWORKs: welfare-to-work: supportive services

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

Bill Summary:

AB 492 would provide a $50 per month diaper benefit for every child 2 years of age or younger in California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKS) who is enrolled in child care as a supportive service for a parent participating in welfare-to-work. This bill requires that the diaper benefit be issued to participants through the electronic benefits transfer (EBT) system, and directs the California Department of Social Services (DSS) to make the benefit available at the earliest time possible. This bill also specifies that the diaper benefit is not income for purposes of determining CalWORKS eligibility or benefits.

Fiscal Impact:

• According to DSS estimates, this bill would impact approximately 26,000 CalWORKS children under age 3 per month. A $50 monthly voucher would cost approximately $7.8 million in FY 2016-17 and $15.6 million annually ongoing. (TANF/GF)
• Minor one-time state costs for updating the existing EBT system to deliver the diaper benefit.
• Additional, potentially reimbursable, county costs for administering the diaper benefit.

Background:

The 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 monthly cash grant for a family of three (one parent and two children) on CalWORKS is $497 to meet basic needs such as rent, clothing, utility bills, food, and other items. This grant amount puts the average annual household income of a family on CalWORKS at $5,964 per year, which is 30% of the federal poverty level (Federal Poverty Guidelines for 2015 report that 100% of poverty for a family of three is $20,090 per year).

According to DSS, nearly 497,000 families will rely on CalWORKS in FY 2016-17, including over one million children. Nearly 60% of cases include children 6 years old or younger and about 12% of cases include children younger than one year old.

According to the National Diaper Bank Network, infants require up to 12 diapers per day and toddlers require about 8 diapers per day. This costs about $70 to $80 per month per baby. The Network also reports that 1 in 3 American families report experiencing diaper need. Currently, diapers are among a number of items excluded for purchase under state and federal assistance programs such as CalFresh, the Women Infant and Children (WIC) program and Medi-Cal. The Diaper Bank reports that the majority of licensed day care centers require parents and caregivers to provide a steady supply of disposable diapers, and low-income parents cannot take advantage of free or subsidized childcare if they cannot afford to leave disposable diapers at childcare centers.

The EBT system is an electronic system in California used for the delivery of public assistance benefits through a card that can be used to access funds at point-of-sale terminals, ATMs, and other electronic fund transfer devices. While California’s EBT system was designed to deliver CalFresh benefits, all 58 California counties also deliver either CalWORKS or General Assistance benefits through EBT cards, and the Department of Public Health is in the process of implementing EBT cards for the federal WIC program.

Proposed Law:

This bill would add a diaper benefit of $50 per month for every child 2 years of age or younger enrolled in child care as a supportive service for a parent participating in welfare-to-work with the following requirements, (1) the diaper benefit may be used only to purchase diapers, (2) the diaper benefit shall be issued through the EBT system, (3) the diaper benefit shall not be considered income for purposes of determining CalWORKS eligibility or benefits, (4) DSS makes the diaper benefit available as soon as possible.

Related Legislation:

AB 1516 (Gonzalez, 2014) would have provided CalWORKS recipients a monthly $80 young child special needs assessment, for the purpose of purchasing diapers, for children under age 3 in the assistance unit. This bill was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Staff Comments:

The proposal for the “Provision of Diaper Assistance to Low-Income Families” which provided $16 million General Fund to provide a $50 per month per child voucher for diaper purchases for CalWORKs Welfare-to-Work participants with infant and toddler children was not appropriated in the Budget Act of 2016. Approaches for consideration to be adopted, will include, but are not limited to

• Options for delivering the benefit by way of a paper voucher system or other distribution approach for the larger CalWORKs population.
• Ways to provide this as a supportive service to the CalWORKs Welfare to Work caseload, potentially using a voucher or ancillary expense benefit approach.
• The feasibility of providing this as an automated benefit long-term, to include a range of potential options based upon functionality for the commodity-based delivery of a CalWORKs benefit.

DSS, the Office of Systems Integration and the Department of Public Health shall provide the Legislature with a summary of the various approaches and automation options, and, to the extent available, their initial estimated costs by February 1, 2017.

-- END --

SENATE COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES

Senator McGuire, Chair

2015 - 2016 Regular

Bill No: AB 492

Subject: CalWORKs: welfare-to-work: supportive services

SUMMARY

This bill provides that necessary supportive services for California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) recipients who are participating in Welfare-To-Work (WTW) activities will include a diaper-needs benefit in the amount of $50 per month for diapers for every child 2 years of age or younger, as specified. The bill requires that the diaper-needs benefit be issued to participants through the electronic benefits transfer (EBT) system, and directs the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) to make the benefit available at the earliest time possible. The bill specifies that the diaper-needs benefit is not income for purposes of determining CalWORKs eligibility or benefits.

ABSTRACT

Existing law:

1. Establishes in Federal law the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program to provide assistance to needy families so that children may be cared for in their own homes or in the homes of relatives, and to end the dependence on government benefits by promoting job preparation, work and marriage. (45 CFR 260.2)
2. Establishes in CalWORKs, administered by CDSS to provide cash benefits, employment training and other supports to low-income families through a combination of state and county funds and federal funds through the TANF block grant. (WIC 11200, et seq.)
3. 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. (WIC 11450, 11150 et seq.)
4. 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)
5. Requires necessary supportive services be made available to every participant in the WTW program within CalWORKs in order to participate in the program activity to which he or she is assigned or to accept employment or requires that the participant be given a good cause waiver. Also requires that those supportive services include child care, transportation costs, ancillary expenses, as defined, personal counseling and case management, if the county provides it. (WIC 11323.2)
6. Establishes in the EBT Act a system for the distribution and use of public assistance benefits and requires EBT access to be provided through automated teller machines (ATMs), point-of-sale devices and other devices that accept EBT transactions. (WIC 10072, et seq.)
7. Establishes the rights and liabilities of consumers as well as the responsibilities of all participants in electronic funds transfer activities under the federal Electronic Fund Transfer Act. (15 USC 1693, et seq.)
8. Sets standards of operation for licensed child care providers. (CCR, Title 22, 101151, et seq.)
9. Requires that infants in licensed care centers shall be kept clean and dry at all times; the infant care center shall ensure that the infant has sufficient changes of clothing and diapers so that his/her clothing and diapers can be clean and dry at all times; and each infant's clothing and diapers shall be changed as often as necessary to ensure that the infant is clean and dry at all times. (CCR Title 22, 101428 (b))

This bill:

1. Adds a diaper-needs benefit in the amount of $50 per month for diapers for every child two years of age or younger enrolled in child care as a supportive service for a parent participating WTW.
2. Requires that the diaper-needs benefit shall be issued to participants through the EBT system, as specified.
3. Requires that the diaper-needs benefit shall not be considered income for purposes of determining CalWORKs eligibility or benefits.
4. Requires that CDSS make the diaper-needs benefit available as soon as possible and states that the benefit may be implemented through a contract or subcontract, including extensions of that contract or subcontract, that results from a request for proposal or bid that occurred prior to the effective date of this bill, but not if implementation would violate the specific terms of the contract or the Agreement on Government Procurement of the World Trade Organization.

FISCAL IMPACT

An analysis prepared by the Assembly Appropriations Committee indicates that the $50 monthly benefit would cost approximately $7.8 million in 2016-17 and $15.6 million annually. Additionally, the analysis notes a potential one-time cost of General Fund dollars of an unknown amount to update existing automation systems.

BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION

Purpose of the bill:

According to the author, despite being critical to the health and hygiene of young children, diapers are excluded from state and federal assistance program such as CalFresh, the Women Infant and children program (WIC) and Medi-Cal. Aside from free diapers provided by community organizations, there is no relief for low-income families from the high cost of diapers, per the author. The author states, 1 in 3 families in California lack a sufficient supply of diapers to keep their young children clean and dry, a condition known as diaper-need.

The author states that diaper-need directly creates a barrier between parents and gainful employment because most child care providers require that the parent provide diapers for each child as a condition of attendance. Among the many reports identifying the lack of affordable child care as a top barrier faced by parents when attempting to enter or remain in the workforce, a study available thought the National Institutes of Health has also found that lack of child care to be the number one barrier to work for single mothers.^[1]

For low-income parents trying to stay employed or in school, diaper-need can be an everyday crisis, per the author. Additionally, when a WTW participant is unable to leave a baby at childcare because of insufficient diaper supply, that parent’s work activity plan can be disrupted, possibly resulting in negative consequences from the CalWORKs program, the employer, or both. The author states that the CalWORKs program is intended to help families become financially self-sufficient and reduce reliance on public assistance, but daily potential pitfalls such as lack of diaper supply threaten successful outcomes.

CalWORKs

The 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 TANF block grant.

The average monthly cash grant for a family of three on CalWORKs (typically one parent and two children) is $497. These funds are provided to help families meet basic needs, such as rent, clothing, utility bills, food, and other items. Per the 2016-2017 Governor’s budget, the average monthly grant for a CalWORKs household is $497.35 and the maximum aid payment for a family of three is $704, or 42 percent of Federal Poverty Level. According to recent data from CDSS, around 497,000 families will rely on CalWORKs in Fiscal Year 2016-17. More than one million are children. Nearly 60 percent of cases include children 6 years old or younger, and about 12 percent of cases include children younger than one year old.

Child Care

Child care is among the supportive services available to participants in the CalWORKs WTW program. Regulatory standards for licensed child care centers are set forth in Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations, which includes a mandate that child care center shall ensure each infant has sufficient changes of clothing and diapers, and that each infant's clothing and diapers are to be changed as often as necessary to ensure that each infant is kept clean and dry at all times. According to The Diaper Bank, most licensed child care providers require the parent to provide sufficient diapers to keep a child clean and dry as a condition of attendance.^[2]

Cost of Diapers

According to the National Diaper Bank Network, infants require up to 12 diapers per day and toddlers require about 8 diapers per day. The Network also reports that disposable diapers cost $70 to $80 per month per baby and one in three families struggles to purchase diapers. Currently, no state or federal child safety-net program allocates dollars specifically for the purchase of diapers, per the Network.^[3]

The Diaper Bank, a different organization, reports that most licensed day care centers do not accept cloth diapers. Additionally, for sanitary reasons, coin-operated laundromats often don’t allow customers to wash cloth diapers. According to the Diaper Bank, most licensed child care centers require parents and caregivers to provide a steady supply of disposable diapers. The Diaper Bank also reports that low-income parents cannot take advantage of free or subsidized childcare if they cannot afford to leave disposable diapers at childcare centers. Without access to daycare, parents are less able to attend work or school on a consistent basis.^[4]

A 2013 study published in the journal, Pediatrics, concluded that unmet diaper need was an issue of medical concern. According to the study, emerging research suggests indicators of material hardship are increasingly important to child health. The study supports this premise with the suggestion that an adequate supply of diapers may prove a tangible way of reducing parenting stress, a critical factor influencing child health and development.^[5]

DSS estimates this bill would impact approximately 26,000 CalWORKs children per month.

Federal Actions on Electronic Transfers and EBT Cards

The federal Electronic Fund Transfer Act was established in 1978 to protect individual consumers engaging in fund transfers. It establishes the rights, liabilities, and responsibilities of financial institutions that offer such services and of the customers who use them. In 2010, the federal Department of the Treasury mandated that federal benefit payments such as social security, veterans’ benefits and others be delivered through an electronic transfer.

Additionally, the United States Department of Agriculture is requiring that benefits for the WIC program, which is a nutrition assistance program for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding and post-partum women and children under age five who are at nutritional risk, must be issued via EBT cards by October 1, 2020. California’s Department of Public Health (DPH) has begun the process of developing the information technology systems and the policies necessary to meet this federal mandate.

California’s Use of EBT cards to Distribute Assistance

CalFresh recipients are distributed funds for food benefits through an EBT system, which allows recipients to access funds at point-of-sale terminals, ATMs and other electronic fund transfer devices. EBT cards look similar to ATM debit cards, and are swiped through the same machines using magnetic strips to transfer information. While California’s EBT system was designed to deliver CalFresh benefits, all of California’s 58 counties also deliver either CalWORKs and/or General Assistance benefits through the EBT cards. Additionally, as noted above, DPH is in the process of implementing EBT cards for the federal WIC program.

According to CDSS, in 2013 (the most recent time for which data was available) there were 35.5 million EBT transactions. Of that, 17 million transactions were used for direct purchases, 2.5 million were for cash back only from a purchase of service location and nearly 5.5 million transactions were purchases with cashback. According to the DSS Internet Web site, EBT food and cash aid benefits can be redeemed at more than 80,000 locations in California.

Agreement on Government Procurement of the World Trade Organization

The Agreement on Government Procurement of the Word Trade Organization (WTO) was enacted in its current form on January 1, 1996. The United States is one of about 45 WTO members that are a party to the agreement. According to the WTO, the fundamental aim of the agreement is to mutually open government procurement markets among its parties and an estimated $1.7 trillion annually have been opened to international competition.

Related legislation:

AB 1516 (Gonzalez, 2014) would have provided CalWORKs recipients an $80 per month young child special needs assessment, for the purpose of purchasing diapers, for every child age 2 years of age or younger in the assistance unit. This bill did was held in Senate Appropriations Committee.

AB 1614 (Stone, Chapter 720, 2014) requires users of EBT cards to be provided access to transaction history via toll-free telephone hotline and Internet Web sites, among other methods. This bill requires users of EBT cards to be informed of where they can use their cards to withdraw funds without fees, and other information regarding fees. This bill also specifies that CDSS is prohibited from being held liable for authorizing a direct deposit of child support payments into an account that is not a qualifying account.

Arguments in Support:

According to the Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations, Inc. “For low-income parents trying to stay employed or in school, diaper need is a potential crisis on any given day. Not being able to leave a young child in daycare because of insufficient diaper supply can disrupt a parent’s job, possibly resulting in workplace discipline. A study available from the National Institutes of Health has documented access to childcare as the number one barrier to employment for single mothers. Yet, the food assistance and health care programs that are crucial to helping California’s struggling families provide no relief for diaper need….Knowing that diaper need is a barrier to childcare, it is easy to see how the high price of diapers could have a big cost to the success of CalWORKs. AB 492 will help to keep children and parents healthy, and keep parents on track with their work plans by increasing access to childcare.”

Arguments in Opposition:

CDSS writes, “In each of the Fiscal Years’ 2013-14 and 2014-15 budget, CalWORKs maximum grant amounts were raised by five percent, for a cumulative increase of 10 percent. Further, given the ongoing General Fund costs of approximately $15.4 million per year that would result from this bill, it is appropriate that this measure be considered along with recent budget augmentation and other CalWORKs proposals recently approved or currently pending in the Legislature. Providing what equates to an additional increase to CalWORKs grants for families with young children should instead be carefully considered as part of a comprehensive analysis of potential unmet needs facing CalWORKs families, and the most effective means to address families in deep poverty.”

COMMENTS

According to the author’s office, the $50 diaper-needs benefit proposed in AB 492 is an addition to the supportive services – and not an augmentation of the maximum cash grant - available for WTW participants for the sole purpose of purchasing of diapers. According to the author, it is not intended for purchasing products associated with diaper use, like powder or wipes. The author’s office says EBT cards can be programmed to limit the types of products that can be purchased with the cards by using Universal Product Codes (UPC). This type of programming would help to ensure the added $50 benefit is spent on diapers. The author’s office may wish to consider amending the bill to clarify that the monthly diaper-needs benefit is not an increase in the maximum cash grant and would be solely for the purchase of diapers.

This bill adds Section 11323.22 to the Welfare and Institutions Code, which would allow that the diaper-needs benefit may be implemented via a contract awarded based on a request for proposal or bids that occurred prior to the effective date of this bill. According to the author’s office, this section was added to expedite implementation of this bill and allow for synchronization with existing information technology projects, such as DPH efforts to issue WIC benefits via EBT cards by October 1, 2020.

According to the author’s office, Section 11323.22 is intended to provide flexibility to the administration in order to expedite implementation of the diaper-need benefit. It is not clear that legislative language providing authority to amend existing contracts is necessary, as contract amendments area already permissive within the Public Contract Code, as specified. The author may wish to explore amending the bill to clarify the intent of Section 11323.22 and determine if it necessary.

The state’s current contract for EBT services is about to expire and California’s Office of Systems Integration announced that the new contract would be awarded to Fidelity Information Services on December 4, 2015. However, this new contract has been challenged in court by Xerox, which holds the current EBT contract and was one of the bidders on the new contract. The pending litigation (Xerox State & Local Solutions Inc., New York Corporation vs. California Office of Systems Integration) is scheduled for a hearing in Sacramento Superior Court on May 13, 2016. It is not clear if this litigation might affect implementation of AB 492.

AB 492 also requires that a contract entered in order to implement the bill may not violate the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement, which is intended to facilitate mutually open government procurement markets among its international parties.

PRIOR VOTES

POSITIONS

Support:

Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations (Sponsor)

Access Women’s Health Justice

ACT for Women and Girls

Alameda County Board of Supervisors

American Academy of Pediatrics

Baby2Baby

Black Women for Wellness

California Alternative Payment Program Association

California Association of Food Banks

California Catholic Conference, Inc.

California Catholic Conference of Bishops

California Immigrant Policy Center

California Latinas for Reproductive Justice

California Primary Care Association

Center on Reproductive Rights and Justice at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law

Common Sense Kids Action

Courage Campaign

Forward Together

Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles

Jewish Family Service of San Diego

Law Students for Reproductive Justice

National Diaper Bank Network

NARAL Pro-Choice California

Parent Voices California

Physicians for Reproductive Health

Planned Parenthood Action Fund of the Pacific Southwest

Planned Parenthood of Santa Barbara, Ventura, & San Luis Obispo Counties

Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California

Planned Parenthood Mar Monte

San Diego Hunger Coalition

Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors

Starting Over, Inc.

Western Center on Law and Poverty

Women’s Foundation of California

Women Organizing Resources, Knowledge and Services

Oppose:

California Department of Social Services

-- END --

1. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2792579/ ↑

2. http://thediaperbank.org/index.php/facts_and_impacts/ ↑

3. http://nationaldiaperbanknetwork.org/what-is-diaper-need/ ↑

4. http://thediaperbank.org/index.php/facts_and_impacts/ ↑

5. Smith, Megan, et al. “Diaper Need and Its Impact on Child Health,” Pediatrics, July 29, 2013. ↑

ASSEMBLY THIRD READING

ATR Bill Id:AB 492

Author:(Gonzalez)

As Amended Ver:January 25, 2016

Majority vote

SUMMARY: Provides a diaper-needs benefit as a supportive service for California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) recipient families. Specifically, this bill:

1. Establishes a $50 per month diaper-needs benefit to pay for diapers for each child two years of age and younger in a CalWORKs assistance unit that is enrolled in child care as a supportive service when a parent is participating in welfare-to-work.
2. Requires the diaper-needs benefit to be issued through the electronic benefits transfer (EBT) system. Further requires the Department of Social Services (DSS) to facilitate administration of the diaper-needs benefit at the earliest possible time, as specified.
3. Prohibits consideration of the diaper-needs benefit as income for purposes of determining eligibility or benefits for CalWORKs.

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 CalWORKs program. (42 United States Code 601 et seq., Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC) Section 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 Sections 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 Sections 11454, 11322.85)
4. Requires necessary supportive services, including child care, transportation, ancillary costs and personal counseling, as specified, to be available to every CalWORKs participant in order to facilitate his or her participation in the CalWORKs program activity to which he or she is assigned or acceptance of employment. (WIC Section 11323.2)
5. Makes paid child care available as a supportive service to every CalWORKs participant with a dependent child in the assistance unit who needs paid child care and is under 10 years of age or requires child care due to a physical, mental, or developmental disability, or is under court supervision. (WIC Section 11323.2 (a)(1)(A))
6. Authorizes a county to continue to provide welfare-to-work services for up to the first 12 months of employment to former CalWORKs participants who are no longer eligible for CalWORKs due to a subsidized employment position, to the extent the services are necessary for the individual to retain the subsidized employment and the services are not available through any other source. (WIC Section 11323.25)
7. Requires counties to provide CalWORKs applicants and recipients a written notice, as specified, of the availability of child care for the purpose of allowing a recipient to be employed or participate in welfare-to-work activities. (WIC Section 11323.3)
8. 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, which includes a lack of supportive services and a lack of access to child care, as specified. (WIC Section 11320.3(f))

FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, a $50 monthly benefit would cost approximately $7.8 million in 2016-17 and $15.6 million annually on-going (TANF/General Fund (GF)) due to impacting approximately 26,000 CalWORKs children per month according to DSS estimates. This bill will also result in potential one-time costs (GF) of an unknown amount to DSS to implement the system, as well as potential, likely minor, state-reimbursable costs (GF) to counties for implementation and on-going administration of the system. There will also be partial offsetting savings to the extent an increased use of child care better enables parents to work and exit assistance sooner, and that healthier babies decrease healthcare costs to Medi-Cal.

COMMENTS:

CalWORKs: The 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 TANF block grant. The average 2016-17 monthly cash grant for a family of three on CalWORKs (one parent and two children) is $497.35, 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 DSS, around 497,000 families rely on CalWORKs, including over one million children. Nearly 60% of cases include children under six years old.

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 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 subtracted from the amount provided to the family to meet basic needs.

Child care as a supportive service: Under current law, the support services available to CalWORKs participants include child care, transportation costs, ancillary expenses, and personal counseling, all of which require specified information to be reported to the county in order to verify necessity. In order to receive child care, for example, a CalWORKs participant must verify employment, child care costs, and hours and dates of employment, educational, or training activities. Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations provides standards to which licensed child care centers must adhere, including that a center shall ensure each infant has sufficient changes of clothing and diapers, and that each infant’s clothing and diapers are to be changed as often as necessary to ensure that each infant is kept clean and dry at all times.

Whereas ancillary expenses include the cost of books for school, tools, clothing specifically required for a job, fees and other necessary costs related to employment or education, there are no such ancillary payments provided for the children who live in CalWORKs families. As children sometimes rapidly grow out of clothes, there is no supplement provided to their parents for increased clothing costs, and for infants and toddlers, there is currently no supplement to pay for diapers. While child care is provided within the CalWORKs program to facilitate a parent’s participation in employment or another required welfare-to-work activity, not having enough money to purchase diapers can result in the loss of access to child care, which impedes a parent’s ability to go to work or participate in a welfare-to-work activity, resulting in a sanction for non-compliance with the program requirements.

Need for this bill: With this bill, the author seeks to ensure that babies and toddlers in poor families receiving CalWORKs have the diapers they need, which benefits the children who can continue to be enrolled in child care, as well as the parents who can continue to go to work as a result of that child care. The author introduced a similar measure, AB 1516 (Gonzalez) in 2014. That bill also attempted to provide access to diapers, but did so through an $80 per month young child special needs supplement, which would have been provided to families as part of the CalWORKs cash grant for each child under two years of age. While this bill includes children under three years of age, the scope is narrower, as it provides a $50 per month diaper-needs benefit through the EBT card and specifically ties the benefit to child care enrollment pursuant to a parent’s welfare-to-work plan.

According to the author, "Despite being critical to the health and hygiene of young children, diapers are excluded from state and federal assistance for low income families. There is no mechanism for relief from the high cost of diapers in California, even for those families we already support through programs such as CalWORKs. An inadequate supply of diapers can jeopardize a parent's employment by limiting their access to child care. Additionally, diaper need can cause avoidable and costly health consequences for the child and become an equally unhealthy stressor on parents. The goals of this legislation are to remove a potential barrier between parents and child care, and to alleviate the financial and health risks associated with diaper need."

The author goes on to note that child care utilization, which helps to facilitate more consistent employment for parents on CalWORKs, can help increase success of the program and potentially result in savings in other safety-net programs.

Analysis Prepared by: Myesha Jackson / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089 FN: 0002589

Date of Hearing: January 21, 2016

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Jimmy Gomez, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 492

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

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

SUMMARY:

This bill provides a $50 per month voucher for diaper products for each child under three years of age in CalWORKs who is enrolled in child care as a supportive service for a parent participating in welfare-to-work.

FISCAL EFFECT:

1. This bill would impact approximately 26,000 CalWORKs children per month according to Department of Social Services (DSS) estimates. A $50 monthly voucher would cost approximately $7.8 million in 2016-17 and $15.6 million annually on-going. (TANF/GF).
2. Potential one-time costs (GF) of an unknown amount to DSS to update existing automation systems. Costs will depend on the type of system ultimately used to administer the system.
3. Potential state-reimbursable costs (GF) to counties for implementation and on-going administration of the voucher system. Staff notes that processes for providing state and federal benefits have shifted away from vouchers to electronic means. CalFresh food benefits, formerly provided through food stamps, which were paper vouchers, are now provided through EBT cards. In addition, California is in the process of implementing providing Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) benefits on EBT cards.
4. Partial offsetting savings to the extent an increased use of childcare better enables parents to work and thus come off of assistance earlier, and that healthier babies decreases healthcare costs to Medi-cal.

COMMENTS:

1. Purpose. According to the author, “Despite being critical to the health and hygiene of young children, diapers are excluded from state and federal assistance for low income families. There is no mechanism for relief from the high cost of diapers in California, even for those families we already support through programs such as CalWORKs. An inadequate supply of diapers can jeopardize a parent’s employment by limiting their access to child care. Additionally, diaper need can cause avoidable and costly health consequences for the child and become an equally unhealthy stressor on parents. The goals of this legislation are to remove a potential barrier between parents and child care, and to alleviate the financial and health risks associated with diaper need.” The author also notes that child care utilization, which helps to facilitate more consistent employment for parents on CalWORKs, can help increase the success of the program and potentially result in savings in other safety-net programs.
2. Background. The 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 monthly cash grant for a family of three on CalWORKs (one parent and two children) is $497 to meet basic needs, including rent, clothing, utility bills, food, and anything else a family needs. This grant amount puts the average annual household income at $5,964 per year, or 30% of the federal poverty level. Federal Poverty Guidelines for 2015 show that 100% of poverty for a family of three is $20,090 per year.

According to recent data from the California Department of Social Services, around 497,000 families rely on CalWORKs, including over one million children. Nearly 60% of cases include children under 6 years old.

1. Child Care. Title 22 within the California Code of Regulations provides standards to which licensed child care centers must adhere, including that a center shall ensure each infant has sufficient changes of clothing and diapers, and that each infant's clothing and diapers are to be changed as often as necessary to ensure that each infant is kept clean and dry at all times. Child care is provided within the CalWORKs program to facilitate a parent's participation in employment or another required welfare-to-work activity. Most child care providers require parents supply the diapers. The inability to provide diapers can result in the loss of access to child care which impedes a parent's ability to go to work or participate in a welfare-to-work activity, and may result in a sanction for non-compliance with the program requirements.
2. Cost of Diapers. According to the National Diaper Bank Network, disposable diapers cost an average of $100 per month with no government assistance, not including the cost of wipes and other necessary items. The average child goes through 10-14 diapers daily for 2.5 to 3 years, with more being used daily the first four months. Pricing for disposable diapers ranges from 17 cents to 42 cents each, depending upon size, style, brand and place of purchase. Poor parents are less likely to be able to buy in bulk so end up paying more on average. Cloth diapers are not an option for many poor families who don’t have easy access to washers and dryers. Many Laundromats don’t allow diapers to be washed in their machines, and, even when they do, the cost of frequent washes can be prohibitive for CalWORKs families.
3. Prior Legislation. AB 1516 (Gonzalez), 2014, would have provided CalWORKs recipients an $80 per month young child special needs assessment, for the purpose of purchasing diapers, for every child under 2 years of age in the assistance unit. It was held on the Senate Appropriations Committee Suspense File.

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

Date of Hearing: January 12, 2016

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES

Kansen Chu, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 492 (

Author:Gonzalez) – As Amended Ver:March 26, 2015

SUBJECT: CalWORKs: welfare-to-work: supportive services

SUMMARY: Includes a diaper voucher among supportive services provided to CalWORKs recipient families. Specifically, this bill: Provides a voucher for diaper products in the amount of $50 per month for each child two years of age and younger in a CalWORKs assistance unit that is enrolled in child care as a supportive service for a parent participating in welfare-to-work.

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 necessary supportive services, including child care, transportation, ancillary costs and personal counseling, as specified, to be available to every CalWORKs participant in order to facilitate his or her participation in the CalWORKs program activity to which he or she is assigned or acceptance of employment. (WIC 11323.2)
5. Makes paid child care available as a supportive service to every CalWORKs participant with a dependent child in the assistance unit who needs paid child care and is under 10 years of age or requires child care due to a physical, mental, or developmental disability, or is under court supervision. (WIC 11323.2 (a)(1)(A))
6. Authorizes a county to continue to provide welfare-to-work services for up to the first 12 months of employment to former CalWORKs participants who are no longer eligible for CalWORKs due to a subsidized employment position, to the extent the services are necessary for the individual to retain the subsidized employment and the services are not available through any other source. (WIC 11323.25)
7. Requires counties to provide CalWORKs applicants and recipients a written notice, as specified, of the availability of child care for the purpose of allowing a recipient to be employed or participate in welfare-to-work activities. (WIC 11323.3)
8. 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, which includes a lack of supportive services and a lack of access to child care, as specified. (WIC 11320.3(f))

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 2016-17 monthly cash grant for a family of three on CalWORKs (one parent and two children) is $497.35, 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, around 497,000 families rely on CalWORKs, including over one million children. Nearly 60% of cases include children under 6 years old.

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 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 subtracted from the amount provided to the family to meet basic needs.

Child care as a supportive service: Under current law, the support services available to CalWORKs participants include child care, transportation costs, ancillary expenses, and personal counseling, all of which require specified information to be reported to the county in order to verify necessity. In order to receive child care, for example, a CalWORKs participant must verify employment, child care costs, and hours and dates of employment, educational, or training activities. Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations provides standards to which licensed child care centers must adhere, including that a center shall ensure each infant has sufficient changes of clothing and diapers, and that each infant’s clothing and diapers are to be changed as often as necessary to ensure that each infant is kept clean and dry at all times.

Whereas ancillary expenses include the cost of books for school, tools, clothing specifically required for a job, fees and other necessary costs related to employment or education, there are no such ancillary payments provided for the children who live in CalWORKs families. As children sometimes rapidly grow out of clothes, there is no supplement provided to their parents for increased clothing costs, and for infants and toddlers, there is currently no supplement to pay for diapers. While child care is provided within the CalWORKs program to facilitate a parent’s participation in employment or another required welfare-to-work activity, not having enough money to purchase diapers can result in the loss of access to child care, which impedes a parent’s ability to go to work or participate in a welfare-to-work activity, resulting in a sanction for non-compliance with the program requirements.

Need for this bill: With this bill, the author seeks to ensure that babies and toddlers in poor families receiving CalWORKs have the diapers they need, which benefits the children who can continue to be enrolled in child care, as well as the parents who can continue to go to work as a result of that child care. The author introduced a similar measure, AB 1516 (Gonzalez) in 2014. That bill also attempted to provide access to diapers, but did so through a young child special needs assessment, which would have been provided to families to purchase diapers for all children in the family two years of age and younger. The scope of this bill is narrower, as it provides a diaper products voucher that is specifically tied to child care enrollment pursuant to a parent’s welfare-to-work plan.

According to the author, “Despite being critical to the health and hygiene of young children, diapers are excluded from state and federal assistance for low income families. There is no mechanism for relief from the high cost of diapers in California, even for those families we already support through programs such as CalWORKs. An inadequate supply of diapers can jeopardize a parent’s employment by limiting their access to child care. Additionally, diaper need can cause avoidable and costly health consequences for the child and become an equally unhealthy stressor on parents. The goals of this legislation are to remove a potential barrier between parents and child care, and to alleviate the financial and health risks associated with diaper need.” The author goes on to note that child care utilization, which helps to facilitate more consistent employment for parents on CalWORKs, can help increase success of the program and potentially result in savings in other safety-net programs.

Staff comments: Although a diaper product voucher may help guide the use of the benefit, processes for providing numerous state and federal benefits, have shifted away from vouchers to electronic means. This is most evident in the use of Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards for the distribution of CalFresh food benefits (formerly provided through food stamps, which were paper vouchers), as well as the more recent move to provide Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) benefits on EBT cards, which is still in the process of being implemented in California. In addition to streamlining the distribution of benefits, the move to electronic benefits transfer has made benefits more readily accessible to clients and has simplified purchase transactions for vendors. Should this bill move forward, the author should consider provision of the diaper products benefit through the EBT system to ensure efficient delivery of the benefit and reduce the possibility of purchase transactions barriers.

Additionally, this bill currently allows the voucher to cover “diaper products,” but does not define the exact products eligible for purchase with the voucher. Should this bill move forward, committee staff recommends the author consider better defining “diaper products” to ensure clarity for clients and vendors.

PRIOR LEGISLATION:

AB 1516 (Gonzalez), 2014, would have provided CalWORKs recipients an $80 per month young child special needs assessment, for the purpose of purchasing diapers, for every child age 2 years or younger in the assistance unit. It died on the Senate Appropriations Committee Suspense File.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

American Academy of Pediatrics

Black Women for Wellness

California Alternative Payment Program (CAPPA)

California Catholic Conference of Bishops 4

California Immigrant Policy Center

California Latinas for Reproductive Justice (CLRJ)

California Primary Care Association

Center on Reproductive Rights and Justice, UCB, School of Law

Courage Campaign

Crime Victims Unite of CA (CVUC)

Forward Together

Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles (JFSLA)

National Center for Youth Law

National Diaper Bank Network

Parent Voices California

Planned Parenthood

Western Center on Law and Poverty

Women Organizing Resources, Knowledge and Services (WORKS)

Opposition

None on file.

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