SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Senator Anthony Portantino, Chair

2019 - 2020 Regular Session

SB 374 (Glazer) - CalWORKs: postsecondary education

Bill Summary:

SB 374 would require that a California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) eligible individual participating in an educational activity full time and making satisfactory progress shall receive a standard allowance of $500, be deemed to be meeting all welfare-to-work (WTW) requirements, be entitled to advance payments for allowance or reimbursement and other necessary supportive services, and be entitled to an extension of the 24-month cumulative participation period.

Fiscal Impact:

• Significant costs likely in the low millions of dollars for adults participating in an educational activity full time to receive the $500 standard allowance. (GF)
• Significant one-time costs of approximately $1 million for automation changes necessary to implement the program. (GF)
• Unknown, potentially reimbursable mandate costs to counties to provide forms, arrange for the required education and supportive services, and to monitor recipients' progress.

Background:

The CalWORKs program, which implements the federal TANF program, is a welfare program that gives cash aid and employment-related services to eligible California families. CDSS is charged with program supervision at the state level, and counties administer the caseloads at the local level. The CalWORKs program is funded with a mix of federal, state, and county funds. The average monthly cash grant for a family of three on CalWORKs (one parent and two children) for 2019-20 is $682 and the maximum monthly grant if the family has no other income and lives in a high-cost county is $785. According to recent data from CDSS, approximately 423,000 families rely on CalWORKs.

Adults may not receive CalWORKs benefits for more than 48-months through their lifetime. During those 48 months, adults may receive a total of 24 months of WTW services and activities designed to promote job readiness and self-sufficiency. WTW activities include subsidized and unsubsidized employment, community service, adult basic education, community college, job skills, training, mental health counseling, substance abuse treatment, and other activities necessary to assist recipients in obtaining employment.

Currently, CalWORKs requirements limit the time during which a WTW participant may engage in certain educational activities to a cumulative of 24 months. However, a participant may obtain an extension for up to six months, which is reevaluated every six months under certain circumstances. Absent an extension, a CalWORKs recipient who is attending school may be required to complete an additional 20-30 hours of core activities – fulltime education is not a core activity.

Existing law requires necessary supportive services to be available to every WTW participant in order to participate in an assigned program activity or to accept employment, to include childcare, diaper costs, transportation costs, ancillary expenses – which include the cost of books, tools, clothing specifically required for the job, fees, and other necessary costs – and personal counseling, as specified. These expenses are provided at the actual costs and there is no cap.

Proposed Law:

This bill would:

• Require the county to provide a CalWORKs applicant or recipient who is enrolled in a publicly funded postsecondary educational institution with information orally and in writing during CalWORKs orientation that they are entitled to an allowance or reimbursement and other necessary supportive services, as defined;
• Require that, notwithstanding any other law, persons described below shall be deemed to meet all WTW requirements, including specified hourly participation requirements and shall be entitled to an allowance or reimbursement and other necessary supportive services, as specified. This applies to:
  • An applicant or recipient who is enrolled in a publicly funded postsecondary educational institution full time and who is not meeting the hourly WTW participation rates;
  • A recipient who is attending a publicly funded postsecondary educational institution part time and who is meeting the hourly WTW participation rates;
• Require that a recipient described above shall be subject WTW requirements, except that a recipient who is enrolled in a publicly funded postsecondary educational institution and making satisfactory progress that would meaningfully increase the likelihood of the recipient’s employment shall be entitled to an extension of the 24-month cumulative participation period, as specified;
• Require a recipient to provide verification that they are making satisfactory progress at the beginning of each term if that information is available from the publicly funded postsecondary educational institution the recipient attends;
• Provide that earning a high school diploma or its equivalent, or attending a publicly funded postsecondary educational institution and making satisfactory progress shall be deemed to meaningfully increase the likelihood of employment, for purpose of WTW requirements;
• Require that a CalWORKs eligible individual participating in an educational activity full time and making satisfactory progress shall receive a standard allowance of $500;
• Require that an allowance be paid no later than 15 days before the start of the semester to ensure that the participant has the funds necessary to purchase books and supplies, or to pay other costs, required by the educational institution;
• Permit a county to pay all or some of the allowance in the form of a book voucher to a store or stores that carry the required books or supplies. If a county issues a book voucher, the county shall issue the voucher no later than 15 days before the start of the semester;
• Permit a participant to opt out of the standard allowance at any time, to make a reimbursement claim for the actual costs of books and supplies, and to submit this claim to the county by mail, in person, or, if the county has the technological capacity to do so, via the county’s internet website. Require the county to issue any payment within 10 days of the request for payment;
• Require the standard allowance to be adjusted annually for inflation pursuant to the California Consumer Price Index;
• Provide a WTW participant participating in a postsecondary educational activity full time and making satisfactory progress with the right to receive necessary childcare without an official transcript for a semester or the quarter, if the participant certifies that the official transcript is not readily available. Require the official transcript for a semester or quarter to be provided to the county within 30 days after the transcript becomes available.

Related Legislation:

AB 818 (Burke, Chapter 141, Statutes of 2017) clarified that a high school education or its equivalent, and education obtained subsequent to the acquisition of a high school diploma or its equivalent, is presumed to meaningfully increase the likelihood of employment for purposes of a recipient requesting an extension of the CalWORKs 24-month clock.

AB 227 (Mayes, 2017) would have created the CalWORKs Educational Opportunity and Attainment Program to offer education grants and stipends to eligible CalWORKs participants who complete certain educational programs. The measure was held in the Senate Human Services Committee.

AB 1994 (Lopez, 2016) would have created the CalED program to provide a one-time $500 supplement to eligible CalWORKs participants upon successful completion of a high school equivalency examination. The measure was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

AB 2448 (Burke, 2016) would have changed CalWORKs requirements regarding permissible welfare-to-work activities to facilitate a recipient’s completion of a high school equivalency program. The measure was vetoed by Governor Brown.

Staff Comments:

Staff notes that the actual costs for distributing the standard allowance will be dependent on the number of participants enrolled full-time in an educational activity. According to the CalWORKs Annual Summary, between July 1, 2017, and June 30, 2018, over 10,000 participants were enrolled in an education program. If all of these participants received the standard allowance, costs would exceed $5 million. However, it is not known how many of those participants are attending a postsecondary educational institution.

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SENATE COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES

Senator Hurtado, Chair

2019 - 2020 Regular

Bill No: SB 374

Subject: CalWORKs: postsecondary education

SUMMARY

This bill requires that a California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) eligible individual participating in an educational activity full time and making satisfactory progress, as specified, shall receive a standard allowance of $500; be deemed to be meeting all welfare-to-work (WTW) requirements, including the hourly participation requirements; be entitled to advance payments for allowance or reimbursement and other necessary supportive services, as specified; and is entitled to an extension of the 24-month cumulative participation period, as specified.

ABSTRACT

Existing Law:

1. Establishes the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, which permits states to implement the program 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. Generally requires a recipient of CalWORKs benefits to participate in WTW activities as a condition of eligibility for aid. (WIC 11320 et. seq.)
4. Mandates the sequence of employment-related activities a CalWORKs participant must engage in subsequent to the receipt of aid, unless otherwise exempted. Further requires that recipients shall, and applicants may, at the option of the county and with consent of the applicant, receive orientation to the WTW program. (WIC 11320.1)
5. Establishes the number of weekly hours of WTW participation necessary to remain eligible for aid, as specified. (WIC 11322.8)
6. 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)
7. Requires necessary supportive services to be available to every WTW participant in order to participate in an assigned program activity or to accept employment, to include childcare, diaper costs, transportation costs, ancillary expenses – which include the cost of books, tools, clothing specifically required for the job, fees, and other necessary costs – and personal counseling, as specified. (WIC 11323.2)
8. Requires that payments for supportive services shall be advanced to the participant, wherever necessary, and when desired by the participant, so that the participant need not use his or her funds to pay for these services. Further requires that payments for child care services shall be made, as specified. (WIC 11323.4(a))
9. Permits a recipient subject to the 24-month time limitation to request an extension and to present evidence to the county that he or she meets a number of the circumstances, including that the recipient has achieved satisfactory progress in an educational or treatment program, including adult basic education, vocational education, or a self-initiated program that has a known graduation, transfer, or completion date that would meaningfully increase the likelihood of his or her employment. Provides that a high school education or its equivalent is presumed to meaningfully increase the likelihood of employment. (WIC 11322.87 (a)(3))
10. Requires an extension to granted, in specified circumstances, for an initial period of up to six months and to be reevaluated by the county at least every six months. (WIC 11322.87(d)) 

This Bill:

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3. Requires the county to provide a CalWORKs applicant or recipient who is enrolled in publicly funded postsecondary educational institution with information orally and in writing during CalWORKs orientation that they are entitled to an allowance or reimbursement and other necessary supportive services, as defined.
4. Requires that, notwithstanding any other law, persons described below shall be deemed to meet all WTW requirements, including specified hourly participation requirements and shall be entitled to an allowance or reimbursement and other necessary supportive services, as specified. This applies to:
5. An applicant or recipient who is enrolled in a publicly funded postsecondary educational institution full time and who is not meeting the hourly WTW participation rates.
6. A recipient who is attending a publicly funded postsecondary educational institution part time and who is meeting the hourly WTW participation rates. In calculating whether a recipient is meeting the hourly participation requirement, the number of hours recommended for study by the publicly funded postsecondary educational institution for a student enrolled in the number of units that the recipient is enrolled in shall be counted as hours participating in a WTW activity.
7. Requires that a recipient described above shall be subject WTW requirements, except that a recipient who is enrolled in a publicly funded postsecondary educational institution and making satisfactory progress that would meaningfully increase the likelihood of the recipient’s employment shall be entitled to an extension of the 24-month cumulative participation period, as specified.
8. Requires a recipient to provide verification that they are making satisfactory progress at the beginning of each term if that information is available from the publicly funded postsecondary educational institution the recipient attends.
9. Provides that earning a high school diploma or its equivalent, or attending a publicly funded postsecondary educational institution and making satisfactory progress shall be deemed to meaningfully increase the likelihood of employment, for purpose of WTW requirements.
10. Requires that, for purpose of meeting WTW requirements as discussed in the bill, “full time,” “part time,” and “making satisfactory progress” shall be determined according to the rules and regulations of the publicly funded postsecondary educational institution that the individual attends.
11. Requires that a CalWORKs eligible individual participating in an educational activity full time and making satisfactory progress shall receive a standard allowance of five hundred dollars ($500).
12. Requires an allowance shall be paid no later than 15 days before the start of the semester to ensure that the participant has the funds necessary to purchase books and supplies, or to pay other costs, required by the educational institution.
13. Permits a county to pay all or some of the allowance in the form of a book voucher to a store or stores that carry the required books or supplies. If a county issues a book voucher, the county shall issue the voucher no later than 15 days before the start of the semester to ensure that the participant has the required books and supplies on the first day of school.
14. Permits a participant to opt out of the standard allowance at any time, to make a reimbursement claim for the actual costs of books and supplies, and to submit this claim to the county by mail, in person, or, if the county has the technological capacity to do so, via the county’s internet website. Requires the county to issue any payment within 10 days of the request for payment.
15. Requires the standard allowance to be adjusted annually for inflation pursuant to the California Consumer Price Index.
16. Provides a WTW participant participating in a postsecondary educational activity full time and making satisfactory progress with the right to receive necessary childcare without an official transcript for a semester or the quarter, if the participant certifies that the official transcript is not readily available. Requires the official transcript for a semester or quarter to be provided to the county within 30 days after the transcript becomes available.
17. Provides that, for purposes of the standard allowance and childcare as discussed in this bill, the definitions of “full time,” “part time,” and “making satisfactory progress” shall be determined according to the rules and regulations of the postsecondary institution that the participant attends.

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FISCAL IMPACT

This bill has not yet been analyzed by a fiscal committee.

BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION

Purpose of the Bill:

According to the author, “college students in California are experiencing unprecedented levels of housing and food insecurity, making a college education less accessible, especially for low-income students.” Additionally, due to strict program requirements, “a college education is even more difficult to attain for student parents on CalWORKs,” because they “may be required to work an additional 20-30 hours to receive full CalWORKs benefits. Not only is it difficult to be a parent, full time student, and work 20-30 hours all at the same time, but if a student parent on CalWORKs does not meet their work hour requirement, they can have their benefits reduced.” Additionally, CalWORKs recipients have a limited amount of time on aid, making it “imperative that we ensure our student parents have an opportunity to complete their education before timing out of CalWORKs,” per the author.

Furthermore, some CalWORKs student parents are unable to buy their books before classes begin “because they do not receive their funds from the county in time. In these scenarios, students either do not buy their books, which puts them behind in their coursework, or they buy their books with their own funds or on credit, further straining them financially,” the author states.

According to the author, “SB 374 empowers student parents to complete their college education and gives them the flexibility to make the decisions necessary for them to become self-sufficient.”

Education, employment, and earnings

Employment data shows a strong correlation between educational attainment and income level. According to a PPIC report published in December 2018, Higher Education as a Driver of Economic Mobility, a college degree bestows multiple benefits on the graduate. College graduates are more successful in the labor market than less-educated adults. They have substantially higher wages and lower unemployment rates. For example, the typical fulltime worker with a bachelor’s degree earned $80,000 in 2016, while workers with a high school diploma earned about $36,000. College graduates are also less likely to need social services, more likely to own a home, and more likely to have jobs with good benefits, per the PPIC.

However, per PPIC, not all Californians have the same chance to obtain a college education. Low-income, first-generation, Latinix, and African American students are less likely to graduate high school, enroll in college, and graduate college than their peers. For example, among young adults born in California, 60 percent of Asian Americans and 40 percent of whites have at least a bachelor’s degree. Twenty-one percent of African Americans and 18 percent of Latinix have obtained a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Data from Bureau of Labor Statics shows median weekly earnings in 2017 for those with the highest levels of educational attainment—doctoral and professional degrees—were more than triple those with the lowest level, less than a high school diploma. Furthermore, workers with at least a bachelor’s degree earned more than the $907 median weekly earnings for all workers. Additionally, those with higher the levels of education had lower rates of unemployment.

CalWORKs

The 1996 welfare reforms outlined within the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act (PRWOA), created the TANF program with strict work requirements and lifetime limits for receiving TANF funded benefits and a focus on moving low-income families out of poverty and promoting self-sufficiency.

CalWORKs, the state’s largest anti-poverty program, implements the 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.  

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.

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. 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.

Welfare-to-Work Requirements

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.

Under the CalWORKs program rules, adults may not receive CalWORKs cash benefits for more than 48-months throughout the entirety of their lifetime. During those 48 months, adults may receive a total of 24 months of WTW services and activities, if they meet program requirements. Adult benefits in the CalWORKs program are contingent upon participation in WTW activities, which are designed to promote job readiness and self-sufficiency. WTW activities include subsidized and unsubsidized employment, community service, adult basic education, community college, job skills, training, mental health counseling, substance abuse treatment, and other activities necessary to assist recipients in obtaining employment.

Unless they are exempt, an adult parent in a one-parent assistance unit (this is a group of persons living in the same home who have been determined eligible for CalWORKs and for whom cash aid has been authorized) is required to participate in WTW activities for an average of 20 hours per week, if the parent has a child less than six years of age. An adult in a one-parent assistance unit is required to participate in WTW activities for an average of 30 hours per week during the month, if the parent does not have a child less than six years of age. In a two-parent assistance unit, one or both adults must participate in WTW activities for a combined average of 35 hours per week.

Currently, CalWORKs requirements limit the time during which a WTW participant may engage in certain educational activities to a cumulative of 24 months. However, a participant may obtain an extension for up to six months, which shall be reevaluated every six months under certain circumstances. Absent an extension, a CalWORKs recipient who is attending school may be required to complete an additional 20-30 hours of core activities, fulltime education is not a core activity.

This bill would require that an applicant or recipient who is enrolled in an educational program and making satisfactory progress to be deemed to be meeting all WTW requirements, including the hourly requirements, and entitled to the newly created allowance or reimbursement and other necessary supportive services. It would also provide that a recipient who is enrolled in a postsecondary education institution, as specified, is entitled to an extension of the 24-month cumulative participation period. Per current law, such extensions shall be granted for an initial period of up to six months and reevaluated by the county at least every six months. These measures are intended to facilitate the CalWORKs student’s completion of their educational program.

Supportive Services for WTW Participants

Under current law, payments for supportive services (including ancillary expenses for books and transportation) “shall be advanced to the participant, wherever necessary, and when desired by the participant, so that the participant need not use his or her funds to pay for these services.” Expenses for transportation can include but are not limited to gas for a vehicle, a bus pass, taxi fare, parking costs, etc., necessary to complete WTW activities.  Ancillary services are books, tools and other expenses related to WTW activities.   These expenses are provided at the actual costs and there is no cap.  Typically, in order to receive reimbursement for supportive services, including ancillary expenses, a recipient must have a signed WTW plan. However, supportive services can be provided to a client at any point after they have come onto aid to mitigate barriers to participation. 

This bill proposes to establish a new process through which CalWORKs applicants and recipients could obtain funds to pay for costs associated with attending school. The newly created allowance would be used to purchase books and supplies, or to pay other costs required by the educational institution.

Under this bill, qualifying students would be eligible to receive an allowance of $500, which may be provided in whole or in part, in the form a book voucher. The bill also permits the student to opt out of the allowance and instead request reimbursement for actual cost of books and supplies. With passage of this bill there could be at least four options for CalWORKs students to receive funds that might be used to pay for school books: via supportive services for ancillary expenses protocol in existing law; the new $500 allowance; a new cost reimbursement procedure; and newly codified vouchers issued by the county to purchase books at the campus book store.

Related/Prior Legislation:

AB 818 (Burke, Chapter 141, Statutes of 2017) clarified that a high school education or its equivalent, and education obtained subsequent to the acquisition of a high school diploma or its equivalent, is presumed to meaningfully increase the likelihood of employment for purposes of a recipient requesting an extension of the CalWORKs 24-month clock.

AB 227 (Mayes, 2017) would have created the CalWORKs Educational Opportunity and Attainment Program to offer education grants and stipends to eligible CalWORKs participants who complete certain educational programs. It is did not pass out of this committee.

AB 1994 (Lopez, 2016) would have created the CalED program to provide a one-time $500 supplement to eligible CalWORKs participants upon successful completion of a high school equivalency examination. It was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

AB 2448 (Burke, 2016) would have changed CalWORKs requirements regarding permissible welfare-to-work activities to facilitate a recipient’s completion of a high school equivalency program. It was vetoed by the Governor.

COMMENTS

This bill seeks to make it easier for CalWORKs recipients to complete their education. It is intended to do so by allowing recipients to obtain an extension to the 24-month cumulative time limit for WTW; setting up a new process though which they can obtain an allowance to pay for books and other expenses without requiring them to meet typical WTW program requirements; and making them eligible for supportive services. While the bill has set up the framework to meet those goals, there are a few technical issues that may need clarifying. There are questions regarding which CalWORKs program requirements would be waived for fulltime students.

The author might also consider whether it would be necessary to establish a mechanism for reconciling the allowance with actual money spent on school-related expenses. It is possible that recouping an overpayment might not be cost effective. Additionally, because the CalWORKs program does not currently provide recipients with an “allowance,” it may be beneficial to rename the allowance and call it an advance or a payment, depending on whether or not the student would be required to produce receipts as evidence of actual school-related costs.

It is unclear if $500 is the appropriate amount for the allowance and the mandated timing for payment may not be feasible for counties. For example, the bill requires the student to receive the allowance 15 days before the semester starts. Initiation of the payment for the allowance would depend on when the appropriate paperwork was completed, not when classes are started.

The bill currently provides participants with the right to receive necessary child care without an official transcript. Obtaining official transcripts can be time consuming and generally require a fee paid to the school. There may be other forms of documentation that would sufficiently confirm school participation. Additionally, the author might consider amending this section to state that a participant is eligible for childcare, instead of making childcare a “right.”

Additionally, in what may have been a drafting error, the bill references WIC 11323.4, which discusses advance payments for necessary supportive services to which fulltime students would be eligible under the bill. It is possible the author also intended to reference WIC 11323.2, which lists the various expenses that qualify as necessary supportive services. Including WIC 11323.2 would clarify that fulltime students will be eligible for the full array of supportive services available to all other WTW participants.

Finally, extending the time during which CalWORKs recipients may attend school could impact counties’ compliance with federal work requirements.

Committee staff has been working with the author and the sponsor, as well as other interested parties on how best to address these issues. Should this bill move out of this committee, staff will continue to engage in these discussions.

POSITIONS

Support:

Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations (Sponsor)

California Alternative Payment Program Association

Diablo Valley College

National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter

Riverside City College

University of California Student Association

Western Center on Law & Poverty, Inc.

Parent Voices California

16 individuals

Oppose:

None received

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