Existing law establishes the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program under which, through a combination of federal, state, and county funds, each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families.

The CalWORKs program also provides permanent housing assistance to pay for the last months rent and security deposits, up to 2 months of rent arrearages, or standard costs of deposits for utilities, as specified. Existing law requires payments to providers for temporary shelter and permanent housing and utilities to be made on behalf of the families requesting these payments. Existing law prohibits payments from being made to a housing provider unless it is a commercial establishment, shelter, or person in the business of renting properties who has a history of renting properties.

This bill would remove the requirement that a person in the business of renting properties have a history of renting properties in order to receive payments. The bill would additionally authorize payments to a housing provider with which the families requesting assistance have executed a valid lease, sublease, or shared housing agreement.

Because this bill would increase the administrative duties of counties, it 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 the statutory provisions noted above.

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.

CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS

CSA1 Bill Id:AB 960

Author:(Maienschein)

As Amended Ver:August 30, 2019

Majority vote

SUMMARY:

Expands the type of housing for which a California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) homeless assistance payment can be made to include a person with whom, or an establishment with which, the family requesting assistance has executed a valid lease, sublease, or shared housing agreement..

Major Provisions:

1. Expand the types of housing for which a CalWORKs homeless assistance payment may be made to include a person with whom, or an establishment with which, the family requesting assistance has executed a valid lease, sublease, or shared housing agreement.
2. Require the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) to implement the act through an all-county letter (ACL) or similar instruction until final regulations are adopted. Requires CDSS to adopt emergency regulations by January 1, 2021, or 18 months after the all-county letters or similar instructions are issued, whichever is later, as specified.
3. Make technical and conforming changes

The Senate Amendments:

1. Remove provisions to authorize a county to provide additional days of temporary shelter assistance
2. Authorize CDSS to implement its provisions through ACLs, require adoption of emergency regulations by January 1, 2021, or within 18 months after the ACL, and require the adoption of final regulations within 24 months after the ACL.

COMMENTS:

CalWORKs homeless assistance program: CalWORKs families may be considered homeless for purposes of receiving additional assistance if the family lacks a fixed and regular nighttime residence, if the family's primary nighttime residence is a shelter, or if the family is residing in a public or private place that is not an appropriate sleeping place for human beings. Additionally, if a family has received an eviction notice and the cause of eviction is the result of a verified financial hardship, that family can also be considered to be homeless for CalWORKs purposes.

Need for this bill: Homelessness in California remains a pervasive issue, as many low-income families struggle to find and maintain affordable housing.

According to the Author:

'Families experiencing homelessness not only need more options for temporary housing, but need more opportunity to be placed in a permanent home. [This bill] strengthens the ability of the program to achieve that goal.'

Arguments in Support:

Writing in support, the National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter states that this bill would help 'our state's poorest families with children while also improving the effectiveness of the CalWORKs program's homelessness interventions.'

Arguments in Opposition:

None on file

FISCAL COMMENTS:

According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:

1. First year costs of $2.1 million and ongoing costs of $4.1 million annually thereafter for expanding the allowable providers for housing.
2. CDSS's Housing and Homelessness Bureau would incur increased workload for the initial implementation of these provisions including drafting the All County Letters, workgroups with stakeholders, creating and revising forms, drafting regulations, as well as the ongoing technical assistance and monitoring resulting in costs of $128K in FY 2020-21 and $115K ongoing.

VOTES:

ASM HUMAN SERVICES: 8-0-0

YES: Reyes, Mathis, Luz Rivas, Choi, Friedman, Gipson, Maienschein, Mark Stone

ASM APPROPRIATIONS: 16-0-2

YES: Gonzalez, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonta, Brough, Calderon, Carrillo, Chau, Diep, Eggman, Gabriel, Eduardo Garcia, Maienschein, Petrie-Norris, Quirk, Robert Rivas

ABS, ABST OR NV: Fong, Obernolte

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 73-0-7

YES: Arambula, Bauer-Kahan, Berman, Bigelow, Bloom, Boerner Horvath, Bonta, Brough, Burke, Calderon, Carrillo, Cervantes, Chau, Chen, Chiu, Choi, Chu, Cooper, Cunningham, Dahle, Daly, Diep, Flora, Fong, Friedman, Gabriel, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Gipson, Gloria, Gonzalez, Grayson, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Kalra, Kamlager-Dove, Kiley, Lackey, Levine, Limón, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, O'Donnell, Obernolte, Patterson, Petrie-Norris, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, Reyes, Luz Rivas, Robert Rivas, Rodriguez, Blanca Rubio, Salas, Santiago, Smith, Mark Stone, Voepel, Waldron, Weber, Wicks, Wood, Rendon

ABS, ABST OR NV: Aguiar-Curry, Cooley, Eggman, Frazier, Eduardo Garcia, Gray, Ting

SENATE FLOOR: 40-0-0

YES: Allen, Archuleta, Atkins, Bates, Beall, Borgeas, Bradford, Caballero, Chang, Dahle, Dodd, Durazo, Galgiani, Glazer, Lena Gonzalez, Grove, Hertzberg, Hill, Hueso, Hurtado, Jackson, Jones, Leyva, McGuire, Mitchell, Monning, Moorlach, Morrell, Nielsen, Pan, Portantino, Roth, Rubio, Skinner, Stern, Stone, Umberg, Wieckowski, Wiener, Wilk

UPDATED:

VERSION: August 30, 2019

CONSULTANT: Daphne Hunt / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089 FN: 0001969

 THIRD READING  

Bill No: AB 960

Author: Maienschein (D), et al.

Amended: 8/30/19 in Senate

Vote: 21

SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE: 6-0, 7/8/19

AYES: Hurtado, Stone, Beall, Jackson, Pan, Wiener

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 8/30/19

AYES: Portantino, Bates, Bradford, Durazo, Hill, Jones, Wieckowski

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 73-0, 5/28/19 - See last page for vote

SUBJECT: CalWORKs: homeless assistance

SOURCE: Author

DIGEST:

This bill expands the type of housing for which a CalWORKs homeless assistance payment can be made to include a person with whom, or an establishment with which, the family requesting assistance has executed a valid lease, sublease, or shared housing agreement.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Establishes under federal law the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program which provides block grants to states to develop and implement state welfare-to-work programs designed to provide cash assistance and other services to eligible low-income families under a state plan. (42 USC 601 et seq.)
2. Establishes in state law the CalWORKs program to provide cash assistance and other social services for low-income families through TANF. Under CalWORKs, each county provides assistance through a combination of state, county and federal TANF funds. (WIC 11120 et seq.)
3. Establishes income, asset, and real property limits used to determine eligibility for the CalWORKs program, and CalWORKs grant amounts, based on family size and county of residence. (WIC 11150 to 11160, and 11450 et seq.)
4. Entitles a family to receive an allowance for nonrecurring special needs related to housing or homelessness after the family has used all available liquid resources in excess of $100, as specified, and grants this allowance for different purposes and amounts, including, but limited to:
   1. Temporary shelter assistance for homeless families receiving CalWORKs, as specified, for one period annually of 16 consecutive days, except as specified, and counts a break in the consecutive use of this assistance as permanent exhaustion of the benefit; and
   2. Permanent housing assistance available to pay for last month's rent and security deposits when these payments are reasonable conditions of securing a residence, or to pay for up to two months of rent arrearages, when these payments are a reasonable condition of preventing eviction. (WIC 11450 (f))
5. Prohibits housing assistance payments from being made unless the provider of the housing is a commercial establishment; a shelter; or a person in the business of renting properties. (WIC 11450 (f)(3)(I)

This bill:

1. Expands the types of housing for which a CalWORKs homeless assistance payment may be made to include a person with whom, or an establishment with which, the family requesting assistance has executed a valid lease, sublease, or shared housing agreement.
2. Requires CDSS to implement the act through an all-county letter or similar instruction until final regulations are adopted. Requires CDSS to adopt emergency regulations by January 1, 2021, or 18 months after the all-county letters or similar instructions are issued, whichever is later, as specified.
3. Makes technical and conforming changes.

Background

According to the author, “Homelessness continues to be a problem in our state and throughout the country. While often hidden, homelessness among families with children is at an all-time high.”

The CalWORKs program offers temporary shelter and permanent housing assistance to families who are or are on the verge of homelessness. This bill expands these benefits by including additional approved housing types eligible for homeless assistance. “By making these changes, AB 960 would increase options for our state’s poorest families with children while also improving the effectiveness of the CalWORKs program’s homelessness interventions,” the author states.

Family Homelessness

Homelessness is a pervasive problem all over California. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), in its 2018 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress, estimated that in California, on a single night in January 2018, 22,402 people in families with children were homeless. This represented a 4 percent (880 people) increase over the year before. Statewide, the number of people experiencing homelessness was estimated at 129,972 in 2018. While the statewide results for the 2019 homeless count are not yet available, experts predict the statewide count to increase to over 150,000 for 2019. Because these counts are for a single night, they do not represent the entire number of California families who experience homelessness each year.

Experiences of homelessness can be particularly damaging for children, with impacts spanning from hunger and related physical, cognitive and developmental issues to lowered academic achievement and increases in stress; depression; emotional instability; and overall poor mental health.

CalWORKs

CalWORKs, the state’s largest anti-poverty program, implements the federal TANF program in California. CalWORKs provides temporary cash assistance aimed at moving children out of poverty and to help qualified low income families meet their basic needs, such as rent, clothing, utility bills, food and other items needed to ensure children are cared for at home and safely remain with their families. In addition to cash assistance, adult CalWORKs recipients are provided education, employment and training services designed to help remove barriers to work and promote self-sufficiency. These services are typically outlined in a Welfare to Work plan.

CalWORKs is funded with a mix of federal TANF money, state, and county funds. CDSS is the designated state agency responsible for program supervision at the state level. The counties are responsible for administering the program and managing case work at the local level.

A key component of the federal welfare reform of the mid-1990s was the encouragement of job training and employment. Current CalWORKs rules reflect this focus on training and employment by limiting the time period adults may receive benefits and requiring recipients to perform certain activities as a condition of receiving benefits.

In order to be eligible for CalWORKs, families must meet income and asset tests, both of which require specified calculations that take into account many factors, including earned income, disability-based unearned income, and other unearned income. A family of three living in a high cost of living area must earn less than $1,395 in countable monthly income in order to be eligible for CalWORKs benefits.

The average monthly cash grant for a family of three on CalWORKs in Fiscal Year 2019-20 is estimated at $682. As of April 2019, 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 $785. Per the FY 2019-20 budget, the maximum grant amount will increase to 50 percent of the federal poverty level for one person households and up to 48 percent of federal poverty level for all other households.

According to recent data from CDSS, approximately 423,000 families relied on CalWORKs in FY 2017-18 and about 55 percent of cases include children under six years old.

CalWORKs Homeless Assistance Program

The CalWORKs program offers a variety of options designed to address homelessness, including the Homeless Assistance Program, which provides temporary shelter assistance and permanent housing assistance. CalWORKs families may be considered homeless for purposes of receiving additional assistance if the family lacks a fixed and regular nighttime residence, if the family's primary nighttime residence is a shelter, or if the family is residing in a public or private place that is not an appropriate sleeping place for human beings. Additionally, if a family has received an eviction notice and the cause of eviction is the result of a verified financial hardship, that family can also be considered to be homeless for CalWORKs purposes.

Pursuant to SB 80 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, Chapter 27, Statutes of 2019), as of January 1, 2020 (or when CDSS notifies the Legislature that the Statewide Automated Welfare System can perform the necessary automation to implement it, whichever date is later) temporary shelter assistance is available through the Homeless Assistance Program to homeless families for up to 16 cumulative calendar days within a 12 month period. Families may receive temporary shelter assistance for two periods of up to 16 cumulative calendar days in a year if the family’s homelessness is the direct result of domestic violence as verified by a sworn statement.

Temporary shelter assistance for a family of up to four people is set at $85 per day, plus $15 a day for each additional family member. The maximum amount of daily temporary shelter assistance any family can receive is $145. The assistance can only be used to pay for housing provided in a commercial establishment, a shelter, or an established rental property.

Permanent housing assistance can be provided via CalWORKs to help secure or maintain permanent housing and help prevent eviction for a family, and can be received once every 12 months. This benefit can only be used to pay for housing provided in a commercial establishment, a shelter, or an established rental property where the person renting the property has a history of renting properties. Regarding this last requirement, the County Welfare Directors Association of California, one of the co-sponsors of this bill, reports that some counties have faced scenarios where otherwise-eligible individuals have been unable to access CalWORKs permanent housing assistance simply due to the fact that they have secured housing through a sublease or other shared housing arrangement, which is currently prohibited by law. This bill seeks, in expanding housing settings eligible for CalWORKs permanent housing assistance, to address this issue.

In Fiscal Year 2016-17, 46,073 families were approved for temporary shelter assistance and 4,445 families were approved for permanent housing assistance. The data for Fiscal Year 2018-19 reflects an increasing demand for housing assistance among low-income families, as the number of families approved for temporary shelter assistance increased to 57,614 in Fiscal Year 2018-19. That same year, 6,276 families were approved for permanent housing assistance.

In recent years, there have been numerous legislative efforts to modify the Homeless Assistance Program, including removing the once in a lifetime limit for such assistance and instead making it available once in a 12 month period, increasing the number of days for which a family can be eligible for temporary assistance from 16 consecutive days to 16 cumulative calendar days, and increasing the temporary assistance payment from $65 to $85 per day. For a complete list of those bills, please see the Senate Committee on Human Services analysis of this bill.

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

According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:

• First year costs of $2.1 million and ongoing costs of $4.1 million annually thereafter for expanding the allowable providers for housing.
• CDSS's Housing and Homelessness Bureau would incur increased workload for the initial implementation of these provisions including drafting the All County Letters, workgroups with stakeholders, creating and revising forms, drafting regulations, as well as the ongoing technical assistance and monitoring resulting in costs of $128K in FY 2020-21 and $115K ongoing.

SUPPORT: (Verified 8/30/19)

California Apartment Association

California Partnership to End Domestic Violence

City of Los Angeles

Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations

County Behavioral Health Directors Association

County Of Santa Clara

National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter

Western Center on Law & Poverty, Inc.

OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/30/19)

None received

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 73-0, 5/28/19

AYES: Arambula, Bauer-Kahan, Berman, Bigelow, Bloom, Boerner Horvath, Bonta, Brough, Burke, Calderon, Carrillo, Cervantes, Chau, Chen, Chiu, Choi, Chu, Cooper, Cunningham, Dahle, Daly, Diep, Flora, Fong, Friedman, Gabriel, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Gipson, Gloria, Gonzalez, Grayson, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Kalra, Kamlager-Dove, Kiley, Lackey, Levine, Limón, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Patterson, Petrie-Norris, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, Reyes, Luz Rivas, Robert Rivas, Rodriguez, Blanca Rubio, Salas, Santiago, Smith, Mark Stone, Voepel, Waldron, Weber, Wicks, Wood, Rendon

NO VOTE RECORDED: Aguiar-Curry, Cooley, Eggman, Frazier, Eduardo Garcia, Gray, Ting

Prepared by: Taryn Smith / HUMAN S. /

9/3/19 8:55:26

**** END ****

SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Senator Anthony Portantino, Chair

2019 - 2020 Regular Session

AB 960 (Maienschein) - CalWORKs: homeless assistance

Bill Summary:

AB 960 would expand the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) homeless assistance benefits by broadening eligibility, increasing the frequency of eligibility for homeless assistance, and including additional approved housing types eligible for permanent homeless assistance.

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

The following information is revised to reflect amendments

adopted by the committee on August 30, 2019

Fiscal Impact:

• First year costs of $2.1 million and ongoing costs of $4.1 million annually thereafter for expanding the allowable providers for housing.
• CDSS's Housing and Homelessness Bureau would incur increased workload for the initial implementation of these provisions including drafting the All County Letters, workgroups with stakeholders, creating and revising forms, drafting regulations, as well as the ongoing technical assistance and monitoring resulting in costs of $128K in FY 2020-21 and $115K ongoing.

Author Amendments:

• Strike the provision to authorize a county to provide additional days of temporary shelter assistance for a household that has received the 16 days of temporary homeless assistance.
• Strike the provision allowing 16 days of temporary shelter assistance per instance of homelessness and instead allow 16 cumulative days every 12 months.
• Authorize CDSS to implement its provisions through all-county letters (ACL), require adoption of emergency regulations by January 1, 2021 or within 18 months after the ACL, and require the adoption of final regulations within 24 months after the (ACL).

-- END --

SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Senator Anthony Portantino, Chair

2019 - 2020 Regular Session

AB 960 (Maienschein) - CalWORKs: homeless assistance

Bill Summary:

AB 960 would expand the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) homeless assistance benefits by broadening eligibility, increasing the frequency of eligibility for homeless assistance, and including additional approved housing types eligible for permanent homeless assistance.

Fiscal Impact:

1. Significant costs of $25 million in FY 2019-20 and ongoing costs of $49.8 million annually thereafter for the following provisions:

Expanding the allowable providers for housing

$2.1 million in FY 2019-20 and $4.1 million ongoing

Replacing the 12-month limitation to “per instance of homelessness”

$17.8 million in FY 2019-20 and $35.6 million ongoing

• To replace the 12-month limitation is $14.3 million in FY 2019-20 and $28.5 million in FY 2020-21 and ongoing
• The cost of expanding housing providers is an additional $0.9 million in FY 2019-20 and $1.7 million in FY 2020-21 and ongoing
• Removing the 12-month limitation on issuing temporary homeless assistance to cases who have approved permanent assistance is an additional $0.3 million in FY 2019-20 and $0.6 million in FY 2020-21 and ongoing
• Including the newly eligible families who have received pay rent or quit notices or are able to prove that they are unable to pay rent, the cost is an additional $2.4 million in FY 2019-20 and $4.8 million in FY 2020-21 and ongoing

Expand eligibility to a family is unable to pay past due rent

$5.1 million in FY 2019-20 and $10.1 million in FY 2020-21 and ongoing

1. CDSS's Housing and Homelessness Bureau would incur increased workload for the initial implementation of these provisions including drafting the All County Letters, workgroups with stakeholders, creating and revising forms, drafting regulations, as well as the ongoing technical assistance and monitoring resulting in costs of $128K in FY 2020-21 and $115K ongoing.
2. Additionally, counties could be impacted by authorizing additional days of temporary homeless assistance beyond 16-days. However, this is not a state reimbursable cost because this is optional for counties.

$1.2 million in FY 2019-20 and $2.4 million in FY 2020-21 and ongoing

• For this component alone is $0.6 million in FY 2019-20 and $1.1 million in FY 2020-21 and ongoing
• Including the impact of expanding housing providers is an additional $0.6 million in FY 2019-20 and $1.2 million in FY 2020-21 and ongoing

Background:

Temporary shelter assistance is provided to homeless families under the CalWORKs program. Under the CalWORKs Homeless Assistance Program, temporary shelter assistance is available to homeless families for up to 16 consecutive days. If the family’s homelessness is a direct result of domestic violence, the family may receive temporary shelter assistance for up to two periods of 16 cumulative days. Assistance for a family of four is $85 per day, plus $15 for each additional family member up to a maximum of $145 per day. The assistance can only be used to pay for housing provided in a commercial establishment, a shelter, or an established rental property.

Permanent housing assistance can be provided to help secure or maintain permanent housing and help prevent eviction for a family, and can be received once every 12 months. This benefit can only be used to pay for housing provided in a commercial establishment, a shelter, or an established rental property where the person renting the property has a history of renting properties.

In Fiscal Year 2016-17, 46,073 families were approved for temporary shelter assistance and 4,445 families were approved for permanent housing assistance. The data for Fiscal Year 2018-19 reflects an increasing demand for housing assistance among low-income families, as the number of families approved for temporary shelter assistance increased to 57,614 in Fiscal Year 2018-19. That same year, 6,276 families were approved for permanent housing assistance.

Proposed Law:

This bill would:

• Expand the definition of homelessness, for the purpose of the CalWORKs Homeless Assistance Program, to include that the family has provided the county with verification that the family is unable to pay rent that is past due and the inability to pay past due rent is the result of a verified financial hardship, as a result of extraordinary circumstances beyond their control, and not other lease or rental violations, and that the family is experiencing a financial crisis that could result in homelessness if preventative assistance is not provided;
• Authorize a county to waive the 16-day limit for temporary homeless assistance and authorize additional days of temporary homeless assistance for a household that has received the 16 days of temporary homeless assistance if the county determines that the additional authorization is necessary to prevent homelessness while the household is transitioning to receiving permanent homeless assistance;
• Delete the requirement that receipt of CalWORKs temporary and permanent shelter assistance be limited to 16 consecutive days per year and instead require it to be limited to 16 calendar days per instance of homelessness and require applicants for this aid to be informed of this limitation;
• Expand the types of housing for which a CalWORKs housing assistance payment may be made to include an individual with whom a family requesting assistance has executed a valid lease, sublease, or shared housing agreement.

Related Legislation:

SB 80 (Committee on Budget, Chapter 27, Statutes of 2019) allows the use of temporary assistance for up to 16 cumulative days, instead of consecutive days, and one payment of permanent housing assistance, in a 12-month period.

AB 1811 (Assembly Committee on Budget, Chapter 35, Statutes of 2018), among other things, as of January 1, 2019, increased the daily rate for CalWORKs temporary homeless assistance from $65 a day to $85 a day for a family with up to four members, and increased the daily maximum from $125 to $145.

AB 1921 (Maienschein and Santiago, 2018) would have expanded, beginning July 1, 2019, the housing arrangements for which a CalWORKs housing assistance payment may be used. An earlier version of this measure would have changed the annual limit on CalWORKs temporary shelter assistance from 16 consecutive calendar days to 16 cumulative calendar days within a 30-day period. The measure was vetoed by Governor Brown.

AB 236 (Maienschein, Chapter 545, Statutes of 2017) adopted changes to CalWORKs housing assistance for temporary shelter to make the assistance available to certain families receiving reunification services through the child welfare services system and required CDSS to work with certain entities to report to the Legislature on shelter costs and best practices for transitioning families to permanent shelter.

AB 557 (Rubio, Chapter 691, Statutes of 2017) authorized, as of July 1, 2018, applicants for and recipients of CalWORKs benefits who have experienced domestic violence to be eligible for CalWORKs homeless assistance and good-cause exemptions from school participation and immunization requirements under specified circumstances.

AB 1603 (Assembly Committee on Budget, Chapter 25, Statutes of 2016), among other things, permitted CalWORKs families receiving a temporary or permanent benefit under the Homeless Assistance Program to, as of January 1, 2017, receive this benefit once every 12 months, versus once in a lifetime.

AB 2631 (Santiago, 2016) would have removed the once-in-a-lifetime limit on CalWORKs homeless assistance benefits and extended from 16 days per lifetime to 30 days, per year – the permissible length of time for receipt of temporary shelter assistance. The measure was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

AB 702 (Maienschein, 2015) and AB 264 (Maienschein, 2014) would have deleted the requirement that CalWORKs temporary shelter assistance be provided consecutively to a limit of 16 days and instead allowed a family to receive temporary shelter assistance for a total of 16 calendar days to be used at any time they were both homeless and receiving CalWORKs aid. Both measures were held in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

AB 1452 (Stone, 2014) would have provided additional temporary assistance to homeless families receiving CalWORKs benefits by increasing the daily temporary shelter assistance amount from $65 to $75 and attaching an annual cost of living adjustment to that amount. The measure was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Staff Comments:

The following caseloads were used and assumptions were made in calculating the fiscal estimates:

• It is anticipated that 70 percent of cases who were previously denied homeless assistance will become eligible due to the expansion of allowable providers of housing. The monthly average of cases denied for permanent homeless assistance is 295 cases, resulting in an assumption of 207 cases. The average permanent homeless assistance cost per case is $1,482.90. The administrative cost per case is $180.80.
• An assumed 50 percent of cases will return within a 12-month period due to the removal of the 12-month limitation. The monthly average cases approved for temporary assistance and temporary assistance with permanent assistance is 4,932, resulting in an assumed caseload of 2,466. The monthly caseload impacted, associated with the expansion of housing providers, is 148. The monthly caseload impacted, associated with removing the 12-month limitation on issuing temporary homeless assistance to cases who have approved permanent assistance is 48. The monthly caseload impacted, associated with including the newly eligible families who have received pay rent or quit notices or are able to prove that they are unable to pay rent, is 417. The average assistance cost per case is $834.30. The administrative cost per case is $170.40.
• It is assumed that 10 percent of the total monthly homeless assistance requests will become eligible due to the expansion to include a family that has received a notice to pay rent or quit or can prove that they are unable to pay rent that is past due. The average monthly number of requests for homeless assistance is 8,328, resulting in a monthly caseload of 833. The average assistance cost per case is $834.30. The administrative cost per case is $180.80.
• Based off historical time studies, it will take 2.26 hours per case to assess each case’s homelessness at the cost of $180.80 per case. It is assumed that cases returning for assistance will take half of the time to process. With an added manual workaround time of 60 minutes, the total time needed to process a returning case will be 2.13 hours at the cost of $170.40 per case.

Staff notes that SB 80 (Committee on Budget, Chapter 27, Statutes of 2019) from this Legislative session includes provisions similar to this bill; however, there are some distinct differences between the two measures. Of particular note, SB 80 limits the cumulative 16-days of assistance to once per 12 months, while this bill would allow 16 calendar days per instance of homelessness. Considering homelessness may occur multiple times within a 12-month period, this bill would allow multiple occurrences of assistance. The author may wish to amend the bill to be consistent with SB 80.

-- END --

SENATE COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES

Senator Hurtado, Chair

2019 - 2020 Regular

Subject: CalWORKs: homeless assistance

SUMMARY

This bill expands California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) homeless assistance benefits by broadening eligibility, increasing the frequency of eligibility for homeless assistance and including additional approved housing types eligible for permanent homeless assistance.

ABSTRACT

Existing Law:

1. Establishes under federal law the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program which provides block grants to states to develop and implement state welfare-to-work programs designed to provide cash assistance and other services to eligible low-income families under a state plan. (42 USC 601 et seq.)
2. Establishes in state law the CalWORKs program to provide cash assistance and other social services for low-income families through TANF. Under CalWORKs, each county provides assistance through a combination of state, county and federal TANF funds. (WIC 11120 et seq.)
3. Establishes income, asset, and real property limits used to determine eligibility for the CalWORKs program, and CalWORKs grant amounts, based on family size and county of residence. (WIC 11150 to 11160, and 11450 et seq.)
4. Generally requires a recipient of CalWORKs benefits to participate in welfare-to-work (WTW) activities as a condition of eligibility for aid. (WIC 11320 et. seq.)
5. Establishes a 48-month lifetime limit on CalWORKs benefits for eligible adults, including a “24-month time clock” (24 cumulative, but not necessarily consecutive, months) during which a recipient has a broader range of permissible activities in which he or she can participate, and after which, a recipient must meet the more stringent federal work requirements in order to retain eligibility. (WIC 11322.85 and 11454)
6. Entitles a family to receive an allowance for nonrecurring special needs related to housing or homelessness after the family has used all available liquid resources in excess of $100, as specified, and grants this allowance for different purposes and amounts, including, but limited to:
   1. Temporary shelter assistance for homeless families receiving CalWORKs, as specified, for one period annually of 16 consecutive days, except as specified, and counts a break in the consecutive use of this assistance as permanent exhaustion of the benefit; and
   2. Permanent housing assistance available to pay for last month's rent and security deposits when these payments are reasonable conditions of securing a residence, or to pay for up to two months of rent arrearages, when these payments are a reasonable condition of preventing eviction. (WIC 11450 (f))
7. Prohibits housing assistance payments from being made unless the provider of the housing is a commercial establishment; a shelter; or a person in the business of renting properties. (WIC 11450 (f)(3)(I)
8. Requires that a CalWORKs applicant who provides a sworn statement of past or present domestic abuse and who is fleeing his or her abuser shall be deemed to be homeless and shall be eligible for temporary homeless assistance, as specified. (WIC 11450 (f)(2)(J))

This Bill:

1. Expands the definition of homelessness, for the purpose of the CalWORKs Homeless Assistance Program, to include that the family has provided the county with verification that the family is unable to pay rent that is past due and the inability to pay past due rent is the result of a verified financial hardship, as a result of extraordinary circumstances beyond their control, and not other lease or rental violations, and that the family is experiencing a financial crisis that could result in homelessness if preventative assistance is not provided.
2. Permits the county to waive the 16-day limit for temporary homeless assistance and authorize additional days of temporary homeless assistance for a household that has received the 16 days of temporary homeless assistance if the county determines that the additional authorization is necessary to prevent homelessness while the household is transitioning to receiving permanent homeless assistance.
3. Deletes the requirement that receipt of CalWORKs temporary and permanent shelter assistance be limited to 16 consecutive days per year and instead requires it to be limited to 16 calendar days per instance of homelessness and requires applicants for this aid to be informed of this limitation.
4. Expands the types of housing for which a CalWORKs housing assistance payment may be made to include an individual with whom a family requesting assistance has executed a valid lease, sublease, or shared housing agreement.
5. Makes technical changes.

FISCAL IMPACT

According to an April 24, 2019 analysis prepared by the Assembly Appropriations Committee this bill would likely generate costs to CDSS) of $29.7 million (General Fund (GF)) in FY 2019-20 and $59.3 million (GF) annually ongoing to provide the additional housing benefits required in this bill. Approximately 95 percent of these costs result from the elimination of the consecutive day rule under the temporary assistance program and the once-a-year limit on permanent shelter assistance.

BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION

Purpose of the Bill:

According to the author, “Homelessness continues to be a problem in our state and throughout the country. While often hidden, homelessness among families with children is at an all-time high.”

The CalWORKs program offers temporary shelter and permanent housing assistance to families who are or are on the verge of homelessness. This bill expands these benefits by broadening eligibility, increasing the frequency of eligibility for temporary and permanent homeless assistance and including additional approved housing types eligible for permanent homeless assistance. “By making these changes, AB 960 would increase options for our state’s poorest families with children while also improving the effectiveness of the CalWORKs program’s homelessness interventions,” the author states.

Family Homelessness

Homelessness is a pervasive problem all over California. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), in its 2018 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress, estimated that in California, on a single night in January 2018, 22,402 people in families with children were homeless. This represented a 4 percent (880 people) increase over the year before. Statewide, the number of people experiencing homelessness was estimated at 129,972 in 2018. While the statewide results for the 2019 homeless count are not yet available, experts predict the statewide count to increase to over 150,000 for 2019. Because these counts are for a single night, they do not represent the entire number of California families who experience homelessness each year.

Experiences of homelessness can be particularly damaging for children, with impacts spanning from hunger and related physical, cognitive and developmental issues to lowered academic achievement and increases in stress; depression; emotional instability; and overall poor mental health.

CalWORKs

CalWORKs, the state’s largest anti-poverty program, implements the federal TANF program in California. CalWORKs provides temporary cash assistance aimed at moving children out of poverty and to help qualified low income families meet their basic needs, such as rent, clothing, utility bills, food and other items needed to ensure children are cared for at home and safely remain with their families. In addition to cash assistance, adult CalWORKs recipients are provided education, employment and training services designed to help remove barriers to work and promote self-sufficiency. These services are typically outlined in a Welfare to Work plan.

CalWORKs is funded with a mix of federal TANF money, state, and county funds. CDSS is the designated state agency responsible for program supervision at the state level. The counties are responsible for administering the program and managing case work at the local level.

A key component of the federal welfare reform of the mid-1990s was the encouragement of job training and employment. Current CalWORKs rules reflect this focus on training and employment by limiting the time period adults may receive benefits and requiring recipients to perform certain activities as a condition of receiving benefits.

In order to be eligible for CalWORKs, families must meet income and asset tests, both of which require specified calculations that take into account many factors, including earned income, disability-based unearned income, and other unearned income. A family of three living in a high cost of living area must earn less than $1,395 in countable monthly income in order to be eligible for CalWORKs benefits.

The average monthly cash grant for a family of three on CalWORKs in Fiscal Year 2019-20 is estimated at $682. As of April 2019, 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 $785. Per the FY 2019-20 budget, the maximum grant amount will increase to 50 percent of the federal poverty level for one person households and up to 48 percent of federal poverty level for all other households.

According to recent data from CDSS, approximately 423,000 families relied on CalWORKs in FY 2017-18 and about 55 percent of cases include children under six years old.

CalWORKs Homeless Assistance Program

The CalWORKs program offers a variety of options designed to address homelessness, including the Homeless Assistance Program, which provides temporary shelter assistance and permanent housing assistance. CalWORKs families may be considered homeless for purposes of receiving additional assistance if the family lacks a fixed and regular nighttime residence, if the family's primary nighttime residence is a shelter, or if the family is residing in a public or private place that is not an appropriate sleeping place for human beings. Additionally, if a family has received an eviction notice and the cause of eviction is the result of a verified financial hardship, that family can also be considered to be homeless for CalWORKs purposes.

Temporary shelter assistance is available through the Homeless Assistance Program to homeless families for up to 16 consecutive days within a 12 month period. However, any break in assistance (such as spending one night at the home of a friend or relative) automatically terminates a family's eligibility for shelter assistance during any additional days within the 16 consecutive day limit. Families may receive temporary shelter assistance for two periods of up to 16 consecutive days in a year if the family’s homelessness is the direct result of domestic violence as verified by a sworn statement.

Temporary shelter assistance for a family of up to four people is set at $85 per day, plus $15 a day for each additional family member. The maximum amount of daily temporary shelter assistance any family can receive is $145. The assistance can only be used to pay for housing provided in a commercial establishment, a shelter, or an established rental property.

Permanent housing assistance can be provided via CalWORKs to help secure or maintain permanent housing and help prevent eviction for a family, and can be received once every 12 months. This benefit can only be used to pay for housing provided in a commercial establishment, a shelter, or an established rental property where the person renting the property has a history of renting properties. Regarding this last requirement, the County Welfare Directors Association of California, one of the co-sponsors of this bill, reports that some counties have faced scenarios where otherwise-eligible individuals have been unable to access CalWORKs permanent housing assistance simply due to the fact that they have secured housing through a sublease or other shared housing arrangement, which is currently prohibited by law. This bill seeks, in expanding housing settings eligible for CalWORKs permanent housing assistance, to address this issue.

In Fiscal Year 2016-17, 46,073 families were approved for temporary shelter assistance and 4,445 families were approved for permanent housing assistance. The data for Fiscal Year 2018-19 reflects an increasing demand for housing assistance among low-income families, as the number of families approved for temporary shelter assistance increased to 57,614 in Fiscal Year 2018-19. That same year, 6,276 families were approved for permanent housing assistance.

Related/Prior Legislation:

SB 80 (Committee on Budget, Chapter 27, Statutes of 2019) allows the use of temporary assistance for up to 16 cumulative days, instead of consecutive days, and one payment of permanent housing assistance, in a 12-month period.

AB 1811 (Assembly Committee on Budget, Chapter 35, Statutes of 2018) was the Human Services trailer bill that, other things, increased as of January 1, 2019, the daily rate for CalWORKs temporary homeless assistance from $65 a day to $85 a day for a family with up to four members, and increased the daily maximum from $125 to $145.

AB 1921 (Maienschein and Santiago, 2018) would have expanded, beginning July 1, 2019, the housing arrangements for which a CalWORKs housing assistance payment may be used.
AB 1921 was vetoed by the Governor.

AB 236 (Maienschein, Chapter 545, Statutes of 2017) adopted changes to CalWORKs housing assistance for temporary shelter to make the assistance available to certain families receiving reunification services through the child welfare services system and required DSS to work with certain entities to report to the Legislature on shelter costs and best practices for transitioning families to permanent shelter.

AB 557 (Rubio, Chapter 691, Statutes of 2017) authorized, as of July 1, 2018, applicants for and recipients of CalWORKs benefits who have experienced domestic violence to be eligible for CalWORKs homeless assistance and good-cause exemptions from school participation and immunization requirements under specified circumstances.

AB 1603 (Assembly Committee on Budget, Chapter 25, Statutes of 2016), among other things, permitted CalWORKs families receiving a temporary or permanent benefit under the Homeless Assistance Program to, as of January 1, 2017, receive this benefit once every 12 months, versus once in a lifetime.

AB 2631 (Santiago, 2016) would have removed the once-in-a-lifetime limit on CalWORKs homeless assistance benefits and extended from 16 days per lifetime to 30 days, per year, the permissible length of time for receipt of temporary shelter assistance. AB 2631 was held on the Assembly Appropriations Committee suspense file.

AB 702 (Maienschein, 2015) was substantially similar to AB 264 (Maienschein), 2014.
AB 702 was held on the Senate Appropriations Committee suspense file.

AB 264 (Maienschein, 2014) would have deleted the requirement that CalWORKs temporary shelter assistance be provided consecutively to a limit of 16 days and instead allowed a family to receive temporary shelter assistance for a total of 16 calendar days to be used at any time they were both homeless and receiving CalWORKs aid. AB 264 was held on the Senate Appropriations Committee suspense file.

AB 1452 (Stone, 2014) would have provided additional temporary assistance to homeless families receiving CalWORKs benefits by increasing the daily temporary shelter assistance amount from $65 to $75 and attaching an annual cost of living adjustment to that amount.
AB 1452 was held on the Senate Appropriations Committee suspense file.

COMMENTS

SB 80 (Senate Committee on Budget, Chapter 27, Statutes of 2019), which is the human services omnibus budget bill for Fiscal Year 2019-20, includes $14.7 million for the Homeless Assistance Program. SB 80 allows the use of temporary assistance for up to 16 cumulative days, instead of consecutive days, and one payment of permanent assistance, in a 12-month period. This is slightly different from the changes provided in this bill, which limit temporary shelter assistance and permanent housing assistance to one period of up to 16 calendar days of temporary assistance and one payment of permanent assistance per instance of homelessness.

Should this bill move forward from this committee, the author should seek chaptering amendments to conform with actions taken in the budget bill.

PRIOR VOTES

POSITIONS

Support:

Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organization (co-sponsor)

Western Center on Law and Poverty (co-sponsor)

California Apartment Association

California Partnership to End Domestic Violence

County Of Santa Clara

National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter

Oppose:

None received

-- END --

ASSEMBLY THIRD READING

ATR Bill Id:AB 960

Author:(Maienschein)

As Amended Ver:May 16, 2019

Majority vote

SUMMARY:

Expands California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) homeless assistance benefits by broadening eligibility, increasing the frequency of eligibility for temporary and permanent homeless assistance, and including additional approved housing types eligible for permanent homeless assistance.

Major Provisions

1. Expands the reasons for which a family may be considered homeless for purposes of CalWORKs benefits to include instances in which a family has provided the county with verification that the family is unable to pay rent that is past due.
2. Authorizes a county to waive the 16-day limit on CalWORKs temporary shelter assistance and authorize additional days of such assistance if the county determines that the additional authorization is necessary to prevent homelessness while the household is transitioning to receiving CalWORKs permanent homeless assistance, as specified. Further, deletes the requirement that receipt of CalWORKs temporary shelter assistance be limited to 16 consecutive days per year and instead requires it to be limited to 16 days per instance of homelessness.
3. Deletes the requirement that receipt of CalWORKs permanent shelter assistance be limited to once per year and instead requires it to be limited to once per instance of homelessness.
4. Expands the types of housing for which a CalWORKs housing assistance payment, as specified, may be made by, as specified, including among approved housing providers an individual with whom a family requesting assistance has executed a valid lease, sublease, or shared housing agreement.

COMMENTS:

CalWORKs homeless assistance program: CalWORKs families may be considered homeless for purposes of receiving additional assistance if the family lacks a fixed and regular nighttime residence, if the family's primary nighttime residence is a shelter, or if the family is residing in a public or private place that is not an appropriate sleeping place for human beings. Additionally, if a family has received an eviction notice and the cause of eviction is the result of a verified financial hardship, that family can also be considered to be homeless for CalWORKs purposes. CalWORKs can provide temporary shelter assistance and permanent housing assistance. Temporary shelter assistance is provided to families experiencing homelessness, and can be received for up to 16 consecutive days per year (with exceptions), with any break in the use of the assistance (such as spending one night at the home of a friend or relative) automatically terminating a family's ability to receive shelter assistance for any days remaining within the 16 consecutive day limit. Families may receive temporary shelter assistance for two periods of up to 16 consecutive days in a year if the family's homelessness is the direct result of domestic violence as verified by a sworn statement. Temporary shelter assistance for a family of up to four people is $85 per day, and $15 is provided for each additional family member, with the maximum amount of temporary shelter assistance any family can receive capping off at $145 per day. Additionally, CalWORKs permanent housing assistance can be provided to help secure or maintain permanent housing and help prevent eviction for a family, and can be received once every 12 months. This benefit can only be used to pay for housing provided in a commercial establishment, a shelter, or an established rental property where the person renting the property has a history of renting properties. There have been some reports where otherwise-eligible individuals have been unable to access CalWORKs permanent housing assistance because they have obtained housing, through a sublease or other shared housing arrangement, currently prohibited by law. This bill seeks to address this issue by expanding housing settings eligible for CalWORKs permanent housing assistance. In Fiscal Year 2017-18, 57,614 families were approved for temporary shelter assistance and 6,276 families were approved for permanent housing assistance.

Need for this bill: Homelessness in California remains a pervasive issue, as many low-income families struggle to find and maintain affordable housing. This bill seeks to expand, in various ways, the availability of homeless assistance via the CalWORKs program.

According to the Author:

"The 16 consecutive days of temporary housing assistance available to families under current law inadvertently creates an additional obstacle for families to overcome when they come across out-of-area travel for job opportunities, childcare obligations, or medical related travel that interrupt their hotel stay. Additionally, some interruptions in the 16-day consecutive stay are caused by unsuitable environments for children or temporary offers to stay with a family or friend…In cases where a family has been able to secure an alternative housing arrangement after the 16 consecutive days, it is common that the new housing opportunity will not be readily available, and families are left homeless yet again, while in transition…Furthermore, families experiencing homelessness not only need more options for temporary housing, but need more opportunity to be placed in a permanent home. The utilization of the permanent housing assistance towards shared housing opportunities will help families find a forever home, and allowing for an extension for housing assistance will help ease families' transition into permanent housing when it is appropriate. [This bill] strengthens the ability of the program to achieve that goal by increasing options for our state's poorest families with children and improving program administration."

Arguments in Support:

Writing in support, the National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter states that [this bill] "would increase options for our state's poorest families with children while also improving the effectiveness of the CalWORKs program's homelessness interventions."

Arguments in Opposition:

None on file

FISCAL COMMENTS:

According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, this bill may result in costs to the California Department of Social Services of $29 million (General Fund [GF]) in FY 2019-20 and $59 million (GF) annually ongoing to provide the additional housing benefits required in this bill.  Approximately 95% of these costs result from the elimination of the consecutive day rule under the temporary assistance program and the once-a-year limit on permanent shelter assistance.

VOTES:

ASM HUMAN SERVICES: 8-0-0

YES: Reyes, Mathis, Luz Rivas, Choi, Friedman, Gipson, Maienschein, Mark Stone

ASM APPROPRIATIONS: 16-0-2

YES: Gonzalez, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonta, Brough, Calderon, Carrillo, Chau, Diep, Eggman, Gabriel, Eduardo Garcia, Maienschein, Petrie-Norris, Quirk, Robert Rivas

ABS, ABST OR NV: Fong, Obernolte

UPDATED:

VERSION: May 16, 2019

CONSULTANT: Daphne Hunt / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089 FN: 0000902

Date of Hearing: April 24, 2019

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Lorena Gonzalez, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 960

Author:(Maienschein) – As Amended Ver:April 2, 2019

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

SUMMARY:

This bill expands California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) homeless assistance benefits by broadening eligibility, increasing the frequency of eligibility for temporary and permanent homeless assistance, and including additional housing types eligible for permanent homeless assistance. Specifically, this bill:

1. Extends eligibility for CalWORKs temporary shelter assistance to families with gross countable income less than the minimum basic standard of care, including amounts granted from temporary shelter assistance.
2. Allows a family to be considered homeless for purposes of CalWORKs benefits if a family has verified to the county that they are unable to pay rent that is past due.
3. Authorizes a county to waive the 16-day limit and approve additional days of temporary shelter assistance if additional days are necessary to prevent homelessness while the household is transitioning to receiving CalWORKs permanent housing assistance.
4. Deletes the requirement that CalWORKs temporary shelter assistance be limited to 16 consecutive days per year and instead requires it to be limited to 16 days per instance of homelessness.
5. Deletes the requirement that CalWORKs permanent shelter assistance be limited to once per year and instead requires it to be limited to once per instance of homelessness, with exceptions.
6. Expands the types of housing eligible for CalWORKs permanent housing assistance payment by:
7. Deleting the requirement that a housing provider in the business of renting properties have a history of renting properties in order for a payment to be made.
8. Including among approved housing providers an individual with whom a family requesting assistance has executed a valid lease, sublease or shared housing agreement.

FISCAL EFFECT:

Costs to the Department of Social Services (DSS) of $29.7 million (GF) in FY 2019-20 and $59.3 million (GF) annually ongoing to provide the additional housing benefits required in this bill. Approximately 95% of these costs result from the elimination of the consecutive day rule under the temporary assistance program and the once-a-year limit on permanent shelter assistance.

COMMENTS:

1. Purpose. This bill seeks to expand, in various ways, the availability of homeless assistance through the CalWORKs program.
2. CalWORKs. The CalWORKs program provides monthly income assistance and employment-related services to low-income families. Federal funding for CalWORKs comes from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant. The maximum CalWORKs grant for a family of three living in a high-cost county, with no other income, is $785 per month. For fiscal year (FY) 2018-19, the estimated average monthly CalWORKs cash grant is $568 per household. In FY 2017-18, the average monthly CalWORKs caseload was 423,121 households.
3. CalWORKs homeless assistance program. CalWORKs families may be considered homeless for purposes of receiving additional assistance if the family lacks a fixed and regular nighttime residence, if the family's primary nighttime residence is a shelter or if the family is residing in a public or private place that is not an appropriate sleeping place for human beings. Additionally, if a family has received an eviction notice and the cause of eviction is the result of a verified financial hardship, that family can also be considered homeless for CalWORKs purposes. CalWORKs provides temporary shelter assistance and permanent housing assistance. In FY 2017-18, 57,614 families were approved for temporary shelter assistance and 6,276 families were approved for permanent housing assistance.

Temporary shelter assistance is provided to families experiencing homelessness and can be received for up to 16 consecutive days per year (with exceptions), with any break in the use of the assistance automatically terminating a family's ability to receive shelter assistance for any days remaining within the 16 consecutive day limit. Families may receive temporary shelter assistance for two periods of up to 16 consecutive days in a year if the family’s homelessness is the direct result of domestic violence as verified by a sworn statement. Temporary shelter assistance for a family of up to four people is $85 per day with an extra $15 per day for each additional family member. The maximum a family can receive is capped at $145 per day.

CalWORKs permanent housing assistance can be received once every 12 months and is provided to help secure or maintain permanent housing and help prevent eviction. This benefit can pay for housing provided in a commercial establishment, a shelter or an established rental property where the person renting the property has a history of renting properties. Under current law, otherwise-eligible individuals cannot access CalWORKs permanent housing assistance for housing obtained through a sublease or other shared housing arrangement.

1. Prior Legislation. There has been much legislative activity regarding CalWORKs housing assistance in the last few years. Most of the changes contained in this bill have been attempted, in various combinations, in prior bills. Most relevant to this bill:

AB 1811 (Assembly Committee on Budget), Chapter 35, Statutes of 2018, the Human Services trailer bill, among many other changes, increased as of January 1, 2019, the daily rate for CalWORKs temporary homeless assistance from $65 a day to $85 a day for a family of up to four members and increased the daily maximum from $125 to $145.

AB 1921 (Maienschein and Santiago), of the 2017-18 Legislative Session, similar to portions of this bill, would have expanded the housing arrangements for which a CalWORKs housing assistance payment may be used. It was vetoed by the governor.

AB 1603 (Assembly Committee on Budget), Chapter 25, Statutes of 2016, permitted CalWORKs families receiving a benefit under the Homeless Assistance Program to, as of January 1, 2017, receive this benefit once every 12 months, versus once in a lifetime.

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

Date of Hearing: March 26, 2019

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES

Eloise Gómez Reyes, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 960 (

Author:Maienschein) – As Amended Ver:March 20, 2019

SUBJECT: CalWORKs: homeless assistance

SUMMARY: Expands California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) homeless assistance benefits by broadening eligibility, increasing the frequency of eligibility for temporary and permanent homeless assistance, and including additional approved housing types eligible for permanent homeless assistance. Specifically, this bill:

1. Extends eligibility for CalWORKs temporary shelter assistance to families with gross countable income less than the minimum basic standard of care including the amount(s) resulting from the granting of temporary shelter and who are apparently eligible for aid, as specified.
2. Expands the reasons for which a family may be considered homeless for purposes of CalWORKs benefits to include instances in which a family has provided the county with verification that the family is unable to pay rent that is past due.
3. Authorizes a county to waive the 16-day limit on CalWORKs temporary shelter assistance and authorize additional days of such assistance if the county determines that the additional authorization is necessary to prevent homelessness while the household is transitioning to receiving CalWORKs permanent homeless assistance, as specified.
4. Deletes the requirement that receipt of CalWORKs temporary shelter assistance be limited to 16 consecutive days per year and instead requires it to be limited to 16 days per instance of homelessness.
5. Deletes the requirement that receipt of CalWORKs permanent shelter assistance be limited to once per year and instead requires it to be limited to once per instance of homelessness.
6. Expands the types of housing for which a CalWORKs housing assistance payment, as specified, may be made by:
7. Deleting the requirement that a provider of housing who is in the business of renting properties must have a history of renting properties in order for a payment to be made; and,
8. Including among approved housing providers an individual with whom a family requesting assistance has executed a valid lease, sublease, or shared housing agreement.
9. Prohibits a continuous appropriation, as specified, from being made for purposes of provisions of this bill.
10. Makes technical and conforming changes.

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. (WIC 11150 to 11160, 11450 et seq.)
3. Establishes a 48-month lifetime limit on CalWORKs benefits for eligible adults, including a period beyond the “24-month time clock” during which a recipient must meet federal work requirements in order to retain eligibility. (WIC 11454, 11322.85)
4. Requires all individuals over 16 years of age, unless they are otherwise exempt, to participate in welfare-to-work activities as a condition of eligibility for CalWORKs. (WIC 11320.3, 11322.6)
5. Establishes the number of weekly hours of welfare-to-work participation necessary to remain eligible for aid, including requirements for an unemployed parent in a two-parent assistance unit, as specified. (WIC 11322.8)
6. Entitles a family to receive an allowance for nonrecurring special needs related to housing or homelessness after that family has used all available liquid resources in excess of $100, as specified, and grants this allowance for different purposes and amounts, as follows:
   1. Replacement of clothing and household equipment and for emergency housing needs other than temporary shelter;
   2. Temporary shelter assistance for homeless families receiving CalWORKs, as specified, for one period annually of 16 consecutive days, except as specified, and counts a break in the consecutive use of this assistance as exhaustion of the benefit; and,
   3. Permanent housing assistance available to pay for last month’s rent and security deposits when these payments are reasonable conditions of securing a residence, or to pay for up to two months of rent arrearages, when these payments are a reasonable condition of preventing eviction. (WIC 11450 (f))
7. Prohibits the sum of all housing assistance for nonrecurring special needs provided from totaling an amount in excess of $600 per event. (WIC 11450 (f)(1))

FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown

COMMENTS:

CalWORKs: CalWORKs is the state’s TANF program, providing eligible low-income families with cash grants and supportive services aimed at helping them to secure education, training, and employment. CalWORKs is administered at the county level; it is funded largely through the federal TANF block grant and state maintenance-of-effort contributions. Families participating in CalWORKs have access to a range of services that can include child care and services aimed at addressing mental health needs, substance use disorders, experiences of domestic violence, and learning disabilities, among other issues. Unless deemed exempt or otherwise not required to participate per CalWORKs rules, parents are required to develop and participate in a welfare-to-work plan. CalWORKs-approved welfare-to-work activities can 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.

A number of changes to the CalWORKs program were adopted with the passage of SB 1041 (Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review), Chapter 47, Statutes of 2012. These changes included the establishment of the 24-month time clock. Unless exempted per CalWORKs rules, an adult recipient is expected to participate in welfare-to-work activities during the up to 48 months for which they may receive assistance. For 24 of those 48 months, welfare-to-work participation requirements can include a broad range of activities, such as employment, training, education, and mental health, domestic violence, and substance abuse services. Once this 24-month time clock “runs out,” CalWORKs welfare-to-work participants must meet the more stringent federal TANF requirements in order to maintain their eligibility for aid. If a CalWORKs recipient does not meet the requirements of their welfare-to-work plan and does not have a permissible exemption or exception to those requirements, they are subject to sanction; sanction results in an individual’s portion of the family’s grant being subtracted from the total grant amount provided to the family to meet basic needs.

The current maximum CalWORKs grant for a family of three living in a high-cost county, if the family has no other income, is $714 per month. On April 1st of this year, maximum grants will increase by 10% pursuant to changes adopted in the 2018 Human Services Trailer Bill, AB 1811 (Assembly Committee on Budget), Chapter 35, Statutes of 2018. This 10% increase will raise the maximum CalWORKs grant for a family of three living in a high-cost county to $785 per month. However, many families earn some income and do not qualify for the maximum grant amount. For Fiscal Year (FY) 2018-19, the average monthly CalWORKs cash grant is estimated to be $568 per household. In FY 2017-18, the average monthly CalWORKs caseload was 423,121 households.

CalWORKs homeless assistance program: CalWORKs families may be considered homeless for purposes of receiving additional assistance if the family lacks a fixed and regular nighttime residence, if the family's primary nighttime residence is a shelter, or if the family is residing in a public or private place that is not an appropriate sleeping place for human beings. Additionally, if a family has received an eviction notice and the cause of eviction is the result of a verified financial hardship, that family can also be considered to be homeless for CalWORKs purposes.

There are a variety of ways in which the CalWORKs may provide assistance designed to address homelessness and ameliorate its effects. These include temporary shelter assistance and permanent housing assistance. Temporary shelter assistance is provided to families experiencing homelessness, and can be received for up to 16 consecutive days per year (with exceptions), with any break in the use of the assistance (such as spending one night at the home of a friend or relative) automatically terminating a family's ability to receive shelter assistance for any days remaining within the 16 consecutive day limit. Families may receive temporary shelter assistance for two periods of up to 16 consecutive days in a year if the family’s homelessness is the direct result of domestic violence as verified by a sworn statement. Temporary shelter assistance for a family of up to four people is $85 per day, and $15 is provided for each additional family member, with the maximum amount of temporary shelter assistance any family can receive capping off at $145 per day.

Additionally, CalWORKs permanent housing assistance can be provided to help secure or maintain permanent housing and help prevent eviction for a family, and can be received once every 12 months. This benefit can only be used to pay for housing provided in a commercial establishment, a shelter, or an established rental property where the person renting the property has a history of renting properties. There have been some reports where otherwise-eligible individuals have been unable to access CalWORKs permanent housing assistance because they have obtained housing, through a sublease or other shared housing arrangement, currently prohibited by law. This bill seeks to address this issue by expanding housing settings eligible for CalWORKs permanent housing assistance.

In Fiscal Year 2017-18, 57,614 families were approved for temporary shelter assistance and 6,276 families were approved for permanent housing assistance.

Need for this bill: Homelessness in California remains a pervasive issue, as many low-income families struggle to find and maintain affordable housing. This bill seeks to expand, in various ways, the availability of homeless assistance via the CalWORKs program. According to the author, “The 16 consecutive days of temporary housing assistance available to families under current law, inadvertently creates an additional obstacle for families to overcome when they come across out-of-area travel for job opportunities, childcare obligations, or medical related travel that interrupt their hotel stay. Additionally, some interruptions in the 16-day consecutive stay are caused by unsuitable environments for children or temporary offers to stay with a family or friend. Whether or not the family has a choice to stop aid before the 16th day, the rule itself establishes a disincentive to find alternative arrangements, seek prospective opportunities for employment, or to tend to pressing health or family obligations during this time period. In cases where a family has been able to secure an alternative housing arrangement after the 16 consecutive days, it is common that the new housing opportunity will not be readily available, and families are left homeless yet again, while in transition. The purpose of the CalWORKs temporary housing assistance is to enable homeless families with children to stay off of the street and more quickly secure permanent housing. Furthermore, families experiencing homelessness not only need more options for temporary housing, but need more opportunity to be placed in a permanent home. The utilization of the permanent housing assistance towards shared housing opportunities will help families find a forever home, and allowing for an extension for housing assistance will help ease families’ transition into permanent housing when it is appropriate. [This bill] strengthens the ability of the program to achieve that goal by increasing options for our state’s poorest families with children and improving program administration.”

Recommended amendments: In order to maintain direct eligibility for housing assistance for CalWORKs recipients, to clarify that the expanded eligibility for housing assistance proposed by the provisions of this bill applies specifically to temporary shelter, and to provide technical clean-up, committee staff recommends the following amendments beginning on line 34 of page 5 of the bill:

PRIOR LEGISLATION:

AB 1811 (Assembly Committee on Budget), Chapter 35, Statutes of 2018, was the Human Services trailer bill that, among many other changes adopted, increased as of January 1, 2019, the daily rate for CalWORKs temporary homeless assistance from $65 a day to $85 a day for a family with up to four members, and increased the daily maximum from $125 to $145.

AB 1921 (Maienschein and Santiago) of 2018 would have expanded, beginning July 1, 2019, the housing arrangements for which a CalWORKs housing assistance payment may be used.
AB 1921 was vetoed by the Governor.

AB 236 (Maienschein), Chapter 545, Statutes of 2017, adopted changes to CalWORKs housing assistance for temporary shelter to make the assistance available to certain families receiving reunification services through the child welfare services system and required DSS to work with certain entities to report to the Legislature on shelter costs and best practices for transitioning families to permanent shelter.

AB 557 (Rubio), Chapter 691, Statutes of 2017, authorized, as of July 1, 2018, applicants for and recipients of CalWORKs benefits who have experienced domestic violence to be eligible for CalWORKs homeless assistance and good-cause exemptions from school participation and immunization requirements under specified circumstances.

AB 1603 (Assembly Committee on Budget), Chapter 25, Statutes of 2016, among other things, permitted CalWORKs families receiving a temporary or permanent benefit under the Homeless Assistance Program to, as of January 1, 2017, receive this benefit once every 12 months, versus once in a lifetime.

AB 2631 (Santiago) of 2016 would have removed the once-in-a-lifetime limit on CalWORKs homeless assistance benefits and extended from 16 days per lifetime to 30 days, per year, the permissible length of time for receipt of temporary shelter assistance. AB 2631 was held on the Assembly Appropriations Committee suspense file.

AB 702 (Maienschein) of 2015 was substantially similar to AB 264 (Maienschein), 2014.
AB 702 was held on the Senate Appropriations Committee suspense file.

AB 264 (Maienschein) of 2014 would have deleted the requirement that CalWORKs temporary shelter assistance be provided consecutively to a limit of 16 days and instead allowed a family to receive temporary shelter assistance for a total of 16 calendar days to be used at any time they were both homeless and receiving CalWORKs aid. AB 264 was held on the Senate Appropriations Committee suspense file.

AB 1452 (Stone) of 2014 would have provided additional temporary assistance to homeless families receiving CalWORKs benefits by increasing the daily temporary shelter assistance amount from $65 to $75 and attaching an annual cost of living adjustment to that amount.
AB 1452 was held on the Senate Appropriations Committee suspense file.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations (Sponsor)

California Apartment Association

California Catholic Conference

Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County

County of Santa Clara

Food for People, The Food Bank for Humboldt County

Hunger Action Los Angeles Inc.

Public Interest Law Project

Opposition

None on file

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