AB 557: CalWORKs: victims of abuse.

Existing federal law provides for allocation of federal funds through the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant program to eligible states. Existing law provides for the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, under which, through a combination of state and county funds and federal funds received through the TANF program, each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families.

Existing law requires children in a CalWORKs assistance unit for whom school attendance is compulsory, except individuals who are eligible for the Cal-Learn Program and children subject to a county school attendance project, to attend school. Under existing law, the needs of a child in the assistance unit who is 16 years of age or older are not considered in computing the specified grant of the family for any month in which the county is informed by a school district or a county school attendance review board that the child did not attend school, unless at least one of certain conditions is present, including that good cause for school nonparticipation exists at any time during the month.

This bill would, among other things, commencing July 1, 2018, provide that a circumstance that shall constitute good cause includes, but is not limited to, the applicant or recipient is in a domestic violence situation that results in school nonparticipation or the failure to cooperate.

Under existing law, the CalWORKs program provides that a homeless family that has used all available liquid resources in excess of $100 may be eligible for homeless assistance benefits to pay the costs of temporary shelter and is also entitled to receive an allowance for nonrecurring special needs, as provided. Existing law requires a family to be eligible for temporary and permanent homeless assistance benefits when homelessness is a direct result of, among others things, domestic violence by a spouse, partner, or roommate, and that this circumstance may be verified by a sworn statement by the victim.

This bill would, commencing July 1, 2018, provide that a CalWORKs applicant who provides a sworn statement of past or present domestic abuse and who is fleeing his or her abuser is deemed to be homeless and is eligible for temporary homeless assistance, for a limited period of time, notwithstanding any income and assets attributable to the alleged abuser. The bill would require that the homeless assistance payments be granted immediately after the familys application, as specified. The bill would provide that housing search documentation would be required only under specified circumstances. Because this bill increases the scope of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

This bill would also require all CalWORKs applicants and recipients to be informed verbally and in writing, and to the extent required by law, in the language understood by the applicant or recipient, of the availability of services designed to assist individuals to identify, escape, or stop future domestic abuse as well as to deal with the effects of domestic abuse. By increasing the duties of counties administering the CalWORKs program, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

This bill would, commencing July 1, 2018, require the State Department of Social Services, during the annual budget process, to update the Legislature at hearings regarding the number of CalWORKs welfare-to-work recipients, aggregated by county, who have been identified as potential victims of domestic abuse, as specified. The bill would require the report to also include a list of counties that require domestic violence survivors to be offered specified waivers and a summary of actions taken by the department to address the specific and unique needs of survivors of domestic abuse.

This bill would authorize the State Department of Social Services to implement and administer the above-described provisions through all-county letters or similar instructions until regulations are adopted, and would require the department to adopt emergency regulations and final regulations, as specified.

This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 11450 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, proposed by AB 236 and AB 607, that would become operative only if this bill and AB 236, this bill and AB 607, or all 3 bills are enacted and this bill is enacted last.

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

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

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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.